Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aachen and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $1,938 in Aachen, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

93

Cost of Living Index in Aachen
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Aachen Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Aachen

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,938

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aachen and in Medellin

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aachen and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,938 per month in Aachen vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Aachen $1,938
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $2,902 per month in Aachen vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Aachen $2,902
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $3,867 per month in Aachen vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Aachen $3,867
Medellin $3,186

Aachen costs about 18% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Aachen and Medellin sit above the global median – Aachen by 42%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.79 €14.19

$8.09 COP 25.4K

95.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$47.05 COP 148.0K

31.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.16 €10.02

$9.50 COP 29.9K

17.47%

Cappuccino

$3.73 €3.35

$3.01 COP 9,485

23.92%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 €2.43

$1.80 COP 5,660

50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 €2.69

$1.41 COP 4,443

112.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.05 €4.54

$3.18 COP 9,990

58.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 €4.91

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-4.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 €1.10

$1.51 COP 4,751

-19.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.92 €1.73

$2.38 COP 7,480

-19.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.62 €3.25

$1.77 COP 5,573

104.52%

Eggs

$3.57 €3.20

$2.89 COP 9,093

23.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.48 €13.01

$10.19 COP 32.1K

42.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 €10.18

$9.87 COP 31.1K

14.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.98 €18.85

$13.99 COP 44.0K

49.96%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 €3.07

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-13.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.55 COP 4,883

46.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.05 €1.84

$2.18 COP 6,867

-5.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.48 €3.12

$2.18 COP 6,870

59.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.96 COP 6,174

-25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.59 COP 5,000

-6.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 €1.33

$1.15 COP 3,604

28.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.24 COP 3,911

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.00 €8.98

$3.96 COP 12.5K

152.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 €6.07

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-50.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.66 COP 5,221

-30.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 €1.40

$2.26 COP 7,103

-30.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.03 €3.62

$1.17 COP 3,674

244.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.5 €64.2

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-7.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.53 €4.96

$1.27 COP 3,989

335.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.05 COP 6,442

26.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.36 €33.56

$8.55 COP 26.9K

336.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.32 €2.08

$1.35 COP 4,237

71.85%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.0K €29.7K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-3.00%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.9K €35.0K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

12.34%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$378 €339

$170 COP 533.7K

122.54%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$16.71 €15.01

$13.55 COP 42.6K

23.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.56 €42.73

$28.07 COP 88.3K

69.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.89 €32.24

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-17.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.56 €24.76

$17.19 COP 54.1K

60.33%

Cinema Ticket

$15.41 €13.84

$6.91 COP 21.7K

123.01%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$743 €667

$797 COP 2.5M

-6.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.2K €17.3K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

111.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.4 €82.1

$84.7 COP 266.5K

7.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.26 €37.96

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-27.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 €76.4

$135 COP 424.6K

-36.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €120

$97.9 COP 307.9K

37.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$818 €735

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-32.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$571 €513

$642 COP 2.0M

-11.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,504 €1,351

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-25.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,058 €951

$1,012 COP 3.2M

4.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,493 €4,036

$4,170 COP 13.1M

7.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,378 €3,035

$1,910 COP 6.0M

76.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,534 €3,175

$657 COP 2.1M

437.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.96

10.94

-63.80%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aachen: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aachen

$571 29.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 12.4% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aachen

$442 22.8%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 52.2% $231

Groceries & Markets

Aachen

$330 17%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 10% $33

Eating Out

Aachen

$264 13.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 35.6% $94

Clothing & Footwear

Aachen

$159 8.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 6.4% $10

Getting Around

Aachen

$106 5.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 11.8% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Aachen

$67 3.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 13.7% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $818 in Aachen versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Aachen are about 5.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Aachen versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $330 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Aachen

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:04 12:04 AM

18:04 6:04 PM

6 h behind Aachen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

241,683

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aachen Medellin 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Aachen
Medellin

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aachen vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,938 in Aachen, $1,639 in Medellin – Medellin comes out roughly 15% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,907 per month in Aachen and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aachen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $818 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Aachen and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,938 in Aachen and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Medellin about 15% cheaper.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,938 in Aachen and $1,639 in Medellin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,639 in Medellin to $1,938 in Aachen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Aachen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.