Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kaohsiung and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,105 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,105 in Kaohsiung versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Kaohsiung $1,105
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,796 in Kaohsiung versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Kaohsiung $1,796
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,487 in Kaohsiung versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Kaohsiung $2,487
Medellin $3,186

Living in Kaohsiung costs roughly 33% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kaohsiung is 19% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.74 NT$155

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-41.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.77 NT$1,003

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-34.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.60 NT$150

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-51.58%

Cappuccino

$2.93 NT$95.4

$3.01 COP 9,735

-2.66%

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

$1.05 NT$34.21

$1.80 COP 5,809

-41.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 NT$22.61

$1.41 COP 4,561

-51.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 NT$49.24

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-52.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 NT$78.1

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-58.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.16 NT$103

$1.51 COP 4,876

109.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.18 NT$71.1

$2.38 COP 7,678

-8.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.87 NT$93.5

$1.77 COP 5,720

62.15%

Eggs

$2.54 NT$82.9

$2.89 COP 9,333

-12.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.21 NT$496

$10.19 COP 32.9K

49.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 NT$262

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-18.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 NT$481

$13.99 COP 45.2K

5.58%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 NT$209

$3.97 COP 12.8K

61.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.79 NT$90.9

$1.55 COP 5,012

80.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 NT$78.8

$2.18 COP 7,048

11.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.6

$2.18 COP 7,051

38.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 NT$87.4

$1.96 COP 6,337

36.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 NT$64.4

$1.59 COP 5,132

23.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 NT$74.9

$1.15 COP 3,699

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 NT$33.12

$1.24 COP 4,014

-17.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.24 NT$138

$3.96 COP 12.8K

7.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.44 NT$503

$13.68 COP 44.2K

12.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 NT$52.5

$1.66 COP 5,359

-3.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 NT$68.0

$2.26 COP 7,291

-7.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 NT$20.35

$1.17 COP 3,771

-47.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.04 NT$393

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-84.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 NT$86.0

$1.27 COP 4,094

107.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 NT$25.48

$2.05 COP 6,612

-61.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.68 NT$185

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-33.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 NT$31.78

$1.35 COP 4,349

-28.15%

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

$37.1K NT$1.2M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

9.03%

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

$22.7K NT$739.4K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-34.59%

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

$82.1 NT$2,676

$170 COP 547.8K

-51.62%

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

$16.89 NT$551

$13.55 COP 43.8K

24.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.27 NT$824

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-9.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.20 NT$1,278

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-10.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.12 NT$330

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-41.13%

Cinema Ticket

$10.11 NT$330

$6.91 COP 22.3K

46.31%

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

$448 NT$14.6K

$797 COP 2.6M

-43.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K NT$445.8K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

50.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 NT$2,935

$84.7 COP 273.5K

6.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.24 NT$1,019

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-46.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.0 NT$2,805

$135 COP 435.8K

-36.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 NT$3,239

$97.9 COP 316.0K

1.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$430 NT$14.0K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-64.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$301 NT$9,806

$642 COP 2.1M

-53.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 NT$32.1K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-51.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$681 NT$22.2K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-32.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,146 NT$135.2K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-0.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,875 NT$93.7K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

50.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,401 NT$45.7K

$657 COP 2.1M

113.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.56

10.94

-76.60%

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

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 16.4% $58

Accommodation & Living

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 113% $341

Clothing & Footwear

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 22.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 70% $87

Eating Out

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 59.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 3.2% $1.9

Getting Around

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 344% $72

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $430 in Kaohsiung and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Kaohsiung vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $355 vs $297, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:32 4:32 PM

03:32 3:32 AM

13 h behind Kaohsiung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,777,873

2,486,723

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kaohsiung Medellin 16,370 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Kaohsiung
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

Kaohsiung vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,105 in Kaohsiung and $1,639 in Medellin, so Kaohsiung is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kaohsiung is about 2.1 times higher, 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: $430 in Kaohsiung versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $448 in Kaohsiung versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kaohsiung gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.