Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cosenza and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cosenza: $1,413 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

68

Cost of Living Index in Cosenza
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Cosenza Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cosenza

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,413

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,413 in Cosenza versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cosenza $1,413
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,170 in Cosenza versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cosenza $2,170
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,928 in Cosenza versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cosenza $2,928
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cosenza costs roughly 14% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cosenza 4% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.02 €15.26

$8.09 COP 25.3K

110.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.4 €49.65

$47.05 COP 147.2K

17.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.01 €9.88

$9.50 COP 29.7K

15.89%

Cappuccino

$1.76 €1.58

$3.01 COP 9,433

-41.53%

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

$2.47 €2.22

$1.80 COP 5,629

37.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 €1.03

$1.41 COP 4,419

-18.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.66 €5.08

$3.18 COP 9,935

77.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 €3.89

$5.75 COP 18.0K

-24.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 €1.01

$1.51 COP 4,724

-25.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.67

$2.38 COP 7,439

-21.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 €2.29

$1.77 COP 5,542

44.07%

Eggs

$3.33 €2.99

$2.89 COP 9,043

15.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.59 €11.29

$10.19 COP 31.9K

23.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.02 €9.88

$9.87 COP 30.9K

11.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.50 €13.90

$13.99 COP 43.8K

10.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.49 €2.23

$3.97 COP 12.4K

-37.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 €1.83

$1.55 COP 4,856

31.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 €2.01

$2.18 COP 6,829

2.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 €2.92

$2.18 COP 6,832

49.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 €1.19

$1.96 COP 6,140

-32.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.59 COP 4,973

12.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 €1.28

$1.15 COP 3,584

24.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 €0.39

$1.24 COP 3,889

-64.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 €5.95

$3.96 COP 12.4K

67.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 €5.69

$13.68 COP 42.8K

-53.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.66 COP 5,193

10.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 €2.68

$2.26 COP 7,064

32.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.30 €1.17

$1.17 COP 3,654

11.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.81 €27.64

$77.4 COP 242.1K

-60.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.58 €4.11

$1.27 COP 3,967

260.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 €1.09

$2.05 COP 6,406

-40.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.65 €20.32

$8.55 COP 26.8K

164.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.80

$1.35 COP 4,214

48.15%

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

$30.3K €27.2K

$34.1K COP 106.6M

-10.98%

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

$30.3K €27.2K

$34.7K COP 108.5M

-12.69%

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

$201 €181

$170 COP 530.8K

18.69%

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

$9.08 €8.14

$13.55 COP 42.4K

-32.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.07 €27.87

$28.07 COP 87.8K

10.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.72 €41.01

$43.70 COP 136.7K

4.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.65 €14.94

$17.19 COP 53.8K

-3.14%

Cinema Ticket

$8.19 €7.35

$6.91 COP 21.6K

18.52%

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

$285 €256

$797 COP 2.5M

-64.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,777 €2,491

$9,112 COP 28.5M

-69.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.1 €75.5

$84.7 COP 265.0K

-0.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.22 €36.08

$58.0 COP 181.3K

-30.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.7

$135 COP 422.2K

-24.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 €103

$97.9 COP 306.2K

17.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 €448

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-58.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$378 €339

$642 COP 2.0M

-41.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$931 €835

$2,028 COP 6.3M

-54.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$653 €585

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-35.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,752 €1,572

$4,170 COP 13.0M

-57.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,301 €1,167

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-31.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,506 €1,351

$657 COP 2.1M

129.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.08

10.94

-71.85%

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

Last update for Cosenza: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cosenza

$378 26.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 69.8% $264

Groceries & Markets

Cosenza

$289 20.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 2.7% $7.9

Eating Out

Cosenza

$242 17.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 29.8% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cosenza

$242 17.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 12.5% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Cosenza

$154 10.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 9.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cosenza

$62 4.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 7.4% $4.6

Getting Around

Cosenza

$47 3.3%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 100% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $500 in Cosenza and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cosenza pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55 in Cosenza vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $289 vs $297, with Cosenza cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cosenza

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

19:16 7:16 PM

6 h behind Cosenza

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

63,693

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

10,000 COP = 3.2 USD

10,000 COP = 2.87 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 = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,129 COP (10,000 COP = 3.2 USD). 1 EUR = 3,488 COP (10,000 COP = 2.87 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cosenza Medellin 9,730 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cosenza
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

Cosenza vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cosenza and Medellin differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($1,413 vs $1,639 including rent). Cosenza is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Cosenza is about 2.3 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: $500 in Cosenza versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $285 in Cosenza 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 3% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Cosenza 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.