Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mandaue and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Mandaue: $820 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Mandaue
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Mandaue Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Mandaue

🇵🇭 Philippines

$820

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $820 in Mandaue versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Mandaue $820
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,198 in Mandaue versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Mandaue $1,198
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,575 in Mandaue versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Mandaue $1,575
Medellin $3,186

Living in Mandaue costs roughly 50% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mandaue is 40% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.97 ₱253

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-50.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.32 ₱1,486

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-50.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.94 ₱251

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-58.53%

Cappuccino

$2.49 ₱159

$3.01 COP 9,735

-17.28%

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

$0.68 ₱43.10

$1.80 COP 5,809

-62.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ₱29.30

$1.41 COP 4,561

-67.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.74 ₱111

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-45.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ₱136

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-62.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 ₱117

$1.51 COP 4,876

21.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 ₱74.3

$2.38 COP 7,678

-50.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ₱62.0

$1.77 COP 5,720

-45.20%

Eggs

$1.92 ₱123

$2.89 COP 9,333

-33.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.72 ₱619

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-4.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 ₱287

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-54.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.27 ₱463

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-48.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 ₱207

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-18.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 ₱83.1

$1.55 COP 5,012

-16.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱148

$2.18 COP 7,048

6.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 ₱95.9

$2.18 COP 7,051

-30.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.37 ₱151

$1.96 COP 6,337

20.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 ₱117

$1.59 COP 5,132

15.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₱70.2

$1.15 COP 3,699

-4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ₱38.06

$1.24 COP 4,014

-51.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.33 ₱148

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-41.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 ₱397

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-54.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ₱80.0

$1.66 COP 5,359

-24.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 ₱105

$2.26 COP 7,291

-26.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 ₱14.59

$1.17 COP 3,771

-80.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.58 ₱865

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-82.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 ₱48.00

$1.27 COP 4,094

-40.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 ₱14.03

$2.05 COP 6,612

-89.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.89 ₱120

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-77.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ₱86.0

$1.35 COP 4,349

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

$21.3K ₱1.4M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-37.36%

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

$18.9K ₱1.2M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-45.47%

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

$96.8 ₱6,163

$170 COP 547.8K

-42.96%

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

$15.75 ₱1,003

$13.55 COP 43.8K

16.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.65 ₱1,761

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-1.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.29 ₱1,993

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-28.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.53 ₱289

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-73.65%

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ₱348

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-20.98%

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

$131 ₱8,370

$797 COP 2.6M

-83.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,875 ₱501.6K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-13.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.04 ₱2,041

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-62.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.82 ₱1,198

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-67.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.8 ₱4,765

$135 COP 435.8K

-44.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.1 ₱3,639

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-41.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$426 ₱27.2K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-64.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 ₱15.8K

$642 COP 2.1M

-61.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$730 ₱46.5K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-63.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 ₱22.2K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-65.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,283 ₱145.4K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-45.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,272 ₱81.0K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-33.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$231 ₱14.7K

$657 COP 2.1M

-64.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

10.94

-34.19%

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

Last update for Mandaue: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mandaue

$248 30.2%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 159% $394

Groceries & Markets

Mandaue

$200 24.4%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 48.2% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mandaue

$140 17.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 50.7% $71

Eating Out

Mandaue

$91 11.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 86.4% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Mandaue

$82 10%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 105% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Mandaue

$42 5.1%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 36.3% $15

Getting Around

Mandaue

$16 2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 472% $77

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $426 in Mandaue and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Mandaue vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $200 vs $297 per month, with Mandaue cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Mandaue

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

23:03 11:03 PM

13 h behind Mandaue

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

364,116

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.69 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.12 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mandaue Medellin 17,170 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Mandaue
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

Mandaue vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mandaue wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Mandaue the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Mandaue. 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: $426 in Mandaue versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mandaue – a meal for two runs $23 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $820 per month in Mandaue versus $1,639 in Medellin – Mandaue is about 50% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Mandaue is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Mandaue gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.