Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Biella and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Biella: $1,455 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Biella
Learn more

Biella Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Biella

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,455

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,455 in Biella versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Biella $1,455
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,244 in Biella versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Biella $2,244
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,034 in Biella versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Biella $3,034
Medellin $3,186

Living in Biella costs roughly 11% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Biella 7% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.68 €14.95

$8.09 COP 26.1K

106.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.1 €60.2

$47.05 COP 151.9K

42.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 €9.49

$9.50 COP 30.7K

11.47%

Cappuccino

$1.76 €1.58

$3.01 COP 9,735

-41.53%

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

$2.96 €2.65

$1.80 COP 5,809

64.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.21

$1.41 COP 4,561

-4.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 €4.64

$3.18 COP 10.3K

62.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 €3.95

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-23.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.13

$1.51 COP 4,876

-16.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 €2.04

$2.38 COP 7,678

-4.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.95 €2.64

$1.77 COP 5,720

66.67%

Eggs

$3.71 €3.32

$2.89 COP 9,333

28.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.40 €12.90

$10.19 COP 32.9K

41.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 €7.98

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-9.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.24 €19.04

$13.99 COP 45.2K

51.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 €2.74

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-23.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.17 €1.94

$1.55 COP 5,012

40.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 €1.73

$2.18 COP 7,048

-11.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.83 €4.33

$2.18 COP 7,051

121.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.66

$1.96 COP 6,337

-5.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 €1.62

$1.59 COP 5,132

13.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.15 COP 3,699

27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 €0.32

$1.24 COP 4,014

-71.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.74 €6.04

$3.96 COP 12.8K

70.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.62 €5.94

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-51.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.66 COP 5,359

21.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 €2.27

$2.26 COP 7,291

11.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.90 €1.71

$1.17 COP 3,771

62.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.48 €34.48

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-50.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$14.64 €13.12

$1.27 COP 4,094

1052.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 €1.49

$2.05 COP 6,612

-19.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.62 €26.54

$8.55 COP 27.6K

246.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.35 COP 4,349

47.41%

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

$36.5K €32.7K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

7.26%

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

$35.9K €32.2K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

3.55%

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

$190 €170

$170 COP 547.8K

12.08%

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

$7.66 €6.86

$13.55 COP 43.8K

-43.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.66 €24.79

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-1.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.3 €59.4

$43.70 COP 141.1K

51.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.85 €22.27

$17.19 COP 55.5K

44.56%

Cinema Ticket

$9.10 €8.15

$6.91 COP 22.3K

31.69%

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

$687 €615

$797 COP 2.6M

-13.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K €9,185

$9,112 COP 29.4M

12.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.2 €78.2

$84.7 COP 273.5K

2.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.14 €39.56

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-23.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 €73.8

$135 COP 435.8K

-38.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 €100

$97.9 COP 316.0K

14.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 €371

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-65.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 €331

$642 COP 2.1M

-42.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 €607

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-66.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$562 €503

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-44.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,598 €1,432

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-61.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$850 €762

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-55.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,819 €1,630

$657 COP 2.1M

176.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

10.94

-66.64%

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

Last update for Biella: 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

Biella

$370 25.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 73.6% $272

Groceries & Markets

Biella

$321 22.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 7.6% $24

Eating Out

Biella

$238 16.4%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 28.8% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Biella

$225 15.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 6.3% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Biella

$146 10.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 15.4% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Biella

$84 5.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 31.9% $27

Getting Around

Biella

$69 4.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 35.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $414 in Biella and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Biella pays about 2.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67 in Biella vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Biella

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

09:57 9:57 AM

03:57 3:57 AM

6 h behind Biella

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,740

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Biella Medellin 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Biella
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

Biella vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,455 in Biella and $1,639 in Medellin, so Biella is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Biella is about 2.8 times higher, 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: $414 in Biella versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $687 in Biella versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Biella gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.