Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Araraquara and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Araraquara: $669 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Araraquara
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Araraquara Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Araraquara

🇧🇷 Brazil

$669

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $669 in Araraquara versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Araraquara $669
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,111 in Araraquara versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Araraquara $1,111
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,553 in Araraquara versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Araraquara $1,553
Medellin $3,190

Living in Araraquara costs roughly 59% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Araraquara is 50% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.96 R$29.98

$7.93 COP 25.3K

-24.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.37 R$123

$46.13 COP 146.9K

-47.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.00 R$35.20

$9.50 COP 30.3K

-26.32%

Cappuccino

$2.20 R$11.05

$3.11 COP 9,908

-29.26%

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

$1.66 R$8.37

$1.83 COP 5,824

-9.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R$4.17

$1.38 COP 4,378

-39.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 R$10.14

$3.05 COP 9,712

-33.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 R$20.62

$5.50 COP 17.5K

-25.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 R$4.65

$1.45 COP 4,619

-35.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R$6.40

$2.36 COP 7,527

-46.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.04

$1.68 COP 5,351

-28.57%

Eggs

$2.41 R$12.11

$2.86 COP 9,115

-15.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.83 R$34.34

$10.19 COP 32.4K

-32.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.40 R$17.08

$9.53 COP 30.3K

-64.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.40 R$32.14

$14.04 COP 44.7K

-54.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.43 R$7.19

$4.07 COP 13.0K

-64.86%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 R$4.56

$1.50 COP 4,762

-39.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 R$4.74

$2.17 COP 6,920

-56.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.39

$2.31 COP 7,340

-45.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 R$4.27

$1.93 COP 6,139

-55.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 R$4.11

$1.64 COP 5,218

-50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 R$3.31

$1.13 COP 3,586

-41.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 R$3.77

$1.25 COP 3,971

-40.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.01 R$10.12

$3.99 COP 12.7K

-49.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.08 R$25.54

$13.35 COP 42.5K

-61.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R$4.94

$1.70 COP 5,406

-42.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 R$7.84

$2.37 COP 7,557

-34.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 R$5.36

$1.21 COP 3,843

-11.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.73 R$129

$76.5 COP 243.5K

-66.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 R$6.39

$1.32 COP 4,197

-3.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R$4.93

$2.14 COP 6,802

-54.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.56 R$48.07

$8.47 COP 27.0K

12.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 R$5.72

$1.30 COP 4,132

-12.31%

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

$22.9K R$115.3K

$28.0K COP 89.1M

-18.07%

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

$23.7K R$119.2K

$35.4K COP 112.8M

-33.01%

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

$44.50 R$224

$172 COP 547.9K

-74.14%

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

$10.10 R$50.8

$13.37 COP 42.6K

-24.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.05 R$90.7

$28.73 COP 91.5K

-37.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.46 R$133

$45.24 COP 144.1K

-41.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.82 R$99.6

$17.04 COP 54.3K

16.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 R$20.75

$6.28 COP 20.0K

-34.24%

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

$295 R$1,484

$770 COP 2.5M

-61.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,766 R$39.0K

$9,011 COP 28.7M

-13.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.67 R$240

$86.4 COP 275.1K

-44.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.24 R$222

$57.1 COP 181.9K

-22.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.9 R$487

$137 COP 434.7K

-29.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.2 R$277

$97.9 COP 311.7K

-43.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$223 R$1,123

$1,055 COP 3.4M

-78.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$143 R$717

$616 COP 2.0M

-76.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$492 R$2,475

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-73.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$352 R$1,770

$1,023 COP 3.3M

-65.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,382 R$6,947

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-65.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$463 R$2,325

$652 COP 2.1M

-29.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.12

10.94

1.65%

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

Last update for Araraquara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Araraquara

$150 22.4%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 96.7% $145

Accommodation & Living

Araraquara

$143 21.3%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 331% $473

Eating Out

Araraquara

$123 18.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 36.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Araraquara

$110 16.4%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 54.9% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Araraquara

$73 10.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 195% $142

Getting Around

Araraquara

$36 5.4%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 158% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Araraquara

$35 5.2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 66.5% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $223 in Araraquara and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 41% 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: $24.00 in Araraquara vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $150 vs $295 per month, with Araraquara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Araraquara

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

01:50 1:50 AM

2 h behind Araraquara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

242,228

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 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 October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.62 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3,184 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,563 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Araraquara Medellin 4,320 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Araraquara
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

Araraquara vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Araraquara and Medellin differ by about 141% in total monthly costs ($669 vs $1,614 including rent). Araraquara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Medellin. 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: $223 in Araraquara versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Araraquara – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $669 in Araraquara versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Araraquara but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Araraquara 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 Araraquara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 141% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.