Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Criciuma and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Criciuma: $711 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Criciuma
Learn more

Criciuma Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Criciuma

🇧🇷 Brazil

$711

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $711 in Criciuma versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Criciuma $711
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,060 in Criciuma versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Criciuma $1,060
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,410 in Criciuma versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Criciuma $1,410
Medellin $3,249

Living in Criciuma costs roughly 58% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Criciuma is 47% below, Medellin is 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.38 R$29.53

$8.34 COP 27.0K

-35.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.36 R$112

$46.53 COP 150.9K

-56.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.48 R$30.07

$9.47 COP 30.7K

-42.13%

Cappuccino

$1.23 R$6.75

$3.13 COP 10.2K

-60.70%

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

$1.04 R$5.71

$1.77 COP 5,728

-41.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 R$3.73

$1.42 COP 4,620

-52.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.50 R$8.24

$3.15 COP 10.2K

-52.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 R$10.02

$5.70 COP 18.5K

-67.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 R$4.62

$1.53 COP 4,971

-45.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 R$7.43

$2.29 COP 7,431

-41.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 R$5.61

$1.94 COP 6,308

-47.42%

Eggs

$1.90 R$10.42

$3.07 COP 9,945

-38.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.59 R$41.68

$9.99 COP 32.4K

-24.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.38 R$18.55

$10.45 COP 33.9K

-67.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.00 R$43.88

$13.96 COP 45.3K

-42.69%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 R$10.78

$4.05 COP 13.1K

-51.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 R$5.95

$1.53 COP 4,957

-29.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 R$5.18

$2.10 COP 6,825

-55.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.48 R$8.15

$2.29 COP 7,439

-35.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 R$6.33

$2.11 COP 6,841

-45.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 R$5.66

$1.71 COP 5,543

-39.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 R$4.06

$1.17 COP 3,795

-36.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 R$3.33

$1.58 COP 5,125

-61.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.35 R$12.88

$3.91 COP 12.7K

-39.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.38 R$24.05

$14.04 COP 45.6K

-68.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 R$5.94

$1.76 COP 5,714

-38.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 R$7.32

$2.71 COP 8,796

-50.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.19

$1.18 COP 3,826

-19.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.40 R$200

$76.3 COP 247.4K

-52.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R$2.49

$1.81 COP 5,860

-75.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.72 R$3.97

$2.13 COP 6,906

-66.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 R$12.43

$8.13 COP 26.4K

-72.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R$6.68

$1.28 COP 4,136

-4.69%

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

$21.7K R$119.1K

$34.4K COP 111.7M

-37.01%

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

$28.5K R$156.3K

$34.1K COP 110.7M

-16.54%

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

$66.5 R$365

$178 COP 576.4K

-62.59%

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

$11.38 R$62.5

$13.89 COP 45.0K

-18.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.08 R$110

$30.74 COP 99.7K

-34.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.76 R$147

$41.94 COP 136.0K

-36.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.06 R$203

$16.80 COP 54.5K

120.60%

Cinema Ticket

$6.77 R$37.14

$7.47 COP 24.2K

-9.37%

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

$154 R$846

$790 COP 2.6M

-80.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,747 R$15.1K

$12.3K COP 39.9M

-77.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.99 R$258

$86.3 COP 280.0K

-45.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.95 R$153

$59.3 COP 192.2K

-52.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 R$417

$138 COP 448.7K

-45.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.62 R$223

$98.8 COP 320.5K

-58.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 R$1,216

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-83.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 R$1,054

$667 COP 2.2M

-71.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$378 R$2,075

$1,976 COP 6.4M

-80.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 R$1,362

$1,033 COP 3.3M

-75.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,096 R$6,015

$4,098 COP 13.3M

-73.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$594 R$3,261

$1,940 COP 6.3M

-69.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$288 R$1,580

$646 COP 2.1M

-55.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.74

10.94

-1.83%

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

Last update for Criciuma: November 2, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Criciuma

$192 27%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 247% $475

Groceries & Markets

Criciuma

$157 22.2%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 95.2% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Criciuma

$98 13.8%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 127% $124

Eating Out

Criciuma

$92 13%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 87% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Criciuma

$86 12.1%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 99.9% $86

Getting Around

Criciuma

$44 6.2%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 111% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Criciuma

$40 5.7%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 41.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $222 in Criciuma and $1,341 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.2 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $20 in Criciuma vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $157 vs $307 per month, with Criciuma cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Criciuma

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:35 12:35 AM

22:35 10:35 PM

2 h behind Criciuma

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

214,493

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Criciuma Medellin 4,800 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Criciuma
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

Criciuma vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Criciuma is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 55% lower in Criciuma. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $222 in Criciuma versus $1,341 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Criciuma runs roughly 52% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $154 in Criciuma versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $711 in Criciuma versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Criciuma but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Criciuma 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 Criciuma gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.