Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cesis and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesis: $1,102 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Cesis
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Cesis Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cesis

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,102 in Cesis versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Cesis $1,102
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,829 in Cesis versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Cesis $1,829
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,556 in Cesis versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Cesis $2,556
Medellin $3,190

Living in Cesis costs roughly 32% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cesis is 18% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 €14.67

$7.93 COP 25.2K

107.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 €59.5

$46.13 COP 146.3K

44.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.00 €8.01

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-5.26%

Cappuccino

$3.68 €3.28

$3.11 COP 9,866

18.33%

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

$1.62 €1.44

$1.83 COP 5,800

-11.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.38 COP 4,360

-14.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 €5.00

$3.05 COP 9,672

84.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.08 €4.52

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-7.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.45 COP 4,600

-17.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 €1.31

$2.36 COP 7,496

-37.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 €2.21

$1.68 COP 5,328

48.21%

Eggs

$2.73 €2.43

$2.86 COP 9,077

-4.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 €9.48

$10.19 COP 32.3K

4.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.42 €7.49

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-11.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 €11.98

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-4.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-49.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.50 COP 4,742

20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$2.17 COP 6,891

13.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$2.31 COP 7,310

28.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.93 COP 6,113

-57.51%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 €0.80

$1.64 COP 5,196

-45.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.13 COP 3,571

53.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 €0.82

$1.25 COP 3,954

-26.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$3.99 COP 12.6K

70.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.92 €7.05

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-40.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.70 COP 5,384

0.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.80

$2.37 COP 7,525

-14.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 €2.92

$1.32 COP 4,179

148.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 €0.87

$2.14 COP 6,774

-54.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.96 €15.97

$8.47 COP 26.8K

112.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.30 COP 4,114

56.92%

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

$27.3K €24.3K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-2.39%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-14.44%

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

$368 €328

$172 COP 545.6K

114.11%

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

$19.14 €17.02

$13.37 COP 42.4K

43.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.72 €17.54

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-31.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 €10.09

$6.28 COP 19.9K

80.57%

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

$683 €608

$770 COP 2.4M

-11.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.2K €16.2K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

101.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.9 €60.4

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-21.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.0 €45.32

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-10.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 €75.2

$137 COP 432.9K

-38.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €121

$97.9 COP 310.4K

38.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 €252

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-72.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,095 €974

$652 COP 2.1M

67.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

10.94

-56.40%

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

Last update for Cesis: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cesis

$407 37%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 47.4% $193

Groceries & Markets

Cesis

$259 23.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 14% $36

Eating Out

Cesis

$253 22.9%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 33.3% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Cesis

$153 13.9%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 11.3% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cesis

$23 * 2.1%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 155% $35

Getting Around

Cesis

$8.2 * 0.7%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 1045% $85

Accommodation & Living

Cesis

- * 0%

Medellin

$616 38.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Cesis pays 68% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Cesis vs $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $259 vs $295, with Cesis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇻 Cesis

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

22:36 10:36 PM

14:36 2:36 PM

8 h behind Cesis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,673

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cesis Medellin 10,070 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cesis
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

Cesis vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cesis is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 68% higher in Cesis, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $683 in Cesis versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cesis – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,102 in Cesis versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cesis but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cesis the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cesis is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cesis and Medellin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cesis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.