Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cabarete and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cabarete: $1,191 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cabarete
Learn more

Cabarete Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,191

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,191 in Cabarete versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cabarete $1,191
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,800 in Cabarete versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cabarete $1,800
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,409 in Cabarete versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cabarete $2,409
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cabarete costs roughly 27% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.60 DOP 459

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-6.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 DOP 3,024

$47.05 COP 151.7K

6.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.53 DOP 394

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-31.26%

Cappuccino

$2.01 DOP 121

$3.01 COP 9,722

-33.22%

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

$1.06 DOP 63.8

$1.80 COP 5,801

-41.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 DOP 34.95

$1.41 COP 4,554

-58.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 DOP 145

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 DOP 190

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-45.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.40 DOP 84.8

$1.51 COP 4,869

-7.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 DOP 91.6

$2.38 COP 7,667

-36.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 DOP 97.7

$1.77 COP 5,712

-8.47%

Eggs

$2.30 DOP 139

$2.89 COP 9,320

-20.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.10 DOP 429

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-30.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.34 DOP 323

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-45.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.72 DOP 406

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-51.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 DOP 176

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-26.70%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 DOP 47.72

$1.55 COP 5,005

-49.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 DOP 163

$2.18 COP 7,039

23.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 DOP 111

$2.18 COP 7,041

-15.60%

Potato (1kg)

$2.04 DOP 123

$1.96 COP 6,328

4.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.22 DOP 134

$1.59 COP 5,125

39.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 DOP 58.7

$1.15 COP 3,694

-15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 DOP 51.6

$1.24 COP 4,009

-31.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 DOP 248

$3.96 COP 12.8K

3.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.24 DOP 619

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-25.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 DOP 155

$1.66 COP 5,352

54.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 DOP 146

$2.26 COP 7,281

7.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.03 DOP 62.2

$1.17 COP 3,766

-11.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 DOP 200

$1.27 COP 4,089

159.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.24 DOP 135

$2.05 COP 6,603

9.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 DOP 343

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-33.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 DOP 73.9

$1.35 COP 4,343

-9.63%

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

$26.8K DOP 1.6M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-21.28%

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

$33.6K DOP 2.0M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-3.05%

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

$90.2 DOP 5,451

$170 COP 547.0K

-46.83%

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

$31.17 DOP 1,883

$13.55 COP 43.7K

130.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.44 DOP 2,202

$28.07 COP 90.5K

29.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.37 DOP 1,472

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-44.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 DOP 440

$6.91 COP 22.3K

5.50%

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

$246 DOP 14.9K

$797 COP 2.6M

-69.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,266 DOP 439.0K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-20.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.08 DOP 2,724

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-46.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.53 DOP 2,751

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-21.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.5 DOP 5,225

$135 COP 435.2K

-35.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 DOP 7,402

$97.9 COP 315.6K

25.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$713 DOP 43.1K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-40.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 DOP 30.0K

$642 COP 2.1M

-22.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 DOP 73.7K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-39.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$809 DOP 48.8K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-20.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$293 DOP 17.7K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-84.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

10.94

23.95%

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

Last update for Cabarete: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cabarete

$497 41.7%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 29.1% $145

Groceries & Markets

Cabarete

$215 18.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 38% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cabarete

$158 13.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 33.9% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Cabarete

$135 11.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 25.3% $34

Eating Out

Cabarete

$129 10.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 31.2% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Cabarete

$39 3.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 47.7% $19

Getting Around

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 403% $75

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $713 in Cabarete and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50 in Cabarete vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $215 vs $297, with Cabarete cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:24 3:24 PM

14:24 2:24 PM

1 h behind Cabarete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,094

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.48 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 60.42 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.46 DOP (100 DOP = 1.48 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cabarete Medellin 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cabarete
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

Cabarete vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cabarete wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cabarete the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,787 in Cabarete and $2,459 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $713 in Cabarete versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $246 in Cabarete versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $50 in Cabarete. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cabarete is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cabarete delivers better value at $1,191 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cabarete hard to pass up.