Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bilbao and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,166 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,166

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,166 in Bilbao versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Bilbao $2,166
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,118 in Bilbao versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Bilbao $3,118
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,069 in Bilbao versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Bilbao $4,069
Medellin $3,186

Living in Bilbao is roughly 32% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bilbao 59% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.64 €20.27

$8.09 COP 26.1K

179.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.0 €65.4

$47.05 COP 151.7K

55.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.47 €11.17

$9.50 COP 30.6K

31.26%

Cappuccino

$2.67 €2.39

$3.01 COP 9,722

-11.30%

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

$3.12 €2.79

$1.80 COP 5,801

73.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.41 COP 4,554

35.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.96

$3.18 COP 10.2K

3.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.96

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-42.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.51 COP 4,869

-13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 €1.48

$2.38 COP 7,667

-30.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.38

$1.77 COP 5,712

-12.99%

Eggs

$3.31 €2.97

$2.89 COP 9,320

14.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.55 €13.93

$10.19 COP 32.9K

52.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.97 €7.14

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-19.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.56 €13.04

$13.99 COP 45.1K

4.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 €2.47

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-30.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.55 COP 5,005

34.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 €2.28

$2.18 COP 7,039

16.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.65 €2.38

$2.18 COP 7,041

21.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.96 COP 6,328

-16.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.43 €2.18

$1.59 COP 5,125

52.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.15 COP 3,694

11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.24 COP 4,009

-25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.57 €5.89

$3.96 COP 12.8K

65.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.59 €6.80

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-44.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.66 COP 5,352

-9.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.32

$2.26 COP 7,281

14.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.95 €1.75

$1.17 COP 3,766

66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.7 €45.41

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-34.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.37 €4.81

$1.27 COP 4,089

322.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 €0.92

$2.05 COP 6,603

-49.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 €28.94

$8.55 COP 27.6K

278.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.64

$1.35 COP 4,343

35.56%

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

$33.3K €29.8K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-2.29%

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

$32.3K €28.9K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-6.93%

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

$145 €130

$170 COP 547.0K

-14.59%

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

$19.91 €17.83

$13.55 COP 43.7K

46.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.47 €26.40

$28.07 COP 90.5K

4.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 €45.51

$43.70 COP 140.9K

16.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.21 €13.62

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-11.52%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 €9.11

$6.91 COP 22.3K

47.32%

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

$534 €478

$797 COP 2.6M

-32.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K €10.5K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

28.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 €93.7

$84.7 COP 273.2K

23.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.56 €32.74

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-36.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.0 €68.1

$135 COP 435.2K

-43.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 €128

$97.9 COP 315.6K

46.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,366 €1,224

$1,208 COP 3.9M

13.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,093 €979

$642 COP 2.1M

70.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,008 €1,798

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-0.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,559 €1,397

$1,012 COP 3.3M

54.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,880 €5,266

$4,170 COP 13.4M

40.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,707 €3,320

$1,910 COP 6.2M

94.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,346 €2,101

$657 COP 2.1M

257.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

10.94

-72.76%

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

Last update for Bilbao: 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

Bilbao

$1.1K 50.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 41.3% $451

Eating Out

Bilbao

$294 13.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 42.3% $124

Groceries & Markets

Bilbao

$283 13.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 5% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bilbao

$194 9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 8.7% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Bilbao

$162 7.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 4.2% $6.8

Sport & Entertainment

Bilbao

$71 3.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 19.2% $14

Getting Around

Bilbao

$69 3.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 35.5% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,366 in Bilbao and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $73 in Bilbao vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $283 vs $297, with Bilbao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

23:26 11:26 PM

6 h behind Bilbao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,096

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 = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bilbao Medellin 8,130 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bilbao
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

Bilbao vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,166 in Bilbao and $1,639 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bilbao is about 3.6 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: $1,366 in Bilbao versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $534 in Bilbao versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bilbao pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin 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.

It comes down to priorities – Medellin wins on affordability, Bilbao on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.