Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aracaju and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Aracaju: $659 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Aracaju
Learn more

Aracaju Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Aracaju

🇧🇷 Brazil

$659

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $659 in Aracaju versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Aracaju $659
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,043 in Aracaju versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Aracaju $1,043
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,427 in Aracaju versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Aracaju $1,427
Medellin $3,249

Living in Aracaju costs roughly 61% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aracaju is 51% below, Medellin is 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.63 R$25.41

$8.34 COP 27.0K

-44.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.63 R$119

$46.53 COP 150.9K

-53.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.42 R$29.75

$9.47 COP 30.7K

-42.77%

Cappuccino

$1.92 R$10.54

$3.13 COP 10.2K

-38.66%

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

$1.07 R$5.88

$1.77 COP 5,728

-39.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 R$3.03

$1.42 COP 4,620

-61.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.88 R$10.30

$3.15 COP 10.2K

-40.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 R$15.93

$5.70 COP 18.5K

-49.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R$5.64

$1.53 COP 4,971

-32.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 R$7.69

$2.29 COP 7,431

-38.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.97

$1.94 COP 6,308

-43.81%

Eggs

$1.59 R$8.70

$3.07 COP 9,945

-48.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.99 R$38.39

$9.99 COP 32.4K

-30.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.60 R$19.73

$10.45 COP 33.9K

-65.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.82 R$37.43

$13.96 COP 45.3K

-51.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 R$10.62

$4.05 COP 13.1K

-52.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.77

$1.53 COP 4,957

-19.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.66 R$3.61

$2.10 COP 6,825

-68.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.82 R$4.51

$2.29 COP 7,439

-64.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 R$5.64

$2.11 COP 6,841

-51.18%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 R$4.93

$1.71 COP 5,543

-47.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 R$2.80

$1.17 COP 3,795

-56.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 R$3.85

$1.58 COP 5,125

-55.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 R$12.36

$3.91 COP 12.7K

-42.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.58 R$30.64

$14.04 COP 45.6K

-60.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R$6.25

$1.76 COP 5,714

-35.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 R$10.18

$2.71 COP 8,796

-31.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 R$4.67

$1.18 COP 3,826

-27.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.97 R$214

$76.3 COP 247.4K

-48.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 R$6.37

$1.81 COP 5,860

-35.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 R$3.34

$2.13 COP 6,906

-71.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.05 R$33.22

$8.13 COP 26.4K

-25.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 R$6.54

$1.28 COP 4,136

-7.03%

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

$21.4K R$117.3K

$34.4K COP 111.7M

-37.96%

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

$31.0K R$170.0K

$34.1K COP 110.7M

-9.26%

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

$58.7 R$322

$178 COP 576.4K

-66.98%

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

$9.26 R$50.8

$13.89 COP 45.0K

-33.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.77 R$86.6

$30.74 COP 99.7K

-48.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.03 R$115

$41.94 COP 136.0K

-49.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.96 R$142

$16.80 COP 54.5K

54.52%

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 R$32.08

$7.47 COP 24.2K

-21.69%

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

$277 R$1,520

$790 COP 2.6M

-64.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,017 R$27.5K

$12.3K COP 39.9M

-59.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 R$291

$86.3 COP 280.0K

-38.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.44 R$178

$59.3 COP 192.2K

-45.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.1 R$445

$138 COP 448.7K

-41.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.3 R$413

$98.8 COP 320.5K

-23.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$280 R$1,538

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-79.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$135 R$740

$667 COP 2.2M

-79.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$590 R$3,241

$1,976 COP 6.4M

-70.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$250 R$1,373

$1,033 COP 3.3M

-75.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,204 R$6,606

$4,098 COP 13.3M

-70.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$849 R$4,660

$1,940 COP 6.3M

-56.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$422 R$2,313

$646 COP 2.1M

-34.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-8.59%

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

Last update for Aracaju: November 2, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Aracaju

$154 23.4%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 99.4% $153

Accommodation & Living

Aracaju

$135 20.5%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 395% $532

Clothing & Footwear

Aracaju

$109 16.5%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 58.3% $63

Eating Out

Aracaju

$98 14.9%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 76.1% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aracaju

$84 12.7%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 166% $139

Getting Around

Aracaju

$47 7.1%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 101% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Aracaju

$33 5%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 73.9% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $280 in Aracaju and $1,341 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 53% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $22 in Aracaju vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $154 vs $307 per month, with Aracaju cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Aracaju

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

21:15 9:15 PM

19:15 7:15 PM

2 h behind Aracaju

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

602,757

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aracaju Medellin 4,670 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Aracaju
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

Aracaju vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $659 in Aracaju and $1,692 in Medellin, so Aracaju is about 61% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Aracaju. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $280 in Aracaju versus $1,341 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $277 in Aracaju versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 99% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $659 in Aracaju versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Aracaju but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Aracaju the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Aracaju gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.