Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iquique and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $1,009 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,009

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Iquique $1,009
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,595 in Iquique versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Iquique $1,595
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,181 in Iquique versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Iquique $2,181
Medellin $3,199

Living in Iquique costs roughly 38% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Iquique is 26% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.52 CLP 7,405

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-9.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.89 CLP 40.3K

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-12.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 CLP 6,979

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-23.27%

Cappuccino

$3.45 CLP 3,400

$3.05 COP 9,676

13.11%

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

$1.24 CLP 1,219

$1.80 COP 5,707

-31.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 CLP 1,002

$1.38 COP 4,382

-26.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 CLP 3,141

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-1.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 CLP 3,562

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-34.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 CLP 1,102

$1.50 COP 4,760

-25.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 CLP 1,148

$2.37 COP 7,508

-50.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.30 CLP 1,275

$1.70 COP 5,377

-23.53%

Eggs

$2.97 CLP 2,928

$2.96 COP 9,379

0.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.38 CLP 10.2K

$10.22 COP 32.4K

1.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.13 CLP 9,973

$9.74 COP 30.9K

4.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 CLP 2,263

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-44.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 CLP 2,205

$1.53 COP 4,839

46.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 CLP 1,466

$2.22 COP 7,052

-32.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 CLP 1,071

$2.27 COP 7,194

-51.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 CLP 722

$1.99 COP 6,311

-63.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 CLP 574

$1.67 COP 5,285

-65.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 CLP 1,030

$1.18 COP 3,742

-11.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CLP 1,328

$1.24 COP 3,919

8.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.01 CLP 6,904

$3.87 COP 12.3K

81.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.60 CLP 7,477

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-44.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 CLP 793

$2.40 COP 7,615

-66.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 CLP 666

$1.24 COP 3,944

-45.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 CLP 1,419

$1.35 COP 4,288

6.67%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

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

$85.7 CLP 84.4K

$167 COP 528.4K

-48.58%

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

$15.04 CLP 14.8K

$13.62 COP 43.2K

10.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.18 CLP 22.8K

$29.12 COP 92.3K

-20.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 CLP 49.3K

$45.09 COP 143.0K

11.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.87 CLP 6,764

$6.97 COP 22.1K

-1.43%

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

$251 CLP 247.1K

$790 COP 2.5M

-68.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.07 CLP 29.6K

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-65.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.86 CLP 22.5K

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-60.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.02 CLP 44.3K

$139 COP 440.7K

-67.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.8 CLP 56.9K

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-41.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$413 CLP 406.6K

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-59.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 CLP 388.3K

$620 COP 2.0M

-36.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 CLP 679.5K

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-63.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 CLP 769.1K

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-22.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,709 CLP 1.7M

$3,988 COP 12.6M

-57.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 CLP 1.9M

$1,702 COP 5.4M

11.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$934 CLP 919.7K

$663 COP 2.1M

40.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

10.94

-31.44%

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

Last update for Iquique: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iquique

$394 39.1%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 57.1% $225

Groceries & Markets

Iquique

$199 * 19.7%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 50% $99

Eating Out

Iquique

$155 15.4%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 10.1% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iquique

$124 12.3%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 69% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Iquique

$70 7%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 147% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Iquique

$64 6.3%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 7.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Iquique

$2.7 * 0.3%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 3413% $92

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 $413 in Iquique and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 41% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41.00 in Iquique vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $298 per month, with Iquique cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Iquique

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

07:50 7:50 AM

05:50 5:50 AM

2 h behind Iquique

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,003

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 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 CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Iquique Medellin 3,000 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Iquique
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

Iquique vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iquique and Medellin differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,009 vs $1,625 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 41% higher in Iquique, 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: $413 in Iquique versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,009 per month in Iquique versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 61% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique 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 Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.