Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Banos and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Banos: $819 a month against $1,639 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 Banos
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Banos Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Banos

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$819

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $819 in Banos versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Banos $819
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,260 in Banos versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Banos $1,260
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,701 in Banos versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Banos $1,701
Medellin $3,186

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.78 $2.78

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-65.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.08 $30.08

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-36.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.02 $5.02

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-47.16%

Cappuccino

$2.60 $2.60

$3.01 COP 9,485

-13.62%

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

$0.92 $0.92

$1.80 COP 5,660

-48.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 $0.73

$1.41 COP 4,443

-48.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 $2.99

$3.18 COP 9,990

-5.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 $2.02

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-64.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.51 COP 4,751

-30.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.99 $1.99

$2.38 COP 7,480

-16.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.86 $0.86

$1.77 COP 5,573

-51.41%

Eggs

$1.49 $1.49

$2.89 COP 9,093

-48.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.04 $7.04

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-30.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.04 $5.04

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-48.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.85 $5.85

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-58.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.49 $1.49

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-62.47%

Banana (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$1.55 COP 4,883

-68.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$2.18 COP 6,867

-53.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.95 $0.95

$2.18 COP 6,870

-56.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.96 COP 6,174

-73.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 $0.91

$1.59 COP 5,000

-42.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.15 COP 3,604

-55.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.24 COP 3,911

-17.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.83 $5.83

$3.96 COP 12.5K

47.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.80 $11.80

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-13.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 $1.55

$1.66 COP 5,222

-6.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 $2.15

$2.26 COP 7,104

-4.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 $0.36

$1.17 COP 3,674

-69.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 $1.27

$1.27 COP 3,989

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 $1.23

$2.05 COP 6,442

-40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.90 $11.90

$8.55 COP 26.9K

39.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.35 COP 4,237

-35.56%

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

$23.1K $23.1K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-32.19%

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

$30.6K $30.6K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-11.69%

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

$33.82 $33.82

$170 COP 533.7K

-80.06%

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

$14.62 $14.62

$13.55 COP 42.6K

7.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.86 $25.86

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-7.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.84 $29.84

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-31.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.62 $14.62

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-14.95%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 $7.28

$6.91 COP 21.7K

5.35%

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

$369 $369

$797 COP 2.5M

-53.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,777 $5,777

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-36.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.8 $64.8

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-23.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.86 $39.86

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-31.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 $127

$135 COP 424.6K

-5.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.7 $91.7

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-6.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 $440

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-63.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 $275

$642 COP 2.0M

-57.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 $705

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-65.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$448 $448

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-55.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

10.94

-8.14%

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

Last update for Banos: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Banos

$275 33.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 133% $366

Groceries & Markets

Banos

$176 21.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 68.6% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Banos

$146 17.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 16% $23

Eating Out

Banos

$94 11.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 80.3% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Banos

$74 9.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 184% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Banos

$44 5.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 29.6% $13

Getting Around

Banos

$8.9 * 1.1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 954% $85

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 $440 in Banos and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $30 in Banos vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $176 vs $297 per month, with Banos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Banos

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

Same time as Banos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,501

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.899 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (1 USD = 0.899 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Banos Medellin 910 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Banos
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

Banos vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Banos wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Banos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,228 in Banos 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: $440 in Banos versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $369 in Banos versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Banos – a meal for two runs $30 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Banos is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Banos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.