Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Calafate and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in El Calafate: $961 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
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El Calafate Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $961 in El Calafate versus $1,614 in Medellin.

El Calafate $961
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,574 in El Calafate versus $2,402 in Medellin.

El Calafate $1,574
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,187 in El Calafate versus $3,190 in Medellin.

El Calafate $2,187
Medellin $3,190

Living in El Calafate costs roughly 40% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: El Calafate is 29% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

$7.93 COP 25.2K

34.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-26.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-6.84%

Cappuccino

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$3.11 COP 9,866

-10.93%

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

$1.64 ARS 2,484

$1.83 COP 5,800

-10.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ARS 2,268

$1.38 COP 4,360

7.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 ARS 3,157

$3.05 COP 9,672

-31.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 ARS 4,452

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-46.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ARS 1,887

$1.45 COP 4,600

-14.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ARS 2,446

$2.36 COP 7,496

-31.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,930

$1.68 COP 5,328

14.88%

Eggs

$2.20 ARS 3,346

$2.86 COP 9,077

-23.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

$10.19 COP 32.3K

0.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.07 ARS 9,209

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-36.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-32.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 ARS 2,963

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-52.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.11 ARS 3,205

$1.50 COP 4,742

40.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 ARS 2,015

$2.17 COP 6,891

-38.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 ARS 3,973

$2.31 COP 7,310

13.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,808

$1.93 COP 6,113

-38.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$1.64 COP 5,196

-26.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 ARS 1,973

$1.13 COP 3,571

15.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 ARS 2,245

$1.25 COP 3,954

18.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 ARS 4,800

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-20.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 ARS 7,536

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-62.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$1.70 COP 5,384

21.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 ARS 4,799

$2.37 COP 7,525

33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 ARS 1,159

$1.21 COP 3,827

-37.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ARS 2,293

$1.32 COP 4,179

14.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 ARS 1,322

$2.14 COP 6,774

-59.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ARS 8,934

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-30.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ARS 1,600

$1.30 COP 4,114

-19.23%

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

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-1.98%

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

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-14.65%

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

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

$172 COP 545.6K

-61.36%

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

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

$13.37 COP 42.4K

26.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-21.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-41.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-20.60%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 ARS 9,617

$6.28 COP 19.9K

0.96%

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

$224 ARS 340.0K

$770 COP 2.4M

-70.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-70.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-15.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

$57.1 COP 181.1K

23.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.7K

$137 COP 432.9K

-16.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 ARS 172.2K

$97.9 COP 310.4K

15.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$342 ARS 518.6K

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-67.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$235 ARS 357.2K

$616 COP 2.0M

-61.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 ARS 1.1M

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-63.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$533 ARS 809.3K

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-47.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-54.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-4.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

58.5

10.94

434.73%

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

Last update for El Calafate: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Calafate

$235 24.5%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 162% $380

Groceries & Markets

El Calafate

$231 24%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 27.5% $64

Eating Out

El Calafate

$174 18.1%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 3.1% $5.4

Clothing & Footwear

El Calafate

$167 17.4%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 1.8% $3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Calafate

$106 11%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 103% $108

Sport & Entertainment

El Calafate

$39 4.1%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 47% $18

Getting Around

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 946% $84

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 $342 in El Calafate and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34.00 in El Calafate vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $231 vs $295 per month, with El Calafate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

2 h behind El Calafate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,844

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

El Calafate Medellin 6,300 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

El Calafate
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

El Calafate vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Calafate and Medellin differ by about 68% in total monthly costs ($961 vs $1,614 including rent). El Calafate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,442 in El Calafate and $2,421 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $342 in El Calafate versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $224 in El Calafate versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Calafate – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $961 in El Calafate versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in El Calafate but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes El Calafate 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 El Calafate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.