Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Araras

For one person, living is cheaper in Araras: $831 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Araras
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Araras Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Araras

🇧🇷 Brazil

$831

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Araras

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $831 in Araras, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Araras $831

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,358 in Araras, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Araras $1,358

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,884 in Araras, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Araras $1,884

Medellin costs about 104% more than Araras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Araras is 39% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$5.27 R$28.94

58.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$36.99 R$203

25.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$8.21 R$45.06

15.35%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$2.05 R$11.26

52.68%

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

$1.77 COP 5,728

$1.58 R$8.66

12.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,620

$1.13 R$6.20

25.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.19 R$12.00

43.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$4.02 R$22.04

41.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,971

$0.95 R$5.23

61.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,431

$1.50 R$8.23

52.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,308

$0.72 R$3.95

169.44%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,945

$1.89 R$10.38

62.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$8.57 R$47.02

16.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$4.11 R$22.55

154.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$9.99 R$54.8

39.74%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.25 R$12.34

80.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,957

$1.17 R$6.40

30.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,825

$0.70 R$3.86

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,439

$1.77 R$9.69

29.38%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,841

$0.75 R$4.12

181.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,543

$0.68 R$3.72

151.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,795

$0.90 R$4.95

30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,125

$0.45 R$2.48

251.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$2.54 R$13.95

53.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.6K

$8.16 R$44.76

72.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,714

$0.62 R$3.42

183.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,796

$2.18 R$11.95

24.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,826

$0.93 R$5.12

26.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$42.62 R$234

79.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,860

$1.20 R$6.61

50.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,906

$1.29 R$7.06

65.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$9.00 R$49.38

-9.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,136

$0.97 R$5.33

31.96%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$22.2K R$121.8K

55.17%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$29.9K R$163.9K

14.27%

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

$178 COP 576.4K

$37.59 R$206

372.81%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$13.23 R$72.6

4.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$17.24 R$94.6

78.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$42.43 R$233

-1.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$26.25 R$144

-36.00%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$5.56 R$30.49

34.35%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$414 R$2,270

91.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$7,046 R$38.7K

74.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 280.0K

$51.0 R$280

69.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$55.8 R$306

6.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.7K

$89.2 R$490

55.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.5K

$80.0 R$439

23.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$213 R$1,171

528.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$233 R$1,276

186.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$644 R$3,534

206.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$451 R$2,473

129.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$1,560 R$8,564

162.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,139 R$6,253

70.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.12

-1.62%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Araras: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Araras

$233 28% 65.1% $435

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Araras

$177 21.4% 42.3% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Araras

$68 8.2% 69.4% $154

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Araras

$121 14.6% 29.8% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Araras

$124 15% 27.9% $48

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Araras

$54 6.5% 42.2% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Araras

$54 6.4% 5.9% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $213 in Araras. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $37 in Araras. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $177 – making Araras the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇷 Araras

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

03:29 3:29 AM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

130,866

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.14 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Araras 4,420 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Araras

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 Araras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 104% more than Araras, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,247 in Araras. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Araras, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $213 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Araras. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $414 in Araras. 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 $831 in Araras. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

For expats, Araras is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 51% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.