Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Haikou and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Haikou: $806 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
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Haikou Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $806 in Haikou versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Haikou $806
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,152 in Haikou versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Haikou $1,152
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,497 in Haikou versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Haikou $1,497
Medellin $3,190

Living in Haikou costs roughly 50% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Haikou is 40% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ¥29.45

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-44.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.72 ¥98.4

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-68.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 ¥40.26

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-36.63%

Cappuccino

$2.43 ¥16.25

$3.11 COP 9,866

-21.86%

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

$0.86 ¥5.74

$1.83 COP 5,800

-53.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.34 ¥2.27

$1.38 COP 4,360

-75.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

$3.05 COP 9,672

-50.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.18

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-50.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 ¥14.26

$1.45 COP 4,600

46.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 ¥9.90

$2.36 COP 7,496

-37.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ¥4.40

$1.68 COP 5,328

-60.71%

Eggs

$1.36 ¥9.07

$2.86 COP 9,077

-52.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.92 ¥26.23

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-58.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.42 ¥103

$14.04 COP 44.5K

9.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 ¥11.30

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-58.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.80

$1.50 COP 4,742

-42.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.11 ¥7.40

$2.17 COP 6,891

-48.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 ¥6.24

$2.31 COP 7,310

-59.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

$1.93 COP 6,113

-53.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ¥4.85

$1.64 COP 5,196

-55.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ¥3.12

$1.13 COP 3,571

-58.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.83

$1.25 COP 3,954

-54.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ¥20.68

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-22.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.6

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-34.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.84

$1.70 COP 5,384

-66.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.23

$2.37 COP 7,525

-48.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 ¥6.17

$1.21 COP 3,827

-23.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$53.3 ¥356

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-30.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.19 ¥14.66

$1.32 COP 4,179

65.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$2.14 COP 6,774

-79.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.15

$1.30 COP 4,114

-6.15%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

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

$35.41 ¥237

$172 COP 545.6K

-79.42%

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

$13.21 ¥88.3

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-1.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.38 ¥89.4

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-53.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.67 ¥305

$45.24 COP 143.5K

0.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.33 ¥42.35

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-62.85%

Cinema Ticket

$4.50 ¥30.10

$6.28 COP 19.9K

-28.34%

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

$862 ¥5,762

$770 COP 2.4M

11.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K ¥130.4K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

116.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.00 ¥181

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-68.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 ¥233

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-38.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ¥299

$137 COP 432.9K

-67.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.57 ¥251

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-61.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ¥2,523

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-64.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 ¥1,966

$616 COP 2.0M

-52.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 ¥3,808

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-69.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 ¥2,469

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-63.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,154 ¥21.1K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-22.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,183 ¥14.6K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

30.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$727 ¥4,859

$652 COP 2.1M

11.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.94

-64.81%

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

Last update for Haikou: 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

Haikou

$294 36.5%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 109% $322

Groceries & Markets

Haikou

$169 * 20.9%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 74.8% $126

Eating Out

Haikou

$100 12.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 68% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Haikou

$65 8.1%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 162% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Haikou

$62 7.7%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 246% $152

Getting Around

Haikou

$61 7.6%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 52.2% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Haikou

$55 6.8%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 5.7% $3.1

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 $377 in Haikou and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 11% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $15.00 in Haikou vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $169 vs $295 per month, with Haikou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Haikou

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:21 3:21 PM

02:21 2:21 AM

13 h behind Haikou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,873,358

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 19, 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 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Haikou Medellin 17,020 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Haikou
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

Haikou vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Haikou and Medellin differ by about 100% in total monthly costs ($806 vs $1,614 including rent). Haikou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Haikou, 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: $377 in Haikou versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $806 per month in Haikou versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 100% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Haikou runs roughly 44% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $806 in Haikou versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Haikou but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Haikou 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 Haikou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 100% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.