Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ardabil and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Ardabil: $508 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Ardabil
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Ardabil Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Ardabil

🇮🇷 Iran

$508

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $508 in Ardabil versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Ardabil $508
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $807 in Ardabil versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Ardabil $807
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,106 in Ardabil versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Ardabil $1,106
Medellin $3,186

Living in Ardabil costs roughly 69% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ardabil is 63% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.89 $2.89

$8.09 COP 25.6K

-64.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.95 $14.95

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-68.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.92 $3.92

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-58.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.70 $0.70

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 $1.00

Cappuccino

$1.20 $1.20

$3.01 COP 9,540

-60.13%

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

$0.51 $0.51

$1.80 COP 5,693

-71.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.41 COP 4,469

-26.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.65 $0.65

$1.51 COP 4,778

-56.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 $0.49

$2.38 COP 7,524

-79.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 $2.03

$1.77 COP 5,606

14.69%

Eggs

$1.15 $1.15

$2.89 COP 9,146

-60.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.49 $4.49

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-55.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 $3.32

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-66.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.23 $10.23

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-26.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.17 $1.17

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-70.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 $1.41

$1.55 COP 4,911

-9.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 $0.87

$2.18 COP 6,907

-60.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.53 $0.53

$2.18 COP 6,910

-75.69%

Potato (1kg)

$0.50 $0.50

$1.96 COP 6,210

-74.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.59 COP 5,029

-70.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 $0.47

$1.15 COP 3,625

-59.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.23 $0.23

$1.24 COP 3,934

-81.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.85 $0.85

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 $0.53

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 $1.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 $2.25

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-43.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.15 $0.15

$1.17 COP 3,696

-87.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.58 $8.58

$77.4 COP 244.8K

-88.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.43 $0.43

$1.27 COP 4,013

-66.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 $0.30

$2.05 COP 6,480

-85.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.32 $2.32

$8.55 COP 27.1K

-72.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.35 COP 4,262

-92.59%

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

$42.9K $42.9K

$34.1K COP 107.8M

25.99%

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

$40.4K $40.4K

$34.7K COP 109.7M

16.49%

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

$14.32 $14.32

$170 COP 536.8K

-91.56%

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

$1.70 $1.70

$13.55 COP 42.9K

-87.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.40 $3.40

$28.07 COP 88.8K

-87.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.84 $15.84

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-63.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.71 $14.71

$17.19 COP 54.4K

-14.43%

Cinema Ticket

$1.98 $1.98

$6.91 COP 21.9K

-71.35%

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

$93.6 $93.6

$797 COP 2.5M

-88.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,121 $2,121

$9,112 COP 28.8M

-76.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.25 $21.25

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-74.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.29 $25.29

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-56.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.5 $96.5

$135 COP 427.1K

-28.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.6 $65.6

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-32.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$292 $292

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-75.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 $196

$642 COP 2.0M

-69.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$775 $775

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-61.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$339 $339

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-66.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,188 $1,188

$4,170 COP 13.2M

-71.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$506 $506

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-73.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

24.3

10.94

122.12%

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

Last update for Ardabil: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ardabil

$196 38.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 228% $446

Groceries & Markets

Ardabil

$112 22.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 164% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Ardabil

$94 18.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 79.9% $75

Eating Out

Ardabil

$55 10.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 206% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Ardabil

$20 3.9%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 191% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ardabil

$19 3.8%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 988% $192

Getting Around

Ardabil

$11 2.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 744% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $292 in Ardabil and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $15 in Ardabil vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $112 vs $297 per month, with Ardabil cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Ardabil

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:26 12:26 PM

03:56 3:56 AM

8 h 30 min behind Ardabil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

482,632

2,486,723

💱 Currency

USD USD

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Ardabil Medellin 12,410 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ardabil
Medellin

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ardabil vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ardabil is about 69% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $762 in Ardabil and $2,459 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $292 in Ardabil versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ardabil runs roughly 89% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $94 in Ardabil versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $508 in Ardabil versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ardabil but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Ardabil 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 Ardabil gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.