Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibarra and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibarra: $664 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Ibarra
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Ibarra Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Ibarra

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$664

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $664 in Ibarra versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Ibarra $664
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,142 in Ibarra versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Ibarra $1,142
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,620 in Ibarra versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Ibarra $1,620
Medellin $3,186

Living in Ibarra costs roughly 60% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ibarra is 51% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.58 $2.58

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-68.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.11 $25.11

$47.05 COP 151.8K

-46.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 $5.60

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-41.05%

Cappuccino

$2.21 $2.21

$3.01 COP 9,729

-26.58%

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

$1.09 $1.09

$1.80 COP 5,806

-39.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 $0.59

$1.41 COP 4,558

-58.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 $1.95

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-38.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 $2.27

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-60.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.51 COP 4,873

-37.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 $0.98

$2.38 COP 7,673

-58.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 $1.48

$1.77 COP 5,716

-16.38%

Eggs

$2.06 $2.06

$2.89 COP 9,327

-28.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.82 $3.82

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-62.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 $5.29

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-46.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 $7.58

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-45.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 $1.97

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-50.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 $1.23

$1.55 COP 5,009

-20.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$2.18 COP 7,044

-39.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.86 $0.86

$2.18 COP 7,047

-60.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$1.96 COP 6,333

-73.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 $1.01

$1.59 COP 5,129

-36.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 $0.70

$1.15 COP 3,696

-39.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.24 COP 4,012

-20.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 $3.04

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-23.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.33 $8.33

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-39.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 $1.59

$1.66 COP 5,356

-4.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 $3.04

$2.26 COP 7,286

34.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 $0.37

$1.17 COP 3,769

-68.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.27 COP 4,092

21.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 $1.48

$2.05 COP 6,608

-27.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.92 $9.92

$8.55 COP 27.6K

16.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 $0.69

$1.35 COP 4,346

-48.89%

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

$23.4K $23.4K

$34.1K COP 109.9M

-31.35%

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

$29.8K $29.8K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-13.98%

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

$28.50 $28.50

$170 COP 547.5K

-83.20%

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

$15.16 $15.16

$13.55 COP 43.7K

11.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.02 $18.02

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-35.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.20 $30.20

$43.70 COP 141.0K

-30.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 $16.73

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-2.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.51 $6.51

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-5.79%

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

$109 $109

$797 COP 2.6M

-86.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,023 $9,023

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-0.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.1 $61.1

$84.7 COP 273.4K

-27.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.30 $44.30

$58.0 COP 187.0K

-23.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.1 $91.1

$135 COP 435.5K

-32.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.1 $50.1

$97.9 COP 315.8K

-48.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$228 $228

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-81.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$183 $183

$642 COP 2.1M

-71.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$810 $810

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-60.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$501 $501

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-50.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$761 $761

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-81.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$610 $610

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-68.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$604 $604

$657 COP 2.1M

-8.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

10.94

-7.50%

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

Last update for Ibarra: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ibarra

$183 27.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 250% $458

Groceries & Markets

Ibarra

$170 25.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 75.1% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Ibarra

$111 16.7%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 52.3% $58

Eating Out

Ibarra

$85 12.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 99.7% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibarra

$62 9.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 243% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Ibarra

$43 6.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 33.1% $14

Getting Around

Ibarra

$10 * 1.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 797% $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 $228 in Ibarra and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 9% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $25 in Ibarra vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $170 vs $297 per month, with Ibarra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Ibarra

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

04:53 4:53 AM

Same time as Ibarra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

108,666

2,486,723

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.893 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ibarra Medellin 710 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ibarra
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

Ibarra vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibarra wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ibarra the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Ibarra. 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: $228 in Ibarra versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $109 in Ibarra 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 Ibarra – a meal for two runs $25 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $664 in Ibarra versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Ibarra but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Ibarra 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.

It comes down to priorities – Ibarra wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.