Cost of Living in Medellín, 🇨🇴 Colombia - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 9 $1,070 $819 $1,292 $610 $36

Utilities 38 39 40 41 — $110 $125 $110 —

Internet & Mobile 11 12 $40 $42 $98 $42 $0

Groceries 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 43 $100 $239 $594 $165 $4

Transportation 6 7 44 $127 $95 $480 $70 $25

Dining Out 28 29 27 44 $360 $165 $420 $69 $21

Leisure Activities 10 30 37 44 $56 $46 $1,440 $35 $24

Health Insurance 34 $63 $98 $275 $35 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 36 $8 $22 $40 — —

Total $1,824 $1,636 $4,764 $1,136 $112

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 4 $610.00 $535 – $945 per month

Coworking Space 8 $110.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 9 $1,070.00 $850 – $1,300 per month

Coliving Space 9 $850.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 42 $3.53 per cup

Beer 21 43 $1.95 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 28 44 $6.30 per meal

Fast Food Combo 27 44 $9.74 per meal

Apples 20 43 $4.94 per kg

Bread 16 43 $3.00 per loaf

Milk 17 43 $1.89 per liter

Rice 15 43 $1.54 per kg

Chicken Fillets 18 43 $11.89 per kg

Beef 19 43 $10.21 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 22 43 $12.47 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 29 $34.65 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 23 43 $1.99 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 7 $1.86 per trip

Taxi per km 7 $0.77 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 6 $53.00 per month

Gasoline 13 14 $1.32 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 7 $5.70 per trip

Scooter Rental 44 $145.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 11 $11.02 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 12 43 $31.47 per month

Gym Membership 10 43 $31.47 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 43 44 $24.81 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 11 $3.47 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 30 43 $3.15 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 24 43 $61.72 per pair

Summer Dress 25 43 $17.30 per dress

Running Shoes 26 43 $53.50 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 44 $10.30 per visit

Laundry 32 43 $10.39 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 33 $15.75 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 31 43 $2.82 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 3,174.67 COP on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Mexico City

ClickCasa Robledo median rent COP 1.935M (Oct 2026)Listings
ClickCasa Laureles 1BR unfurnished COP 2.575M; furnished COP 3.4MListings
ClickCasa El Poblado median rent COP 5.8M (Oct 2026)Listings
Finca Raíz Medellín apartment rentals COP 2.9M–7.2M sampleListings
Finca Raíz 1BR Loma de los Bernal COP 3.3M/monthListings
Metro Cívica COP 12,100 card; integrations 1–4 COP 3,820 / 4,400Official
Taxi básico banderazo COP 5,900; caída COP 200/82 m; mínima COP 8,300Official
Coworking open desk from COP 349,000/monthListings
Coliving.com Medellín private rooms from USD 992/monthListings
Smart Fit Medellín Centro plan Smart COP 99,900/monthOfficial
Claro prepago Todo incluido COP 11,000–49,000 (country prep)Official
Claro hogar fibra desde COP 99,900/mes (500 Mbps tier)Official
Colombia Octane-95 gasoline COP 4,196.64/L (19 Oct 2026)Index
CREG gasoline reference prices by city (Oct 2026)Official
Jumbo Arroz Roa 1 kg COP 4,890Listings
Jumbo pan tajado Bimbo integral 650 g COP 9,540Listings
Jumbo leche entera San Fernando 1.1 L COP 6,590Listings
Jumbo filete pechuga pollo 900 g COP 33,980Listings
Jumbo carne molida Practicerdo 500 g COP 16,200Listings
Jumbo manzana Anna COP 15,680/kgListings
Jumbo Cerveza Poker lata 330 mL COP 3,590Listings
Jumbo Trapiche Malbec 750 mL promo COP 39,594Listings
Jumbo agua Manantial 1.5 L COP 6,330Listings
Jumbo Levi’s 501 jeans COP 195,930Listings
Jumbo vestido Pat Primo COP 54,900Listings
Éxito Tenis Fila Alevar Running COP 169,990Listings
McDonald’s Colombia McCombo Grande Big Mac COP 30,900 (Oct 2026)Secondary
Mondongo’s Medellín lunch COP 20,000–35,000 per personSecondary
Hacienda Junín bandeja paisa COP 45,000–55,000 per personSecondary
Cine Colombia 2D general COP 10,000 (weekend matinée tariff)Official
Farmatodo acetaminofén 20 tabletas COP 8,950Listings
Lavatú autoservicio hasta 3 kg COP 33,000Official
Doctoralia Medellín GP visits COP 50,000–250,000 publishedListings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Visa V digital nomad programmeOfficial
Resolución 3969 de 2026 tipo V fees USD 56 study + USD 138 issuanceOfficial
The Columbus School tuition and fees (international school)Official
EPM energía estrato 4 COP 958.38/kWh (sept 2026)Official
EPM acueducto/alcantarillado Medellín estrato 4 (sep 2026 facturación)Official
EPM gas natural Valle de Aburrá estrato 4 COP 4,293.48/m³ (0–20 m³)Official
Emvarias aseo Medellín estrato 4 ocupado COP 36,409.16/usuario-mes (H2 2026)Official
Juan Valdez Unicentro Medellín Cappuccino Tradicional COP 11,200Listings
Numbeo Medellín cross-check (tennis; Oct 2025 snapshot)Index
Livingcost Medellín cross-check (Jun 2026)Index

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1568.56 1070
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 865.41 610
- Apples 3.38 4.94
- Beef 10.28 10.21
- Beer 2.43 1.95
40 more changes
- Bread 1.76 3
- Chicken Fillets 6.49 11.89
- Cinema Ticket 6.49 3.15
- Coffee 2.03 3.53
- Coliving Space 1027.67 850
- Coworking Space 175.79 110
- Dining Out local 67.61, nomad 757.23, expat 324.53, family 594.97, tourist 59.5 local 69, nomad 360, expat 165, family 420, tourist 21
- Doctor Visit (GP) 48.68 15.75
- Fast Food Combo 8.65 9.74
- Gasoline 4.54 1.32
- Groceries local 202.83, nomad 162.26, expat 378.62, family 865.41, tourist 10.82 local 165, nomad 100, expat 239, family 594, tourist 4.1
- Gym Membership 35.16 31.47
- Haircut 12.17 10.3
- Health Insurance local 32.45, nomad 75.72, expat 121.7, family 297.48, tourist 0 local 35, nomad 63, expat 98, family 275, tourist 2.1
- Housing local 432.7, nomad 1406.29, expat 865.41, family 1487.42, tourist 121.7 local 610, nomad 1070, expat 819, family 1292, tourist 36
- Internet & Mobile local 22.99, nomad 86.54, expat 48.68, family 67.61, tourist 4.06 local 42, nomad 40, family 98, tourist 0.37
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 29.75 31.47
- Jeans 59.5 61.72
- Laundry 10.82 10.39
- Leisure Activities local 40.57, nomad 216.35, expat 162.26, family 405.66, tourist 29.75 local 35, nomad 56, expat 46, family 1440, tourist 24
- Meal (Inexpensive) 5.95 6.3
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 48.68 34.65
- Milk 1.41 1.89
- Mobile Plan 13.52 11.02
- Monthly Transport Pass 39.21 53
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 9.47 2.82
- Rice 1.57 1.54
- Ride-hailing (5km) 4.06 5.7
- Running Shoes 121.7 53.5
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6.76 3.47
- Scooter Rental 9.47 145
- Summer Dress 43.27 17.3
- Taxi Start 1.33 1.86
- Taxi per km 0.43 0.77
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 12.17 24.81
- Transportation local 43.27, nomad 175.79, expat 108.18, family 486.79, tourist 24.34 local 70, nomad 127, expat 95, family 480, tourist 25
- Utilities local 59.5, nomad 0, expat 121.7, family 202.83, tourist 0 local 110, nomad 0, family 125, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 67.61, expat 40.57, family 108.18 local 0, nomad 8, expat 22, family 40
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.14 1.99
- Wine (Mid-range) 14.87 12.47

Medellín cost of living