Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brasov and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasov: $1,310 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Brasov
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Brasov Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

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Brasov

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,310

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,310 in Brasov versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Brasov $1,310
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,115 in Brasov versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Brasov $2,115
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,920 in Brasov versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Brasov $2,920
Medellin $3,190

Living in Brasov costs roughly 19% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brasov is 3% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.91 RON 51.6

$7.93 COP 25.2K

37.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.7 RON 249

$46.13 COP 146.3K

14.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.49 RON 35.42

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-21.16%

Cappuccino

$3.58 RON 16.93

$3.11 COP 9,866

15.11%

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

$2.42 RON 11.43

$1.83 COP 5,800

32.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 RON 10.44

$1.38 COP 4,360

60.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.16 RON 14.97

$3.05 COP 9,672

3.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 RON 15.76

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-39.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 RON 7.21

$1.45 COP 4,600

4.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 RON 6.71

$2.36 COP 7,496

-39.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 RON 8.42

$1.68 COP 5,328

5.95%

Eggs

$3.60 RON 17.01

$2.86 COP 9,077

25.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.75 RON 41.39

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-14.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.95 RON 32.87

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-27.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.48 RON 59.1

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-11.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 RON 7.00

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-63.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 RON 7.30

$1.50 COP 4,742

2.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.68

$2.17 COP 6,891

-25.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.73 RON 12.91

$2.31 COP 7,310

18.18%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.60

$1.93 COP 6,113

-60.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.30

$1.64 COP 5,196

-44.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.90 RON 4.27

$1.13 COP 3,571

-20.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$1.25 COP 3,954

-36.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.97 RON 28.23

$3.99 COP 12.6K

49.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.53 RON 35.63

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-43.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 RON 5.81

$1.70 COP 5,384

-27.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 RON 8.57

$2.37 COP 7,525

-23.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 RON 5.05

$1.21 COP 3,827

-11.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.18 RON 110

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-69.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 RON 2.98

$1.32 COP 4,179

-52.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 RON 2.94

$2.14 COP 6,774

-71.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.56 RON 31.05

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-22.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 RON 9.08

$1.30 COP 4,114

47.69%

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

$28.2K RON 133.3K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

0.67%

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

$26.1K RON 123.6K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-26.25%

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

$179 RON 849

$172 COP 545.6K

4.29%

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

$7.73 RON 36.56

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-42.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.82 RON 41.74

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-69.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.8 RON 269

$45.24 COP 143.5K

25.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.60 RON 64.4

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-20.19%

Cinema Ticket

$9.13 RON 43.19

$6.28 COP 19.9K

45.38%

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

$450 RON 2,131

$770 COP 2.4M

-41.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,955 RON 32.9K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-22.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.1 RON 242

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-40.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 RON 165

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-38.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.3 RON 356

$137 COP 432.9K

-44.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 RON 424

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-8.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$676 RON 3,197

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-35.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$472 RON 2,235

$616 COP 2.0M

-23.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 RON 6,228

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-30.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 RON 4,980

$1,023 COP 3.2M

2.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,079 RON 14.6K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-24.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,386 RON 11.3K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

42.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,102 RON 5,212

$652 COP 2.1M

68.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

10.94

-34.19%

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

Last update for Brasov: 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

Brasov

$472 36.1%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 30.3% $143

Groceries & Markets

Brasov

$228 17.4%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 29.1% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brasov

$196 15%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 9.3% $18

Eating Out

Brasov

$194 14.8%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 13% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Brasov

$113 8.6%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 50.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Brasov

$75 5.7%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 23% $17

Getting Around

Brasov

$31 2.4%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 199% $62

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $676 in Brasov and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brasov pays 69% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53.0 in Brasov vs $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $228 vs $295, with Brasov cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Brasov

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

03:03 3:03 AM

8 h behind Brasov

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

253,200

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

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 RON in detail →

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Between locations

Brasov Medellin 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Brasov vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brasov and Medellin differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,310 vs $1,614 including rent). Brasov is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 69% higher in Brasov, 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: $676 in Brasov versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Brasov – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,310 per month in Brasov versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 23% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,310 in Brasov versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Brasov but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Brasov the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Brasov 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 Brasov gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.