Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Acosta and Medellin

For one person, living costs are similar in Acosta and in Medellin: $1,712 and $1,639 a month, rent and utilities included.

81

Cost of Living Index in Acosta
Learn more

Acosta Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Acosta

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,712

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Acosta 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 Acosta and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,712 in Acosta versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Acosta $1,712
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,673 in Acosta versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Acosta $2,673
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,633 in Acosta versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Acosta $3,633
Medellin $3,186

Living in Acosta is roughly 4% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Acosta 26% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.26 ₡5,531

$8.09 COP 25.4K

51.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.1 ₡25.8K

$47.05 COP 148.0K

21.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.80 ₡5,325

$9.50 COP 29.9K

24.21%

Cappuccino

$4.16 ₡1,875

$3.01 COP 9,485

38.21%

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

$2.64 ₡1,193

$1.80 COP 5,660

46.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡838

$1.41 COP 4,443

31.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 ₡1,521

$3.18 COP 9,990

5.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 ₡2,029

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-21.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.40 ₡1,083

$1.51 COP 4,751

58.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.84 ₡1,283

$2.38 COP 7,480

19.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 ₡1,208

$1.77 COP 5,573

51.41%

Eggs

$3.16 ₡1,428

$2.89 COP 9,093

9.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.58 ₡5,226

$10.19 COP 32.1K

13.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.34 ₡5,117

$9.87 COP 31.1K

14.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.80 ₡6,677

$13.99 COP 44.0K

5.79%

Apples (1kg)

$4.67 ₡2,107

$3.97 COP 12.5K

17.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 ₡790

$1.55 COP 4,883

12.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.77 ₡1,701

$2.18 COP 6,867

72.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.89 ₡1,756

$2.18 COP 6,870

78.44%

Potato (1kg)

$3.21 ₡1,450

$1.96 COP 6,174

63.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.68 ₡1,208

$1.59 COP 5,000

68.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 ₡474

$1.15 COP 3,604

-8.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 ₡1,362

$1.24 COP 3,911

143.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.50 ₡2,484

$3.96 COP 12.5K

38.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.96 ₡8,105

$13.68 COP 43.0K

31.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 ₡1,053

$1.66 COP 5,222

40.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,264

$2.26 COP 7,104

23.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ₡580

$1.17 COP 3,674

10.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,123

$1.27 COP 3,989

96.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 ₡618

$2.05 COP 6,442

-33.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.86 ₡4,448

$8.55 COP 26.9K

15.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 ₡731

$1.35 COP 4,237

20.00%

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

$37.4K ₡16.9M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

9.64%

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

$42.0K ₡19.0M

$34.7K COP 109.1M

21.28%

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

$100 ₡45.2K

$170 COP 533.7K

-40.93%

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

$30.43 ₡13.7K

$13.55 COP 42.6K

124.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.6 ₡23.7K

$28.07 COP 88.3K

87.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.8 ₡26.5K

$43.70 COP 137.5K

34.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$7.48 ₡3,374

$6.91 COP 21.7K

8.25%

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

$778 ₡350.9K

$797 COP 2.5M

-2.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.2K ₡7.8M

$9,112 COP 28.7M

88.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.4 ₡29.1K

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-23.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.7 ₡28.7K

$58.0 COP 182.3K

9.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 ₡61.1K

$135 COP 424.6K

0.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 ₡66.8K

$97.9 COP 307.9K

51.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$905 ₡408.5K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-25.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$640 ₡288.8K

$642 COP 2.0M

-0.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 ₡975.1K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

6.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,210 ₡545.9K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

19.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,959 ₡883.9K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-53.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,479 ₡667.4K

$657 COP 2.1M

125.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.94

-21.21%

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

Last update for Acosta: 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

Acosta

$640 37.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 0.2% $1.5

Groceries & Markets

Acosta

$389 22.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 23.6% $92

Eating Out

Acosta

$227 13.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 25.3% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Acosta

$185 10.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 8.7% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Acosta

$183 10.7%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 15.3% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Acosta

$74 4.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 22% $16

Getting Around

Acosta

$14 * 0.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 547% $79

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $905 in Acosta and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Acosta pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $57 in Acosta vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $389 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Acosta

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:46 11:46 AM

12:46 12:46 PM

1 h ahead of Acosta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,072

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

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 CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Acosta Medellin 1,020 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Acosta
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

Acosta vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Acosta and Medellin differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,712 vs $1,639 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Acosta is about 2.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $905 in Acosta versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Acosta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,712 per month in Acosta versus $1,639 in Medellin – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Medellin wins on affordability, Acosta on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.