Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cham and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $3,575 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $23,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

172

Cost of Living Index in Cham
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Cham Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,575

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,575 in Cham versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cham $3,575
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,453 in Cham versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cham $5,453
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,331 in Cham versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cham $7,331
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cham is roughly 118% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cham 163% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.74 CHF 24.64

$8.09 COP 25.3K

267.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$122 CHF 101

$47.05 COP 147.2K

158.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.93 CHF 14.86

$9.50 COP 29.7K

88.74%

Cappuccino

$5.82 CHF 4.82

$3.01 COP 9,433

93.36%

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

$5.32 CHF 4.41

$1.80 COP 5,629

195.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.87 CHF 4.03

$1.41 COP 4,419

245.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.45 CHF 7.00

$3.18 COP 9,935

165.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 CHF 5.41

$5.75 COP 18.0K

13.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.76

$1.51 COP 4,724

41.06%

White Bread (500g)

$3.76 CHF 3.12

$2.38 COP 7,439

57.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.62 CHF 3.00

$1.77 COP 5,542

104.52%

Eggs

$7.27 CHF 6.02

$2.89 COP 9,043

151.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.38 CHF 21.86

$10.19 COP 31.9K

158.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.65 CHF 23.74

$9.87 COP 30.9K

190.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.06 CHF 34.86

$13.99 COP 43.8K

200.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.91 CHF 3.24

$3.97 COP 12.4K

-1.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 CHF 1.78

$1.55 COP 4,856

38.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.10 CHF 2.57

$2.18 COP 6,829

42.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.58 CHF 3.79

$2.18 COP 6,832

110.09%

Potato (1kg)

$2.25 CHF 1.87

$1.96 COP 6,140

14.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 CHF 1.86

$1.59 COP 4,973

40.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.39 CHF 1.98

$1.15 COP 3,584

107.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 CHF 0.92

$1.24 COP 3,889

-10.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.02 CHF 9.14

$3.96 COP 12.4K

178.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.08 CHF 10.01

$13.68 COP 42.8K

-11.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 CHF 2.33

$1.66 COP 5,193

69.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 CHF 2.57

$2.26 COP 7,064

37.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.13 CHF 4.25

$1.17 COP 3,654

338.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$146 CHF 121

$77.4 COP 242.1K

88.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.44 CHF 3.68

$1.27 COP 3,967

249.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.96 CHF 2.45

$2.05 COP 6,406

44.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$59.7 CHF 49.44

$8.55 COP 26.8K

597.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.82

$1.35 COP 4,214

62.22%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.9K

$34.1K COP 106.6M

16.46%

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

$39.9K CHF 33.1K

$34.7K COP 108.5M

15.12%

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

$286 CHF 237

$170 COP 530.8K

68.58%

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

$29.15 CHF 24.16

$13.55 COP 42.4K

115.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.45

$28.07 COP 87.8K

95.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.3 CHF 70.6

$43.70 COP 136.7K

95.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.01 CHF 33.16

$17.19 COP 53.8K

132.75%

Cinema Ticket

$22.10 CHF 18.32

$6.91 COP 21.6K

219.83%

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

$1,488 CHF 1,233

$797 COP 2.5M

86.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K CHF 20.5K

$9,112 COP 28.5M

171.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$137 CHF 114

$84.7 COP 265.0K

61.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 CHF 44.71

$58.0 COP 181.3K

-6.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$157 CHF 130

$135 COP 422.2K

16.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$249 CHF 206

$97.9 COP 306.2K

153.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,780 CHF 1,475

$1,208 COP 3.8M

47.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,566 CHF 1,298

$642 COP 2.0M

144.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,896 CHF 2,400

$2,028 COP 6.3M

42.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,704 CHF 2,241

$1,012 COP 3.2M

167.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.0K CHF 10.8K

$4,170 COP 13.0M

212.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.7K CHF 9,719

$1,910 COP 6.0M

513.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.03

10.94

-81.44%

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

Last update for Cham: 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

Cham

$1.6K 43.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 59% $925

Groceries & Markets

Cham

$597 16.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 50.3% $300

Eating Out

Cham

$458 12.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 62.9% $288

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cham

$370 10.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 42.9% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Cham

$268 7.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 37.1% $100

Getting Around

Cham

$186 5.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 49.7% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cham

$129 3.6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 55.6% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,780 in Cham and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $122 in Cham vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $597 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Cham

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

06:03 6:03 AM

6 h behind Cham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,060

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.2 USD

10,000 COP = 2.87 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.829 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.922 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,129 COP (10,000 COP = 3.2 USD). 1 EUR = 3,482 COP (10,000 COP = 2.87 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cham Medellin 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cham
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

Cham vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 118% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $5,362 in Cham and $2,459 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: $1,780 in Cham versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,488 in Cham versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in Cham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $3,575 in Cham, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Cham. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.