Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chapala and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Chapala: $1,067 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Chapala
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Chapala Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Chapala

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,067

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,067 per month in Chapala vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Chapala $1,067
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,595 per month in Chapala vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Chapala $1,595
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,122 per month in Chapala vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Chapala $2,122
Medellin $3,186

Chapala is about 35% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Chapala sits 22% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.52 MX$216

$8.09 COP 26.1K

42.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.67 MX$464

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-47.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.18 MX$135

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-24.42%

Cappuccino

$3.20 MX$60.2

$3.01 COP 9,735

6.31%

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

$1.64 MX$30.82

$1.80 COP 5,809

-8.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.59

$1.41 COP 4,561

-14.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.10 MX$39.53

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-33.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-45.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.42

$1.51 COP 4,876

-3.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$41.52

$2.38 COP 7,678

-7.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.11

$1.77 COP 5,720

-15.25%

Eggs

$2.32 MX$43.69

$2.89 COP 9,333

-19.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 MX$147

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-23.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.35 MX$101

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-45.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 MX$148

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-43.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 MX$42.08

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-43.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 MX$23.39

$1.55 COP 5,012

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 MX$27.33

$2.18 COP 7,048

-33.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.67

$2.18 COP 7,051

-20.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.61

$1.96 COP 6,337

-22.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.69

$1.59 COP 5,132

-13.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 MX$18.44

$1.15 COP 3,699

-14.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.59

$1.24 COP 4,014

-33.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 MX$78.9

$3.96 COP 12.8K

6.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.02 MX$151

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-41.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.39

$1.66 COP 5,359

-50.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 MX$62.9

$2.26 COP 7,291

48.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MX$13.50

$1.17 COP 3,771

-38.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 MX$22.98

$1.27 COP 4,094

-3.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.28 MX$61.7

$2.05 COP 6,612

60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.36 MX$308

$8.55 COP 27.6K

91.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$26.28

$1.35 COP 4,349

3.70%

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

$24.3K MX$456.1K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-28.76%

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

$23.7K MX$446.0K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-31.55%

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

$48.73 MX$916

$170 COP 547.8K

-71.28%

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

$16.52 MX$311

$13.55 COP 43.8K

21.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.05 MX$452

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-14.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.79 MX$447

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-45.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$2.95 MX$55.5

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-57.31%

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

$213 MX$3,996

$797 COP 2.6M

-73.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,826 MX$53.1K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-68.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.9 MX$1,032

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-35.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.31 MX$720

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-33.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.5 MX$948

$135 COP 435.8K

-62.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.79 MX$654

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-64.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$575 MX$10.8K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-52.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 MX$8,646

$642 COP 2.1M

-28.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 MX$19.1K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-49.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 MX$14.4K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-24.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$692 MX$13.0K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-83.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$698 MX$13.1K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-63.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.2

10.94

2.38%

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

Last update for Chapala: 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

Chapala

$460 43.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 39.4% $181

Groceries & Markets

Chapala

$207 19.4%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 43.4% $90

Eating Out

Chapala

$180 16.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 5.9% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chapala

$89 8.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 137% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Chapala

$80 7.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 110% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Chapala

$30 2.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 93.8% $28

Getting Around

Chapala

$21 * 1.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 356% $73

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $575 in Chapala 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Chapala versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $207 vs $297 – making Chapala the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Chapala

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

03:02 3:02 AM

1 h ahead of Chapala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,596

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.32 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.79 MXN (100 MXN = 5.32 USD). 1 EUR = 20.97 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chapala Medellin 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Chapala
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

Chapala vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 54% more than Chapala, 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 $1,601 per month in Chapala 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 Chapala, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $575 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Chapala and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,067 in Chapala 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. Chapala costs $1,067 versus $1,639 in Medellin. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.