Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bogota and Mercedes

For one person, living costs are similar in Bogota and in Mercedes: $1,323 and $1,293 a month, rent and utilities included.

64

Cost of Living Index in Bogota
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Bogota Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Mercedes
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Mercedes Living Index

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Bogota

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,323

/mo nomad

Mercedes

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,293

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bogota and in Mercedes

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bogota and in Mercedes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,323 per month in Bogota vs $1,293 in Mercedes, rent included.

Bogota $1,323
Mercedes $1,293

A couple spends around $2,110 per month in Bogota vs $1,970 in Mercedes, rent included.

Bogota $2,110
Mercedes $1,970

A family of three spends $2,897 per month in Bogota vs $2,647 in Mercedes, rent included.

Bogota $2,897
Mercedes $2,647

Bogota costs about 2% more than Mercedes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bogota and Mercedes are more affordable than the global median – Bogota 2% lower, Mercedes 4% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.65 COP 24.3K

$14.84 UYU 595

-48.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.44 COP 131.4K

$62.3 UYU 2,501

-33.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.38 COP 32.9K

$14.30 UYU 574

-27.41%

Cappuccino

$2.53 COP 8,011

$2.52 UYU 101

0.40%

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

$1.35 COP 4,277

$2.73 UYU 110

-50.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 COP 2,752

$0.93 UYU 37.27

-6.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 COP 6,542

$2.53 UYU 102

-18.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 COP 12.6K

$3.81 UYU 153

4.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 COP 5,240

$1.32 UYU 53.2

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.40 COP 7,618

$2.89 UYU 116

-16.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 COP 5,345

$1.45 UYU 58.4

16.55%

Eggs

$3.54 COP 11.2K

$2.79 UYU 112

26.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.89 COP 25.0K

$13.95 UYU 560

-43.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.30 COP 23.1K

$11.88 UYU 477

-38.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.3K

$7.56 UYU 304

30.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 COP 11.4K

$2.01 UYU 80.7

78.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 COP 5,822

$2.51 UYU 101

-26.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 COP 6,012

$1.09 UYU 43.65

74.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 COP 5,517

$2.95 UYU 119

-41.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.41 COP 4,484

$1.98 UYU 79.4

-28.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 COP 4,332

$2.14 UYU 86.0

-35.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 COP 4,131

$1.34 UYU 54.0

-2.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 COP 3,643

$1.71 UYU 68.8

-32.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.32 COP 13.7K

$5.06 UYU 203

-14.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.76 COP 40.5K

$8.96 UYU 359

42.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 COP 4,542

$2.31 UYU 92.8

-38.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 COP 8,986

$2.77 UYU 111

2.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 COP 3,434

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.8 COP 161.1K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.38 COP 7,550

$1.82 UYU 73.2

30.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.34 COP 7,411

$0.44 UYU 17.54

431.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.20 COP 29.2K

$10.48 UYU 421

-12.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 COP 4,213

$2.22 UYU 89.3

-40.09%

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

$23.5K COP 74.4M

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

-12.29%

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

$35.6K COP 113.0M

$37.1K UYU 1.5M

-3.90%

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

$125 COP 397.8K

$191 UYU 7,680

-34.44%

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

$16.29 COP 51.6K

$21.03 UYU 844

-22.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.21 COP 95.8K

$44.67 UYU 1,793

-32.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.11 COP 108.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.37 COP 48.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 COP 24.8K

$12.15 UYU 488

-35.47%

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

$501 COP 1.6M

$613 UYU 24.6K

-18.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,450 COP 23.6M

$10.9K UYU 435.7K

-31.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.8 COP 262.6K

$104 UYU 4,192

-20.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.40 COP 150.3K

$56.1 UYU 2,250

-15.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$142 COP 449.4K

$125 UYU 5,005

13.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 COP 337.4K

$131 UYU 5,255

-18.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$803 COP 2.5M

$581 UYU 23.3K

38.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$452 COP 1.4M

$296 UYU 11.9K

52.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,244 COP 3.9M

$619 UYU 24.9K

100.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$974 COP 3.1M

$446 UYU 17.9K

118.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,816 COP 8.9M

$3,032 UYU 121.7K

-7.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,354 COP 7.5M

$2,007 UYU 80.5K

17.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$813 COP 2.6M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.81

5.74

123.17%

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

Last update for Bogota: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mercedes: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bogota

$452 34.1%

Mercedes

$296 22.9% 34.6% $156

Groceries & Markets

Bogota

$261 19.7%

Mercedes

$298 23.1% 14.5% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bogota

$172 13%

Mercedes

$257 19.9% 49.5% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Bogota

$170 12.9%

Mercedes

$187 14.5% 10% $17

Eating Out

Bogota

$150 11.3%

Mercedes

$227 17.5% 51.4% $77

Getting Around

Bogota

$69 5.2%

Mercedes

$4 * 0.3% 94.2% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Bogota

$50 3.8%

Mercedes

$24 * 1.9% 51.2% $25

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $803 in Bogota versus $581 in Mercedes. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41.00 in Bogota versus $62.0 in Mercedes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $261 vs $298 – making Bogota the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Bogota

🇺🇾 Mercedes

🕒 Local time

00:39 12:39 AM

02:39 2:39 AM

2 h ahead of Bogota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,181,047 Capital

41,975

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

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).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Bogota Mercedes 4,550 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bogota
Mercedes

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

Bogota vs Mercedes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bogota is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,985 per month in Bogota and $1,940 in Mercedes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mercedes, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41.00 in Bogota and $62.0 in Mercedes. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 14% cheaper in Bogota – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mercedes, where all-in costs run around $1,293, than in Bogota at $1,323. In Mercedes it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bogota it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mercedes – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Mercedes. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bogota makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.