Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Balzers

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $3,201 in Balzers, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Balzers
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Balzers Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Balzers

🇱🇮 Liechtenstein

$3,201

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Balzers

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $3,201 in Balzers.

Medellin $1,639
Balzers $3,201

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $5,015 in Balzers.

Medellin $2,413
Balzers $5,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $6,828 in Balzers.

Medellin $3,186
Balzers $6,828

Living in Medellin costs roughly 49% less than in Balzers, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Balzers 135% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$29.80 CHF 24.57

-72.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$122 CHF 101

-61.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$21.58 CHF 17.80

-55.98%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$5.38 CHF 4.44

-44.05%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$5.97 CHF 4.93

-69.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$5.45 CHF 4.50

-74.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$7.16 CHF 5.91

-55.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$7.46 CHF 6.15

-22.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$2.74 CHF 2.26

-44.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.94 CHF 2.43

-19.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.80 CHF 2.31

-36.79%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$11.95 CHF 9.86

-75.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$25.34 CHF 20.90

-59.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$23.48 CHF 19.37

-57.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$50.6 CHF 41.74

-72.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$3.41 CHF 2.81

16.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$3.64 CHF 3.01

-57.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$4.08 CHF 3.36

-46.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$2.59 CHF 2.14

-15.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$2.35 CHF 1.94

-16.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-25.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$2.06 CHF 1.70

-44.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.66 CHF 1.37

-25.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$12.08 CHF 9.96

-67.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$13.81 CHF 11.39

-0.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$2.02 CHF 1.66

-17.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.71 CHF 1.41

32.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$3.51 CHF 2.89

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$81.1 CHF 66.9

-4.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.74 CHF 1.43

-27.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$5.90 CHF 4.87

-65.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$8.36 CHF 6.89

2.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$2.24 CHF 1.85

-39.73%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$34.1K CHF 28.1K

-0.05%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$32.4K CHF 26.7K

7.03%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$212 CHF 175

-19.87%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$40.00 CHF 32.99

-66.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$71.4 CHF 58.9

-60.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$91.1 CHF 75.2

-52.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$24.38 CHF 20.11

-29.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$24.13 CHF 19.90

-71.36%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$298 CHF 246

167.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$8,878 CHF 7,322

2.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$127 CHF 105

-33.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$50.4 CHF 41.56

15.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$174 CHF 143

-22.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$218 CHF 180

-55.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$987 CHF 814

22.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$1,282 CHF 1,058

-49.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$2,864 CHF 2,362

-29.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$2,315 CHF 1,909

-56.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$16.3K CHF 13.5K

-74.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$5,142 CHF 4,241

-62.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$8,481 CHF 6,995

-92.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.55

44.90%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Balzers: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Balzers

$1.3K 40.1% 99.9% $641

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Balzers

$610 19.1% 105% $313

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Balzers

$323 10.1% 52.9% $112

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Balzers

$464 14.5% 174% $295

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Balzers

$256 8% 51.7% $87

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Balzers

$126 4% 35.1% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Balzers

$139 4.4% 142% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $987 in Balzers. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Balzers pays about 13 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $122 in Balzers for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $610 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇮 Balzers

🕒 Local time

02:15 2:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

4,600

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.825 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.921 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Balzers 9,130 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Balzers: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 92% 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 $987 in Balzers. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 105% higher in Balzers. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $122 in Balzers. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $3,201 in Balzers, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Balzers. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Medellin wins on affordability, Balzers on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.