Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelos and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelos: $1,190 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Barcelos
Learn more

Barcelos Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Barcelos

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,190

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Barcelos versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Barcelos $1,190
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Barcelos versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Barcelos $1,885
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,579 in Barcelos versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Barcelos $2,579
Medellin $3,190

Living in Barcelos costs roughly 26% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelos is 12% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.09 €9.86

$7.93 COP 25.2K

39.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.16 €42.84

$46.13 COP 146.3K

4.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.85 €7.87

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-6.84%

Cappuccino

$1.84 €1.63

$3.11 COP 9,866

-40.84%

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

$1.93 €1.72

$1.83 COP 5,800

5.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.38 COP 4,360

-4.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 €3.00

$3.05 COP 9,672

10.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 €2.52

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-48.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.45 COP 4,600

-23.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 €1.65

$2.36 COP 7,496

-21.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.68 COP 5,328

6.55%

Eggs

$3.30 €2.94

$2.86 COP 9,077

15.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.93 €10.61

$10.19 COP 32.3K

17.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.15

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-15.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.83 €13.19

$14.04 COP 44.5K

5.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-51.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.50 COP 4,742

-8.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$2.17 COP 6,891

-14.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.25

$2.31 COP 7,310

9.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.93 COP 6,113

-10.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.63

$1.64 COP 5,196

12.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.13 COP 3,571

36.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.25 COP 3,954

-22.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.56 €5.84

$3.99 COP 12.6K

64.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.58 €4.08

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-65.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 €1.05

$1.70 COP 5,384

-30.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 €1.95

$2.37 COP 7,525

-7.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 €2.03

$1.21 COP 3,827

89.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.15 €19.70

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-71.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 €3.80

$1.32 COP 4,179

223.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 €1.27

$2.14 COP 6,774

-33.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.25 €14.46

$8.47 COP 26.8K

91.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.30 COP 4,114

65.38%

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

$33.2K €29.5K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

18.58%

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

$37.8K €33.7K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

6.85%

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

$111 €98.8

$172 COP 545.6K

-35.47%

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

$17.73 €15.77

$13.37 COP 42.4K

32.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.28 €39.39

$28.73 COP 91.1K

54.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.52 €34.27

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-14.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.57 €5.84

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-61.44%

Cinema Ticket

$9.12 €8.11

$6.28 COP 19.9K

45.22%

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

$339 €302

$770 COP 2.4M

-55.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,374 €5,670

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-29.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-16.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.75 €33.58

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-33.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 €70.0

$137 COP 432.9K

-42.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 €93.4

$97.9 COP 310.4K

7.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 €439

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-53.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 €318

$616 COP 2.0M

-42.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$895 €796

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-52.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$696 €619

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-31.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,651 €2,358

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-34.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,510 €1,343

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-10.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,072 €954

$652 COP 2.1M

64.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.7

10.94

-66.18%

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

Last update for Barcelos: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barcelos

$357 30%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 72.4% $259

Groceries & Markets

Barcelos

$255 21.4%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 15.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelos

$173 14.6%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 23.8% $41

Eating Out

Barcelos

$173 14.5%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 2.6% $4.4

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelos

$132 11.1%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 28.6% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelos

$57 4.8%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 1.8% $1.1

Getting Around

Barcelos

$43 3.6%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 119% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $494 in Barcelos and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelos pays 64% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $48.00 in Barcelos vs $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $255 vs $295, with Barcelos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Barcelos

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:04 2:04 AM

20:04 8:04 PM

6 h behind Barcelos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

116,766

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barcelos Medellin 7,640 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelos
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

Barcelos vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 64% higher in Barcelos, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $494 in Barcelos versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelos – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,190 in Barcelos versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Barcelos but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Barcelos 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.

Safety-wise, Barcelos and Medellin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Barcelos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.