Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Atibaia and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Atibaia: $812 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Atibaia
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Atibaia Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Atibaia

🇧🇷 Brazil

$812

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $812 in Atibaia versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Atibaia $812
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,451 in Atibaia versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Atibaia $1,451
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,090 in Atibaia versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Atibaia $2,090
Medellin $3,199

Living in Atibaia costs roughly 50% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Atibaia is 40% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.02 R$40.64

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-3.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.96 R$162

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-31.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.04 R$35.67

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-23.81%

Cappuccino

$2.32 R$11.77

$3.05 COP 9,676

-23.93%

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

$1.40 R$7.11

$1.80 COP 5,707

-22.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.95 R$4.82

$1.38 COP 4,382

-31.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 R$9.91

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-39.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 R$15.28

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-45.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.51

$1.50 COP 4,760

-27.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 R$9.35

$2.37 COP 7,508

-22.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 R$6.76

$1.70 COP 5,377

-21.76%

Eggs

$2.49 R$12.63

$2.96 COP 9,379

-15.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.82 R$54.9

$10.22 COP 32.4K

5.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.85 R$24.60

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-50.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.73 R$49.33

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-30.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 R$10.90

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-47.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.21

$1.53 COP 4,839

-20.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.17

$2.22 COP 7,052

-45.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 R$8.29

$2.27 COP 7,194

-28.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.10

$1.99 COP 6,311

-39.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 R$6.73

$1.67 COP 5,285

-20.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 R$4.94

$1.18 COP 3,742

-17.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 R$3.83

$1.24 COP 3,919

-38.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 R$11.88

$3.87 COP 12.3K

-39.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 R$38.66

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-44.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R$6.99

$1.66 COP 5,256

-16.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 R$9.56

$2.40 COP 7,615

-21.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$4.93

$1.24 COP 3,944

-21.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 R$7.94

$1.28 COP 4,044

22.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 R$8.19

$2.15 COP 6,803

-25.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.61 R$89.3

$8.37 COP 26.5K

110.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R$6.33

$1.35 COP 4,288

-7.41%

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

$20.3K R$103.1K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-41.49%

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

$31.3K R$158.7K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-9.73%

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

$77.8 R$395

$167 COP 528.4K

-53.30%

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

$12.25 R$62.1

$13.62 COP 43.2K

-10.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.94 R$111

$29.12 COP 92.3K

-24.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.22 R$123

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-46.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.88 R$101

$17.18 COP 54.5K

15.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.60 R$43.61

$6.97 COP 22.1K

23.39%

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

$275 R$1,395

$790 COP 2.5M

-65.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.0K R$50.8K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

10.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 R$273

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-38.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.65 R$191

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-35.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.0 R$380

$139 COP 440.7K

-46.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.1 R$305

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-39.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$301 R$1,527

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-70.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 R$1,006

$620 COP 2.0M

-67.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 R$5,112

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-46.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$693 R$3,511

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-31.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,987 R$10.1K

$3,988 COP 12.6M

-50.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,687 R$8,550

$1,702 COP 5.4M

-0.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$503 R$2,552

$663 COP 2.1M

-24.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.79

10.94

16.91%

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

Last update for Atibaia: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Atibaia

$207 25.5%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 44% $91

Accommodation & Living

Atibaia

$198 24.4%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 212% $421

Eating Out

Atibaia

$138 17%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 23.5% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Atibaia

$112 13.8%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 86.9% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Atibaia

$102 12.6%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 69.4% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Atibaia

$41 5.1%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 42.5% $18

Getting Around

Atibaia

$14 * 1.7%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 604% $82

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 $301 in Atibaia and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 32% 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: $32.00 in Atibaia vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $207 vs $298 per month, with Atibaia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Atibaia

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

08:41 8:41 AM

06:41 6:41 AM

2 h behind Atibaia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,647

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Atibaia Medellin 4,540 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Atibaia
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

Atibaia vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Atibaia and Medellin differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($812 vs $1,625 including rent). Atibaia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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: $301 in Atibaia versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $275 in Atibaia versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Atibaia – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $812 in Atibaia versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Atibaia but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Atibaia 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 Atibaia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.