Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cahul and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $627 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$627

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $627 in Cahul versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cahul $627
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $917 in Cahul versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cahul $917
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,207 in Cahul versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cahul $1,207
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cahul costs roughly 62% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cahul is 54% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.19 MDL 146

$8.09 COP 26.1K

1.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.41 MDL 417

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-50.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.36 MDL 185

$9.50 COP 30.6K

9.05%

Cappuccino

$1.69 MDL 30.11

$3.01 COP 9,722

-43.85%

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

$1.11 MDL 19.82

$1.80 COP 5,801

-38.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 MDL 9.53

$1.41 COP 4,554

-62.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 MDL 35.81

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-36.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 MDL 31.45

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-69.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 MDL 21.36

$1.51 COP 4,869

-20.53%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 MDL 8.72

$2.38 COP 7,667

-79.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 MDL 28.45

$1.77 COP 5,712

-9.60%

Eggs

$2.24 MDL 39.89

$2.89 COP 9,320

-22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.51 MDL 116

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-36.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.54 MDL 80.9

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-54.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.17 MDL 110

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-55.90%

Apples (1kg)

$0.98 MDL 17.39

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-75.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 MDL 39.09

$1.55 COP 5,005

41.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 MDL 32.25

$2.18 COP 7,039

-16.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 MDL 42.33

$2.18 COP 7,041

8.72%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 MDL 13.54

$1.96 COP 6,328

-61.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.52 MDL 9.22

$1.59 COP 5,125

-67.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 MDL 7.74

$1.15 COP 3,694

-62.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MDL 9.50

$1.24 COP 4,009

-57.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.39 MDL 60.5

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-14.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.38 MDL 78.1

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-67.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 MDL 25.19

$1.66 COP 5,352

-15.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 MDL 35.06

$2.26 COP 7,281

-12.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 MDL 4.81

$1.17 COP 3,766

-76.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 MDL 51.1

$1.27 COP 4,089

125.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 MDL 4.27

$2.05 COP 6,603

-88.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 MDL 97.0

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-36.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MDL 27.74

$1.35 COP 4,343

15.56%

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

$33.3K MDL 593.4K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-2.30%

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

$24.4K MDL 435.5K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-29.55%

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

$221 MDL 3,948

$170 COP 547.0K

30.53%

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

$7.65 MDL 136

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-43.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.03 MDL 197

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-60.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 MDL 136

$6.91 COP 22.3K

10.27%

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

$110 MDL 1,964

$797 COP 2.6M

-86.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,249 MDL 93.6K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-42.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.08 MDL 804

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-46.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.4 MDL 1,005

$135 COP 435.2K

-58.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.0 MDL 909

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-47.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$507 MDL 9,048

$657 COP 2.1M

-22.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-26.87%

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

Last update for Cahul: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cahul

$240 38.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 12% $29

Groceries & Markets

Cahul

$161 25.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 84.2% $136

Eating Out

Cahul

$137 21.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 23.8% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Cahul

$69 * 10.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 146% $100

Sport & Entertainment

Cahul

$15 * 2.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 278% $42

Getting Around

Cahul

$5.1 * 0.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 1720% $88

Accommodation & Living

Cahul

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Medellin pays 29% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $23 in Cahul vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $161 vs $297 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Cahul

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:47 2:47 AM

19:47 7:47 PM

7 h behind Cahul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,500

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.61 USD

100 MDL = 5.02 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 17.83 MDL (100 MDL = 5.61 USD). 1 EUR = 19.91 MDL (100 MDL = 5.02 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 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 MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cahul Medellin 10,560 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cahul
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

Cahul vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Cahul. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 84% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $627 per month in Cahul versus $1,639 in Medellin – Cahul is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $627 in Cahul versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul 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.

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