Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Acapulco

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $848 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$848

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Acapulco

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Medellin and in Acapulco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $848 in Acapulco, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Acapulco $848

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,418 in Acapulco, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Acapulco $1,418

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,989 in Acapulco, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Acapulco $1,989

Medellin costs about 100% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Acapulco is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$9.20 MX$171

-9.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$37.33 MX$695

24.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$11.65 MX$217

-18.71%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$3.74 MX$69.6

-16.31%

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

$1.77 COP 5,727

$1.53 MX$28.53

15.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,619

$1.65 MX$30.65

-13.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.91 MX$54.2

8.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$4.94 MX$92.0

15.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,969

$1.56 MX$29.07

-1.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,429

$2.86 MX$53.3

-19.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,306

$1.64 MX$30.50

18.29%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,942

$1.83 MX$34.03

67.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$6.60 MX$123

51.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$8.26 MX$154

26.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$10.93 MX$203

27.72%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$4.55 MX$84.7

-10.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,956

$1.64 MX$30.58

-6.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,823

$3.18 MX$59.2

-33.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,437

$3.04 MX$56.5

-24.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,839

$3.34 MX$62.2

-36.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,542

$2.93 MX$54.4

-41.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,794

$1.23 MX$22.94

-4.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,123

$0.82 MX$15.33

92.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$8.31 MX$155

-52.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.5K

$6.39 MX$119

119.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,712

$1.10 MX$20.44

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,793

$2.77 MX$51.5

-2.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

$0.85 MX$15.83

38.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,859

$4.96 MX$92.4

-63.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,904

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,135

$1.45 MX$27.03

-11.72%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$21.2K MX$394.6K

62.42%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$23.9K MX$445.2K

42.68%

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

$178 COP 576.3K

$39.02 MX$726

355.48%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$14.93 MX$278

-6.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$21.05 MX$392

46.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$18.69 MX$348

124.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$13.62 MX$254

23.35%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$3.82 MX$71.0

95.55%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$163 MX$3,042

383.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 279.9K

$65.6 MX$1,222

31.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$43.81 MX$815

35.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.6K

$107 MX$1,994

29.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.4K

$81.2 MX$1,510

21.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$512 MX$9,526

161.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$146 MX$2,724

355.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$944 MX$17.6K

109.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$325 MX$6,040

218.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$447 MX$8,325

44.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.6

-5.69%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Acapulco: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Acapulco

$146 17.3% 78.1% $521

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Acapulco

$267 31.5% 13.1% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Acapulco

$75 8.9% 66.3% $147

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Acapulco

$191 22.5% 10.4% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Acapulco

$134 15.8% 22.2% $38

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1% 91% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Acapulco

$26 3.1% 53.7% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $512 in Acapulco. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 44% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $37 in Acapulco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $267 – making Acapulco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🕒 Local time

16:42 4:42 PM

15:42 3:42 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

658,609

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.95 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Acapulco 2,890 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Acapulco

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

Medellin vs Acapulco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 100% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,272 in Acapulco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acapulco, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $512 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $848 in Acapulco. That makes Acapulco about 50% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $163 in Acapulco. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,692 in Medellin and $848 in Acapulco. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Acapulco – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Acapulco. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.