Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kobe and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kobe: $1,385 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
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Kobe Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,385

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,385 in Kobe versus $1,692 in Medellin.

Kobe $1,385
Medellin $1,692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,047 in Kobe versus $2,471 in Medellin.

Kobe $2,047
Medellin $2,471

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,709 in Kobe versus $3,249 in Medellin.

Kobe $2,709
Medellin $3,249

Living in Kobe costs roughly 18% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kobe 2% above, Medellin 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.54 ¥1,195

$8.34 COP 26.8K

-9.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.03 ¥5,072

$46.53 COP 149.7K

-31.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 ¥788

$9.47 COP 30.5K

-47.41%

Cappuccino

$2.30 ¥365

$3.13 COP 10.1K

-26.52%

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

$1.16 ¥184

$1.77 COP 5,681

-34.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 ¥97.3

$1.42 COP 4,582

-57.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 ¥335

$3.15 COP 10.1K

-32.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ¥362

$5.70 COP 18.3K

-59.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ¥238

$1.53 COP 4,930

-1.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 ¥199

$2.29 COP 7,370

-44.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.12 ¥652

$1.94 COP 6,257

112.37%

Eggs

$2.00 ¥317

$3.07 COP 9,864

-34.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.50 ¥1,980

$9.99 COP 32.1K

25.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.04 ¥1,115

$10.45 COP 33.6K

-32.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 ¥2,687

$13.96 COP 44.9K

21.56%

Apples (1kg)

$5.07 ¥803

$4.05 COP 13.0K

25.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.95 ¥468

$1.53 COP 4,916

92.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.90 ¥775

$2.10 COP 6,769

133.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.94 ¥1,258

$2.29 COP 7,378

246.72%

Potato (1kg)

$2.78 ¥440

$2.11 COP 6,785

31.75%

Onion (1kg)

$3.43 ¥543

$1.71 COP 5,498

100.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ¥178

$1.17 COP 3,764

-3.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥139

$1.58 COP 5,083

-44.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.46 ¥548

$3.91 COP 12.6K

-11.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.30 ¥1,314

$14.04 COP 45.2K

-40.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 ¥323

$1.76 COP 5,667

15.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 ¥231

$2.71 COP 8,724

-46.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.43 ¥227

$1.18 COP 3,795

21.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$64.2 ¥10.2K

$76.3 COP 245.4K

-15.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 ¥500

$1.81 COP 5,812

74.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 ¥435

$2.13 COP 6,849

28.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.15 ¥4,142

$8.13 COP 26.2K

221.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ¥173

$1.28 COP 4,102

-14.84%

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

$20.0K ¥3.2M

$34.4K COP 110.8M

-41.85%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-56.24%

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

$143 ¥22.6K

$178 COP 571.7K

-19.63%

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

$23.85 ¥3,777

$13.89 COP 44.7K

71.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ¥4,989

$30.74 COP 98.9K

2.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.51 ¥7,366

$41.94 COP 134.9K

10.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.92 ¥1,888

$16.80 COP 54.0K

-29.05%

Cinema Ticket

$12.69 ¥2,009

$7.47 COP 24.0K

69.88%

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

$326 ¥51.6K

$790 COP 2.5M

-58.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,254 ¥990.5K

$12.3K COP 39.6M

-49.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.6 ¥11.0K

$86.3 COP 277.7K

-19.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.37 ¥4,018

$59.3 COP 190.6K

-57.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$46.32 ¥7,337

$138 COP 445.0K

-66.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.2 ¥10.5K

$98.8 COP 317.8K

-33.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$697 ¥110.4K

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-48.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$472 ¥74.7K

$667 COP 2.1M

-29.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,066 ¥168.8K

$1,976 COP 6.4M

-46.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$738 ¥116.8K

$1,033 COP 3.3M

-28.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,256 ¥674.1K

$4,098 COP 13.2M

3.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,898 ¥459.1K

$1,940 COP 6.2M

49.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,967 ¥311.5K

$646 COP 2.1M

204.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

10.94

-81.54%

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

Last update for Kobe: October 31, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kobe

$472 34.1%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 41.5% $196

Groceries & Markets

Kobe

$338 24.4%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 9.1% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kobe

$198 14.3%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 12.2% $24

Eating Out

Kobe

$125 9%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 37.9% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Kobe

$93 6.7%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 84.5% $79

Getting Around

Kobe

$87 6.3%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 7.7% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Kobe

$72 5.2%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 20.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $697 in Kobe and $1,341 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Kobe vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $338 vs $307, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Kobe

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

22:04 10:04 PM

14 h behind Kobe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,537,272

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.11 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.62 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,217 COP (10,000 COP = 3.11 USD). 1 EUR = 3,611 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kobe Medellin 14,430 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Kobe
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

Kobe vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kobe wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Kobe the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Kobe is about 3 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: $697 in Kobe versus $1,341 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kobe runs roughly 16% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $326 in Kobe versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Kobe is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kobe delivers better value at $1,385 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kobe hard to pass up.