Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Alcabideche

For one person, living is cheaper in Alcabideche: $1,626 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $790 less a year. The total is higher in Medellin despite lower rent and utilities.

Medellin, Colombia
Alcabideche, Portugal
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,692
/mo nomad
Alcabideche
🇵🇹 Portugal
$1,626
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Alcabideche

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 Alcabideche actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,626 in Alcabideche.

  • Medellin $1,692
  • Alcabideche $1,626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $2,382 in Alcabideche.

  • Medellin $2,471
  • Alcabideche $2,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $3,137 in Alcabideche.

  • Medellin $3,249
  • Alcabideche $3,137

Living in Medellin is roughly 4% more expensive than in Alcabideche, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 25% above, Alcabideche 20% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.34 COP 26.9K
$12.24 €10.94
-31.86%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.53 COP 150.2K
$55.8 €49.89
-16.60%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.47 COP 30.6K
$8.76 €7.83
8.11%
Cappuccino
$3.13 COP 10.1K
$2.54 €2.27
23.23%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.77 COP 5,702
$1.50 €1.34
18.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.42 COP 4,599
$1.21 €1.08
17.36%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.15 COP 10.2K
$2.77 €2.48
13.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.70 COP 18.4K
$3.31 €2.96
72.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.53 COP 4,948
$1.03 €0.92
48.54%
White Bread (500g)
$2.29 COP 7,397
$1.21 €1.08
89.26%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.94 COP 6,279
$1.53 €1.37
26.80%
Eggs
$3.07 COP 9,900
$3.38 €3.02
-9.17%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.99 COP 32.3K
$8.79 €7.86
13.65%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.45 COP 33.7K
$7.56 €6.76
38.23%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.96 COP 45.1K
$14.83 €13.26
-5.87%
Apples (1kg)
$4.05 COP 13.1K
$3.00 €2.68
35.00%
Banana (1kg)
$1.53 COP 4,934
$1.30 €1.17
17.69%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.10 COP 6,794
$1.85 €1.65
13.51%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.29 COP 7,405
$2.28 €2.04
0.44%
Potato (1kg)
$2.11 COP 6,810
$2.05 €1.84
2.93%
Onion (1kg)
$1.71 COP 5,518
$1.63 €1.46
4.91%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.17 COP 3,778
$1.56 €1.39
-25.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.58 COP 5,101
$0.68 €0.60
132.35%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.91 COP 12.6K
$5.80 €5.19
-32.59%
Wine (Bottle)
$14.04 COP 45.3K
$3.29 €2.94
326.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.76 COP 5,688
$0.91 €0.82
93.41%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.71 COP 8,756
$2.43 €2.17
11.52%
🚌 Getting Around
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.18 COP 3,809
$2.28 €2.04
-48.25%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$76.3 COP 246.3K
$40.43 €36.15
88.70%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.81 COP 5,833
$3.70 €3.31
-51.08%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.13 COP 6,874
$0.75 €0.67
184.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.13 COP 26.3K
$16.54 €14.79
-50.85%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.28 COP 4,117
$2.10 €1.87
-39.05%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.4K COP 111.2M
$33.8K €30.2K
2.01%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.1K COP 110.2M
$38.8K €34.7K
-11.96%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$178 COP 573.8K
$101 €90.2
76.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$13.89 COP 44.8K
$20.90 €18.69
-33.54%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.74 COP 99.2K
$34.74 €31.06
-11.51%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.94 COP 135.4K
$39.95 €35.72
4.98%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$16.80 COP 54.2K
$16.87 €15.08
-0.41%
Cinema Ticket
$7.47 COP 24.1K
$7.80 €6.98
-4.23%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$790 COP 2.6M
$590 €528
33.86%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.3K COP 39.7M
$11.2K €10.0K
9.56%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$86.3 COP 278.7K
$115 €103
-24.82%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$59.3 COP 191.3K
$34.16 €30.55
73.48%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$138 COP 446.6K
$83.1 €74.3
66.51%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$98.8 COP 319.0K
$105 €93.7
-5.66%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,341 COP 4.3M
$961 €860
39.49%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$667 COP 2.2M
$787 €704
-15.27%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,976 COP 6.4M
$1,615 €1,444
22.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,033 COP 3.3M
$1,164 €1,040
-11.23%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,098 COP 13.2M
$3,100 €2,772
32.17%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,940 COP 6.3M
$2,343 €2,096
-17.22%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Medellin
Alcabideche
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$646 COP 2.1M
$1,092 €977
-40.83%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.94
3.54
209.04%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Alcabideche: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Medellin
$667
Alcabideche
$787 18% $120
Groceries & Markets
Medellin
$307
Alcabideche
$232 24.5% $75
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Medellin
$222
Alcabideche
$157 29.6% $66
Eating Out
Medellin
$173
Alcabideche
$186 7.8% $13
Clothing & Footwear
Medellin
$172
Alcabideche
$152 12% $21
Getting Around
Medellin
$93
Alcabideche
$57 39% $36
Sport & Entertainment
Medellin
$57
Alcabideche
$56 2.4% $1.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $961 in Alcabideche. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alcabideche pays 69% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $56 in Alcabideche. Groceries flip the comparison at $307 vs $232, with Alcabideche cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇨🇴 Medellin
🇵🇹 Alcabideche
🕒 Local time
17:16 5:16 PM
22:16 10:16 PM
5 h ahead of Medellin
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
2,486,723
44,177
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 0.894 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Medellin Alcabideche 7,520 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Medellin
  • Alcabideche

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 Alcabideche: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Medellin or Alcabideche?
Alcabideche wins on cost – living expenses run 4% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Alcabideche the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Medellin or in Alcabideche?
On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Medellin. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Medellin compared to Alcabideche?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,341 in Medellin versus $961 in Alcabideche. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How much does it cost to live in Medellin compared to Alcabideche?
All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Medellin versus $1,626 in Alcabideche – Alcabideche is about 4% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
How expensive is transport in Medellin compared to Alcabideche?
A monthly transit pass in Alcabideche runs roughly 47% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.
Can you live on $2,000/month in Medellin or in Alcabideche?
Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Alcabideche gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
Which city is better for families?
For families, Alcabideche is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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