Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Craiova and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,217 in Craiova versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Craiova $1,217
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,869 in Craiova versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Craiova $1,869
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,520 in Craiova versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Craiova $2,520
Medellin $3,186

Living in Craiova costs roughly 26% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Craiova is 11% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.14 RON 34.11

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-11.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.37 RON 198

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-12.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.45 RON 35.60

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-21.58%

Cappuccino

$2.71 RON 12.96

$3.01 COP 9,722

-9.97%

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

$2.23 RON 10.63

$1.80 COP 5,801

23.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 RON 8.45

$1.41 COP 4,554

25.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 RON 10.70

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-29.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 RON 16.78

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-38.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 RON 6.08

$1.51 COP 4,869

-15.89%

White Bread (500g)

$0.82 RON 3.92

$2.38 COP 7,667

-65.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 RON 6.76

$1.77 COP 5,712

-19.77%

Eggs

$3.26 RON 15.56

$2.89 COP 9,320

12.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.21 RON 34.47

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-29.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.47 RON 30.92

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-34.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 RON 54.9

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-17.87%

Apples (1kg)

$0.95 RON 4.53

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-76.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 RON 7.15

$1.55 COP 5,005

-3.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 RON 6.93

$2.18 COP 7,039

-33.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 RON 8.61

$2.18 COP 7,041

-17.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.65

$1.96 COP 6,328

-61.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 RON 4.27

$1.59 COP 5,125

-44.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 RON 3.50

$1.15 COP 3,694

-36.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 RON 3.66

$1.24 COP 4,009

-37.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.59 RON 31.47

$3.96 COP 12.8K

66.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.34 RON 30.29

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-53.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 RON 5.75

$1.66 COP 5,352

-27.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 RON 6.99

$2.26 COP 7,281

-35.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 RON 4.19

$1.17 COP 3,766

-24.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.16 RON 120

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-67.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 RON 2.93

$1.27 COP 4,089

-51.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$2.05 COP 6,603

-68.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.37 RON 30.46

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-25.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RON 9.10

$1.35 COP 4,343

40.74%

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

$28.9K RON 138.0K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-15.24%

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

$25.8K RON 123.5K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-25.48%

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

$216 RON 1,034

$170 COP 547.0K

27.59%

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

$9.24 RON 44.18

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-31.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.57 RON 55.3

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-58.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.59 RON 184

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-11.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.52 RON 103

$17.19 COP 55.4K

25.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.28 RON 34.77

$6.91 COP 22.3K

5.35%

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

$411 RON 1,962

$797 COP 2.6M

-48.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,047 RON 38.5K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-11.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.9 RON 301

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-25.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 RON 242

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-12.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 RON 396

$135 COP 435.2K

-38.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 RON 494

$97.9 COP 315.6K

5.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 RON 2,541

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-55.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 RON 2,000

$642 COP 2.1M

-34.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$910 RON 4,346

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-55.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$829 RON 3,961

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-18.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 RON 12.9K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-35.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,988 RON 9,498

$1,910 COP 6.2M

4.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 RON 4,368

$657 COP 2.1M

39.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.84

10.94

-37.48%

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

Last update for Craiova: 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

Craiova

$418 34.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 53.3% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Craiova

$237 19.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 11% $26

Groceries & Markets

Craiova

$194 16%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 52.8% $103

Eating Out

Craiova

$146 12%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 16% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Craiova

$135 11.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 25.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Craiova

$53 4.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 8.2% $4.4

Getting Around

Craiova

$33 2.7%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 188% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $532 in Craiova and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Craiova pays 39% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41 in Craiova vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $297 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Craiova

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

05:17 5:17 AM

7 h behind Craiova

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

269,506

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Craiova Medellin 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Craiova
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

Craiova vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Craiova wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Craiova the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 39% higher in Craiova, 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: $532 in Craiova versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,217 per month in Craiova versus $1,639 in Medellin – Craiova is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Craiova runs roughly 67% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Craiova is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Craiova gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.