Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maracaibo and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracaibo: $784 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Maracaibo
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Maracaibo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Maracaibo

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$784

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $784 in Maracaibo versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Maracaibo $784
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,297 in Maracaibo versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Maracaibo $1,297
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,811 in Maracaibo versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Maracaibo $1,811
Medellin $3,186

Living in Maracaibo costs roughly 52% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Maracaibo is 42% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.33 VES 9,159

$8.09 COP 25.6K

27.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.75 VES 35.2K

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-15.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.77 VES 7,774

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-7.68%

Cappuccino

$2.75 VES 2,441

$3.01 COP 9,540

-8.64%

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

$1.15 VES 1,020

$1.80 COP 5,693

-36.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 VES 1,159

$1.41 COP 4,469

-7.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 VES 1,963

$3.18 COP 10.0K

-30.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 VES 2,728

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-46.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 VES 1,744

$1.51 COP 4,778

30.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.11 VES 1,874

$2.38 COP 7,524

-11.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 VES 953

$1.77 COP 5,606

-39.55%

Eggs

$3.78 VES 3,350

$2.89 COP 9,146

30.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 VES 5,808

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-35.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.38 VES 5,660

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-35.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.37 VES 6,532

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-47.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.82 VES 4,277

$3.97 COP 12.6K

21.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 VES 1,202

$1.55 COP 4,911

-12.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 VES 1,385

$2.18 COP 6,907

-28.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 VES 1,205

$2.18 COP 6,910

-37.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 VES 1,095

$1.96 COP 6,210

-37.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 VES 1,543

$1.59 COP 5,029

9.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 VES 903

$1.15 COP 3,625

-11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 VES 1,757

$1.24 COP 3,934

59.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 VES 2,597

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-26.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.08 VES 8,054

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-33.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 VES 967

$1.66 COP 5,252

-34.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 VES 2,325

$2.26 COP 7,145

15.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 VES 416

$1.17 COP 3,696

-59.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.53 VES 37.7K

$77.4 COP 244.8K

-45.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.08 VES 3,621

$1.27 COP 4,013

221.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 VES 1,729

$2.05 COP 6,480

-4.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.66 VES 15.7K

$8.55 COP 27.1K

106.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.74 VES 657

$1.35 COP 4,262

-45.19%

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

$15.2K VES 13.4M

$34.1K COP 107.8M

-55.52%

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

$27.6K VES 24.5M

$34.7K COP 109.7M

-20.42%

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

$62.5 VES 55.4K

$170 COP 536.8K

-63.18%

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

$7.45 VES 6,604

$13.55 COP 42.9K

-45.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.27 VES 22.4K

$28.07 COP 88.8K

-9.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.17 VES 29.4K

$43.70 COP 138.3K

-24.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.71 VES 25.5K

$17.19 COP 54.4K

67.02%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 VES 4,332

$6.91 COP 21.9K

-29.23%

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

$148 VES 131.0K

$797 COP 2.5M

-81.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,133 VES 6.3M

$9,112 COP 28.8M

-21.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.31 VES 24.2K

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-67.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.34 VES 28.7K

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-44.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.9 VES 54.9K

$135 COP 427.1K

-54.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.7 VES 50.2K

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-42.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$159 VES 141.2K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-86.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$95.2 VES 84.4K

$642 COP 2.0M

-85.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$301 VES 266.8K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-85.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 VES 174.0K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-80.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$765 VES 678.3K

$4,170 COP 13.2M

-81.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$508 VES 450.0K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-73.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 VES 190.8K

$657 COP 2.1M

-67.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

82.82%

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

Last update for Maracaibo: 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

Maracaibo

$243 31%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 22.2% $54

Eating Out

Maracaibo

$169 21.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 0.3% $0.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maracaibo

$95 12.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 122% $116

Accommodation & Living

Maracaibo

$95 12.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 574% $546

Clothing & Footwear

Maracaibo

$80 10.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 111% $89

Getting Around

Maracaibo

$58 7.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 60.6% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Maracaibo

$43 5.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 34% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $159 in Maracaibo and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 3.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $40 in Maracaibo vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $243 vs $297 per month, with Maracaibo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Maracaibo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

04:59 4:59 AM

03:59 3:59 AM

1 h behind Maracaibo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,000,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 887 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 989 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Maracaibo Medellin 650 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Maracaibo
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

Maracaibo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maracaibo is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 67% lower in Maracaibo. 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: $159 in Maracaibo versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $148 in Maracaibo versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $784 in Maracaibo versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maracaibo but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Maracaibo 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 Maracaibo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.