Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,556 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Medellin $3,186

Cape Town is about 5% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Medellin sit above the global median – Cape Town by 14%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$8.09 COP 25.4K

49.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-5.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-35.26%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$3.01 COP 9,485

-21.59%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.80 COP 5,660

-30.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$1.41 COP 4,443

-29.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$3.18 COP 9,990

-3.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-35.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.51 COP 4,751

-11.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$2.38 COP 7,480

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.77 COP 5,573

18.64%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.89 COP 9,093

5.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-14.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-29.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-32.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-52.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.55 COP 4,883

21.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$2.18 COP 6,867

-22.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$2.18 COP 6,870

-6.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.96 COP 6,174

-19.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.59 COP 5,000

-6.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.15 COP 3,604

11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.24 COP 3,911

-4.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-8.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-54.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.66 COP 5,221

-16.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.26 COP 7,103

-3.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$1.17 COP 3,674

17.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-20.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$1.27 COP 3,989

-55.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$2.05 COP 6,442

-27.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-42.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.35 COP 4,237

17.04%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

1.89%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-1.64%

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

$117 R 1,948

$170 COP 533.7K

-31.08%

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

$28.35 R 472

$13.55 COP 42.6K

109.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$28.07 COP 88.3K

44.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$43.70 COP 137.5K

11.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-37.17%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$6.91 COP 21.7K

31.84%

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

$302 R 5,032

$797 COP 2.5M

-62.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-26.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-34.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-43.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$135 COP 424.6K

-12.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$97.9 COP 307.9K

6.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-13.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$642 COP 2.0M

7.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-2.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

37.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-41.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-18.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$657 COP 2.1M

139.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.94

0.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 7.1% $49

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 32.8% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 13.7% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 3.3% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 21.3% $30

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 25.2% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 13.8% $9.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 2.4 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $297 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:13 12:13 AM

17:13 5:13 PM

7 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Medellin 10,770 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
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

Cape Town vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 5% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,041 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Cape Town about 5% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 21% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,639 in Medellin. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,556 versus $1,639 in Medellin. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 5% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.