Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Antofagasta

For one person, living is cheaper in Antofagasta: $888 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Antofagasta
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Antofagasta Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Antofagasta

🇨🇱 Chile

$888

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Antofagasta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $888 in Antofagasta.

Medellin $1,614
Antofagasta $888

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,416 in Antofagasta.

Medellin $2,402
Antofagasta $1,416

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $1,944 in Antofagasta.

Medellin $3,190
Antofagasta $1,944

Living in Medellin is roughly 82% more expensive than in Antofagasta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Antofagasta is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$7.05 CLP 6,935

12.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$35.93 CLP 35.4K

28.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$7.29 CLP 7,179

30.32%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$2.57 CLP 2,528

21.01%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.28 CLP 1,264

42.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.88 CLP 862

56.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.51 CLP 1,488

101.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$1.79 CLP 1,765

207.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.07 CLP 1,054

35.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.86 CLP 1,834

26.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.22 CLP 1,199

37.70%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.59 CLP 2,553

10.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$9.02 CLP 8,878

12.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$3.31 CLP 3,260

187.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$7.72 CLP 7,599

81.87%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$2.03 CLP 1,996

100.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$2.26 CLP 2,223

-33.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$2.85 CLP 2,809

-23.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.10 CLP 1,081

110.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$0.88 CLP 864

119.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.78 CLP 772

110.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.30 CLP 1,283

-13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$1.12 CLP 1,102

11.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$5.29 CLP 5,209

-24.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$5.13 CLP 5,048

160.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.35 CLP 1,328

25.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.01 CLP 992

134.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.62 CLP 613

95.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$2.63 CLP 2,584

-49.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.34 CLP 1,318

-2.99%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$17.5K CLP 17.2M

102.33%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$46.23 CLP 45.5K

272.25%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$9.82 CLP 9,669

36.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$12.54 CLP 12.3K

129.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$41.34 CLP 40.7K

9.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$25.15 CLP 24.8K

-32.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$5.17 CLP 5,086

21.47%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$255 CLP 250.6K

202.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$3,160 CLP 3.1M

185.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$39.01 CLP 38.4K

121.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$15.18 CLP 14.9K

276.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$58.3 CLP 57.4K

134.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$67.7 CLP 66.6K

44.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$437 CLP 430.0K

141.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$359 CLP 352.9K

71.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$811 CLP 798.7K

133.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$659 CLP 648.9K

55.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$711 CLP 700.2K

-8.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Antofagasta: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Antofagasta

$359 40.4% 41.8% $257

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Antofagasta

$194 21.8% 34.2% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Antofagasta

$69 7.7% 68% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Antofagasta

$81 9.1% 52.3% $89

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Antofagasta

$129 14.5% 23.5% $40

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Antofagasta

$5.1 * 0.6% 94.5% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Antofagasta

$52 5.8% 10.6% $6.1

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $437 in Antofagasta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Antofagasta pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $36.00 in Antofagasta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $194 per month, with Antofagasta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇱 Antofagasta

🕒 Local time

15:30 3:30 PM

17:30 5:30 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

348,517

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Antofagasta 3,370 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Antofagasta

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 Antofagasta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Antofagasta wins on cost – living expenses run 82% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Antofagasta the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 9% lower in Antofagasta. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $437 in Antofagasta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $255 in Antofagasta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antofagasta – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $888 in Antofagasta versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Antofagasta but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Antofagasta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Antofagasta delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $888 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Antofagasta hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Antofagasta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.