Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Howick and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,081 in Howick versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Howick $1,081
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,676 in Howick versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Howick $1,676
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,271 in Howick versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Howick $2,271
Medellin $3,186

Living in Howick costs roughly 34% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Howick is 21% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.03 R 133

$8.09 COP 25.6K

-0.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.85 R 645

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-17.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.50 R 91.3

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-42.11%

Cappuccino

$2.66 R 44.23

$3.01 COP 9,540

-11.63%

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

$1.09 R 18.19

$1.80 COP 5,693

-39.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.32

$1.41 COP 4,469

-34.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 R 39.69

$3.18 COP 10.0K

-24.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R 41.80

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-56.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.08

$1.51 COP 4,778

-19.87%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.30

$2.38 COP 7,524

-58.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.92

$1.77 COP 5,606

-11.86%

Eggs

$2.34 R 38.88

$2.89 COP 9,146

-19.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 R 137

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-19.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 87.7

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-46.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.20 R 120

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-48.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 R 33.03

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-49.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.24

$1.55 COP 4,911

21.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.86

$2.18 COP 6,907

-11.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.22

$2.18 COP 6,910

-22.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.76

$1.96 COP 6,210

-23.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.33

$1.59 COP 5,029

-8.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 20.17

$1.15 COP 3,625

5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$1.24 COP 3,934

-4.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 R 61.1

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-7.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.84 R 80.4

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-64.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 24.15

$1.66 COP 5,252

-12.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 R 31.23

$2.26 COP 7,145

-16.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.52

$1.17 COP 3,696

31.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R 7.49

$1.27 COP 4,013

-64.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 R 12.41

$2.05 COP 6,480

-63.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.56 R 126

$8.55 COP 27.1K

-11.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.68

$1.35 COP 4,262

1.48%

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

$36.1K R 600.3K

$34.1K COP 107.8M

6.08%

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

$33.1K R 550.2K

$34.7K COP 109.7M

-4.46%

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

$150 R 2,491

$170 COP 536.8K

-11.61%

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

$15.25 R 253

$13.55 COP 42.9K

12.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.18 R 667

$28.07 COP 88.8K

43.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.93 R 530

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-26.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 183

$17.19 COP 54.4K

-36.07%

Cinema Ticket

$7.09 R 118

$6.91 COP 21.9K

2.60%

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

$309 R 5,141

$797 COP 2.5M

-61.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,814 R 129.8K

$9,112 COP 28.8M

-14.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 R 899

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-36.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.61 R 508

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-47.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 R 1,636

$135 COP 427.1K

-27.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 R 1,400

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-13.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,567

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-67.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,078

$642 COP 2.0M

-42.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.2K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-63.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$734 R 12.2K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-27.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 R 14.4K

$4,170 COP 13.2M

-79.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$675 R 11.2K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-64.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

10.94

7.68%

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

Last update for Howick: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Howick

$366 33.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 75.3% $276

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Howick

$205 19%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 2.9% $5.9

Groceries & Markets

Howick

$195 18%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 52.4% $102

Eating Out

Howick

$138 12.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 23.1% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Howick

$120 11.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 40.4% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Howick

$46 4.3%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 24.8% $11

Getting Around

Howick

$10 * 1%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 806% $83

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 $395 in Howick and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Howick vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $195 vs $297 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Howick

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

03:17 3:17 AM

7 h behind Howick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,453

2,486,723

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Howick Medellin 11,880 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Howick
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

Howick vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,621 in Howick and $2,459 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: $395 in Howick versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $309 in Howick versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,081 in Howick versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Howick 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.