Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Amarante

For one person, living is cheaper in Amarante: $1,433 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. The total is higher in Medellin despite lower rent and utilities.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Amarante
Learn more

Amarante Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Amarante

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,433

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Amarante

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,433 in Amarante.

Medellin $1,639
Amarante $1,433

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,008 in Amarante.

Medellin $2,413
Amarante $2,008

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,583 in Amarante.

Medellin $3,186
Amarante $2,583

Living in Medellin is roughly 14% more expensive than in Amarante, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Amarante 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$6.18 €5.53

30.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$22.03 €19.73

113.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$6.09 €5.45

55.99%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$0.88 €0.78

242.05%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.54 €1.38

16.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$1.42 €1.27

-0.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.21 €1.08

162.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$1.44 €1.29

299.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.13 €1.01

33.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$0.68 €0.61

250.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.25 €1.12

41.60%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$2.83 €2.54

2.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$13.30 €11.92

-23.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$2.54 €2.27

288.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$3.06 €2.74

357.19%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.60 €1.43

148.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.40 €1.26

10.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.79 €1.60

21.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$2.46 €2.20

-11.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$1.75 €1.57

12.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$2.10 €1.88

-24.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$1.19 €1.07

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$1.08 €0.97

14.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$6.52 €5.84

-39.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$4.59 €4.11

198.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.33 €1.19

24.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$3.21 €2.87

-29.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$2.38 €2.13

-50.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$39.60 €35.47

95.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$1.23 €1.10

3.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$1.24 €1.11

65.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$20.83 €18.66

-58.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$2.16 €1.93

-37.50%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$13.3K €11.9K

155.59%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$26.3K €23.6K

31.64%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$105 €94.3

61.11%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$17.58 €15.74

-22.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$43.83 €39.25

-35.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$38.01 €34.04

14.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$18.77 €16.81

-8.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$8.96 €8.03

-22.88%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$445 €398

79.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$6,423 €5,752

41.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$65.9 €59.0

28.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$33.42 €29.93

73.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$67.8 €60.7

99.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$76.9 €68.9

27.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$931 €834

29.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$763 €684

-15.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,614 €1,445

25.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,182 €1,059

-14.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$2,884 €2,583

44.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,168 €1,941

-11.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$988 €885

-33.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.7

195.68%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Amarante: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Amarante

$763 53.3% 19% $122

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Amarante

$182 12.7% 38.9% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Amarante

$167 11.6% 21.1% $45

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Amarante

$99 6.9% 41.7% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Amarante

$110 7.7% 35% $59

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Amarante

$57 4% 39.5% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Amarante

$56 3.9% 2.8% $1.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $931 in Amarante. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Amarante pays 50% 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 $22 in Amarante for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $182 per month, with Amarante cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇹 Amarante

🕒 Local time

16:13 4:13 PM

21:13 9:13 PM

5 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

52,119

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Amarante 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Amarante

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 Amarante: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,433 in Amarante, so Amarante is about 13% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 34% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $931 in Amarante. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $445 in Amarante. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Amarante gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Amarante gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.