Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cascais and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,351 in Cascais, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Cascais
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Cascais Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cascais

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,351

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,351 in Cascais versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cascais $2,351
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,777 in Cascais versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cascais $3,777
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,204 in Cascais versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cascais $5,204
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cascais is roughly 43% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cascais 73% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.86 €14.21

$8.09 COP 25.6K

96.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.62 €39.99

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-5.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.49 €8.50

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-0.11%

Cappuccino

$2.69 €2.41

$3.01 COP 9,540

-10.63%

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

$2.16 €1.94

$1.80 COP 5,693

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.41 COP 4,469

56.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.96

$3.18 COP 10.0K

3.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.49 €4.92

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-4.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.51 COP 4,778

-13.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 €2.06

$2.38 COP 7,524

-3.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.77 COP 5,606

-7.34%

Eggs

$3.32 €2.97

$2.89 COP 9,146

14.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.79 €9.67

$10.19 COP 32.2K

5.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.02 €6.29

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-28.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 €13.52

$13.99 COP 44.3K

7.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 €2.54

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-28.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$1.55 COP 4,911

-2.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.28

$2.18 COP 6,907

16.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 €2.01

$2.18 COP 6,910

3.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 €1.40

$1.96 COP 6,210

-20.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 €2.05

$1.59 COP 5,029

44.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 €1.53

$1.15 COP 3,625

48.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 €0.95

$1.24 COP 3,934

-14.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.70 €5.11

$3.96 COP 12.5K

43.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.73 €6.93

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-43.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.14

$1.66 COP 5,252

-23.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 €3.96

$2.26 COP 7,145

95.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.17 COP 3,696

87.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.02 €40.34

$77.4 COP 244.8K

-41.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.21 €1.98

$1.27 COP 4,013

74.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 €1.85

$1.35 COP 4,262

52.59%

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

$34.2K €30.6K

$34.1K COP 107.8M

0.36%

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

$38.0K €34.0K

$34.7K COP 109.7M

9.58%

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

$134 €120

$170 COP 536.8K

-21.28%

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

$24.90 €22.31

$13.55 COP 42.9K

83.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 €50.2

$28.07 COP 88.8K

99.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.84 €38.39

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-1.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.36 €10.18

$17.19 COP 54.4K

-33.92%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 €6.38

$6.91 COP 21.9K

3.04%

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

$839 €752

$797 COP 2.5M

5.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K €16.7K

$9,112 COP 28.8M

104.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.5 €69.4

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-8.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.50 €33.60

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-35.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.9

$135 COP 427.1K

-22.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €122

$97.9 COP 309.7K

39.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 €1,666

$1,208 COP 3.8M

53.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,358 €1,217

$642 COP 2.0M

111.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,213 €3,776

$2,028 COP 6.4M

107.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,032 €2,717

$1,012 COP 3.2M

199.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,644 €6,850

$4,170 COP 13.2M

83.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,128 €4,596

$1,910 COP 6.0M

168.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,246 €2,013

$657 COP 2.1M

241.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

10.94

-66.45%

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

Last update for Cascais: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cascais

$1.4K 57.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 52.8% $716

Groceries & Markets

Cascais

$273 11.6%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 8.9% $24

Eating Out

Cascais

$233 9.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 27.1% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cascais

$214 9.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 1.5% $3.2

Clothing & Footwear

Cascais

$160 6.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 5.5% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cascais

$57 2.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 0.8% $0.5

Getting Around

Cascais

$56 * 2.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 67.1% $38

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 $1,859 in Cascais and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cascais pays about 3.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $45 in Cascais vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $297 per month, with Cascais cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Cascais

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

08:59 8:59 AM

03:59 3:59 AM

5 h behind Cascais

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

214,158

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cascais Medellin 7,510 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cascais
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

Cascais vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is about 30% cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Cascais is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $1,859 in Cascais versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cascais pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Cascais – a meal for two runs $45 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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