Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuiaba and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuiaba: $1,018 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Cuiaba
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Cuiaba Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cuiaba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,018

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,018 in Cuiaba versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cuiaba $1,018
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,540 in Cuiaba versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cuiaba $1,540
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,062 in Cuiaba versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cuiaba $2,062
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cuiaba costs roughly 38% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cuiaba is 25% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.16 R$27.61

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-36.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.37 R$146

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-41.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 R$40.25

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-20.84%

Cappuccino

$1.71 R$9.16

$3.01 COP 9,485

-43.19%

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

$1.36 R$7.28

$1.80 COP 5,660

-24.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R$3.83

$1.41 COP 4,443

-48.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 R$10.20

$3.18 COP 9,990

-39.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R$13.57

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-55.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R$6.09

$1.51 COP 4,751

-24.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 R$7.99

$2.38 COP 7,480

-37.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 R$9.03

$1.77 COP 5,573

-4.52%

Eggs

$2.95 R$15.78

$2.89 COP 9,093

2.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.16 R$86.5

$10.19 COP 32.1K

58.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.24 R$22.70

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-57.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.25 R$54.8

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-26.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.21 R$11.82

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-44.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.33 R$12.48

$1.55 COP 4,883

50.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 R$12.82

$2.18 COP 6,867

10.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.86 R$15.30

$2.18 COP 6,870

31.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.38 R$12.72

$1.96 COP 6,174

21.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 R$10.55

$1.59 COP 5,000

23.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 R$8.20

$1.15 COP 3,604

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R$7.43

$1.24 COP 3,911

12.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.17 R$11.61

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-45.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.90 R$58.3

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-20.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 R$9.78

$1.66 COP 5,222

10.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 R$15.43

$2.26 COP 7,104

27.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.95 R$5.09

$1.17 COP 3,674

-18.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$35.73 R$191

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-53.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R$6.44

$1.35 COP 4,237

-11.11%

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

$28.1K R$150.1K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-17.66%

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

$31.3K R$167.3K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-9.81%

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

$165 R$881

$170 COP 533.7K

-2.99%

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

$17.94 R$96.0

$13.55 COP 42.6K

32.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.18 R$129

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-13.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.40 R$131

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-44.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.93 R$101

$17.19 COP 54.1K

10.12%

Cinema Ticket

$5.66 R$30.26

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-18.09%

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

$408 R$2,181

$797 COP 2.5M

-48.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,796 R$47.1K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-3.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 R$386

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-14.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.11 R$247

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-20.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 R$754

$135 COP 424.6K

4.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.1 R$343

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-34.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$310 R$1,658

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-74.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$218 R$1,169

$642 COP 2.0M

-65.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$734 R$3,928

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-63.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 R$2,090

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-61.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,266 R$6,772

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-69.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$742 R$3,969

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-61.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$365 R$1,953

$657 COP 2.1M

-44.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.1

10.94

47.17%

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

Last update for Cuiaba: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cuiaba

$265 26%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 12.2% $32

Accommodation & Living

Cuiaba

$218 21.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 194% $423

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuiaba

$207 20.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 2.2% $4.6

Clothing & Footwear

Cuiaba

$146 14.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 16.1% $23

Eating Out

Cuiaba

$107 10.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 58.1% $62

Getting Around

Cuiaba

$40 * 3.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 137% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Cuiaba

$36 3.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 61.1% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $310 in Cuiaba and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 80% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $27 in Cuiaba vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $265 vs $297 per month, with Cuiaba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Cuiaba

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

1 h behind Cuiaba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

650,877

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cuiaba Medellin 3,240 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cuiaba
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

Cuiaba vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuiaba wins on cost – living expenses run 38% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cuiaba the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 44% lower in Cuiaba. 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: $310 in Cuiaba versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuiaba – a meal for two runs $27 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,018 per month in Cuiaba versus $1,639 in Medellin – a 61% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cuiaba 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 Cuiaba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.