Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Foshan and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $777 in Foshan versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Foshan $777
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Foshan versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Foshan $1,242
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,708 in Foshan versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Foshan $1,708
Medellin $3,190

Living in Foshan costs roughly 52% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Foshan is 42% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.78 ¥25.26

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-52.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.79 ¥152

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-50.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.19

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-46.21%

Cappuccino

$3.07 ¥20.50

$3.11 COP 9,866

-1.29%

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

$0.52 ¥3.49

$1.83 COP 5,800

-71.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ¥2.09

$1.38 COP 4,360

-77.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ¥8.17

$3.05 COP 9,672

-60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 ¥12.61

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-65.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ¥11.11

$1.45 COP 4,600

14.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ¥7.48

$2.36 COP 7,496

-52.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.16

$1.68 COP 5,328

-45.24%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.38

$2.86 COP 9,077

-40.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.68 ¥112

$10.19 COP 32.3K

63.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.18

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-58.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.69 ¥71.5

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-23.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 ¥20.16

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-26.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 ¥8.51

$1.50 COP 4,742

-15.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 ¥12.69

$2.17 COP 6,891

-12.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 ¥10.91

$2.31 COP 7,310

-29.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 ¥7.27

$1.93 COP 6,113

-43.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.38

$1.64 COP 5,196

-42.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 ¥4.26

$1.13 COP 3,571

-43.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ¥3.36

$1.25 COP 3,954

-60.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.23 ¥14.89

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-44.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.23 ¥68.4

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-23.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$1.70 COP 5,384

-45.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ¥10.13

$2.37 COP 7,525

-36.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$1.21 COP 3,827

-74.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 ¥71.0

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-86.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ¥10.18

$1.32 COP 4,179

15.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.15

$2.14 COP 6,774

-78.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.81 ¥58.9

$8.47 COP 26.8K

4.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.19

$1.30 COP 4,114

-6.15%

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

$21.3K ¥142.3K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-23.96%

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

$16.2K ¥108.3K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-54.27%

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

$84.5 ¥565

$172 COP 545.6K

-50.89%

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

$7.92 ¥53.0

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-40.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.69 ¥105

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-45.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ¥477

$45.24 COP 143.5K

57.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.83 ¥159

$17.04 COP 54.0K

39.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.31 ¥35.50

$6.28 COP 19.9K

-15.45%

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

$457 ¥3,054

$770 COP 2.4M

-40.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K ¥155.8K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

158.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.21 ¥282

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-51.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.76 ¥125

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-67.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.1 ¥415

$137 COP 432.9K

-54.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 ¥614

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-6.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 ¥2,031

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-71.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$159 ¥1,061

$616 COP 2.0M

-74.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 ¥3,982

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-68.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$341 ¥2,279

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-66.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,329 ¥28.9K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

6.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,864 ¥12.5K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

11.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$802 ¥5,362

$652 COP 2.1M

22.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.83

10.94

-64.99%

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

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Foshan

$220 28.4%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 33.7% $74

Accommodation & Living

Foshan

$159 20.4%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 288% $457

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Foshan

$108 13.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 98.1% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Foshan

$97 12.4%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 75.9% $73

Eating Out

Foshan

$96 12.3%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 76.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Foshan

$82 10.6%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 29.5% $24

Getting Around

Foshan

$16 2%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 493% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Foshan and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Foshan pays 23% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $23.00 in Foshan vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $295 per month, with Foshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Foshan

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:26 12:26 PM

23:26 11:26 PM

13 h behind Foshan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,498,863

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Foshan Medellin 16,620 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Foshan
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

Foshan vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 108% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Foshan, 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: $304 in Foshan versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Foshan runs roughly 620% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $457 in Foshan versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $777 in Foshan versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foshan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Foshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Foshan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Foshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.