Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Castanhal and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Castanhal: $879 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Castanhal
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Castanhal Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Castanhal

🇧🇷 Brazil

$879

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $879 in Castanhal versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Castanhal $879
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,407 in Castanhal versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Castanhal $1,407
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,936 in Castanhal versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Castanhal $1,936
Medellin $3,199

Living in Castanhal costs roughly 46% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Castanhal is 35% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.18 R$31.34

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-25.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.20 R$163

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-31.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.74 R$39.25

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-16.23%

Cappuccino

$2.09 R$10.59

$3.05 COP 9,676

-31.48%

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

$1.34 R$6.79

$1.80 COP 5,707

-25.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.12

$1.38 COP 4,382

-41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 R$10.21

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-37.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 R$14.88

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-47.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 R$5.13

$1.50 COP 4,760

-32.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 R$8.67

$2.37 COP 7,508

-27.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 R$6.60

$1.70 COP 5,377

-23.53%

Eggs

$2.16 R$10.95

$2.96 COP 9,379

-27.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 R$47.34

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-8.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.18 R$21.20

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-57.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.34 R$42.29

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-40.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 R$11.26

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-46.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.43

$1.53 COP 4,839

-16.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.24

$2.22 COP 7,052

-44.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 R$8.14

$2.27 COP 7,194

-29.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.21

$1.99 COP 6,311

-38.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 R$5.69

$1.67 COP 5,285

-32.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 R$4.21

$1.18 COP 3,742

-29.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.11

$1.24 COP 3,919

-34.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.47 R$12.53

$3.87 COP 12.3K

-36.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.14 R$41.24

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-40.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R$6.48

$1.66 COP 5,256

-22.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 R$10.54

$2.40 COP 7,615

-13.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 R$5.08

$1.24 COP 3,944

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.66 R$221

$78.2 COP 248.0K

-44.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 R$6.48

$1.28 COP 4,044

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$2.15 COP 6,803

-57.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 R$40.34

$8.37 COP 26.5K

-4.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 R$6.41

$1.35 COP 4,288

-6.67%

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

$24.0K R$121.8K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-30.87%

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

$33.3K R$168.6K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-4.11%

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

$77.1 R$391

$167 COP 528.4K

-53.72%

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

$12.19 R$61.8

$13.62 COP 43.2K

-10.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.78 R$105

$29.12 COP 92.3K

-28.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.24 R$133

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-41.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.03 R$142

$17.18 COP 54.5K

63.15%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 R$37.38

$6.97 COP 22.1K

5.74%

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

$285 R$1,445

$790 COP 2.5M

-63.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,284 R$36.9K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

-19.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 R$279

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-37.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.8 R$258

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-12.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.3 R$463

$139 COP 440.7K

-34.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.0 R$370

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-26.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 R$1,817

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-65.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 R$1,206

$620 COP 2.0M

-61.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$685 R$3,475

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-63.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 R$2,437

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-52.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,704 R$8,639

$3,988 COP 12.6M

-57.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 R$6,021

$1,702 COP 5.4M

-30.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

0.55%

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

Last update for Castanhal: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Castanhal

$238 27.1%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 160% $382

Groceries & Markets

Castanhal

$192 21.9%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 54.8% $105

Eating Out

Castanhal

$122 13.9%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 39.7% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Castanhal

$122 13.8%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 42.1% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Castanhal

$110 12.5%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 90.2% $99

Getting Around

Castanhal

$54 6.1%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 77.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Castanhal

$41 4.7%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 44% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $358 in Castanhal and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Castanhal vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $298 per month, with Castanhal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Castanhal

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:33 4:33 PM

14:33 2:33 PM

2 h behind Castanhal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

192,256

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Castanhal Medellin 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Castanhal
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

Castanhal vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castanhal wins on cost – living expenses run 85% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Castanhal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,318 in Castanhal and $2,437 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: $358 in Castanhal versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Castanhal – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $879 per month in Castanhal versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 85% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $879 in Castanhal versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Castanhal but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Castanhal the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Castanhal delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $879 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Castanhal hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Castanhal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.