Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Charleroi and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,041 in Charleroi, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Charleroi
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Charleroi Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Charleroi

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,041

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,041 in Charleroi versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Charleroi $2,041
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,937 in Charleroi versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Charleroi $2,937
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,833 in Charleroi versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Charleroi $3,833
Medellin $3,186

Living in Charleroi is roughly 24% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Charleroi 50% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.95 €19.72

$8.09 COP 25.4K

171.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.4 €74.0

$47.05 COP 148.0K

75.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.56 €12.18

$9.50 COP 29.9K

42.74%

Cappuccino

$3.01 €2.70

$3.01 COP 9,485

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

$2.20 €1.98

$1.80 COP 5,660

22.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.95

$1.41 COP 4,443

53.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 €2.97

$3.18 COP 9,990

4.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 €3.69

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-28.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.51 COP 4,751

-21.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.45 €2.20

$2.38 COP 7,480

2.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 €2.00

$1.77 COP 5,573

25.42%

Eggs

$4.00 €3.59

$2.89 COP 9,093

38.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.52 €14.84

$10.19 COP 32.1K

62.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.01 €10.79

$9.87 COP 31.1K

21.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.11 €19.86

$13.99 COP 44.0K

58.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.62 €2.35

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-34.01%

Banana (1kg)

$2.25 €2.03

$1.55 COP 4,883

45.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.40

$2.18 COP 6,867

22.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 €3.06

$2.18 COP 6,870

56.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 €1.86

$1.96 COP 6,174

5.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.03

$1.59 COP 5,000

-28.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.15 COP 3,604

18.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 €0.61

$1.24 COP 3,911

-45.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.74 €11.45

$3.96 COP 12.5K

221.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.75 €7.86

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-36.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$1.66 COP 5,221

4.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 €1.79

$2.26 COP 7,103

-11.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.93 €2.64

$1.17 COP 3,674

150.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.93 €37.67

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-45.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.56 €4.99

$1.27 COP 3,989

337.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 €2.34

$2.05 COP 6,442

26.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$44.93 €40.36

$8.55 COP 26.9K

425.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 €1.64

$1.35 COP 4,237

34.81%

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

$29.7K €26.7K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-12.86%

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

$32.3K €29.0K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-6.85%

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

$208 €187

$170 COP 533.7K

22.67%

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

$21.83 €19.61

$13.55 COP 42.6K

61.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.70 €41.95

$28.07 COP 88.3K

66.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.51 €28.30

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-27.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.27 €25.39

$17.19 COP 54.1K

64.46%

Cinema Ticket

$15.79 €14.19

$6.91 COP 21.7K

128.51%

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

$1,619 €1,455

$797 COP 2.5M

103.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.8K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

80.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 €103

$84.7 COP 266.5K

34.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.0 €47.60

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-8.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 €81.4

$135 COP 424.6K

-32.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.5 €81.3

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-7.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$799 €718

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-33.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$834 €749

$642 COP 2.0M

29.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,043 €937

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-48.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 €945

$1,012 COP 3.2M

4.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,886 €2,593

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-30.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,941 €2,642

$1,910 COP 6.0M

53.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,251 €2,022

$657 COP 2.1M

242.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.53

10.94

-67.73%

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

Last update for Charleroi: 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

Charleroi

$834 40.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 23% $192

Groceries & Markets

Charleroi

$344 16.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 13.6% $47

Eating Out

Charleroi

$295 14.4%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 42.4% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Charleroi

$277 13.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 23.6% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Charleroi

$157 7.7%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 7.8% $12

Getting Around

Charleroi

$72 3.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 29.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Charleroi

$63 3.1%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 8.8% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $799 in Charleroi and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

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

Dining out: $82 in Charleroi vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Charleroi

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

17:57 5:57 PM

6 h behind Charleroi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

202,730

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Charleroi Medellin 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Charleroi
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

Charleroi vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,041 in Charleroi and $1,639 in Medellin, so Medellin is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Charleroi 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: $799 in Charleroi versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Charleroi runs roughly 46% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,619 in Charleroi versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Charleroi on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.