Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Barreiras

For one person, living is cheaper in Barreiras: $849 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Barreiras
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Barreiras Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Barreiras

🇧🇷 Brazil

$849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Barreiras

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $849 in Barreiras.

Medellin $1,639
Barreiras $849

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,293 in Barreiras.

Medellin $2,413
Barreiras $1,293

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,737 in Barreiras.

Medellin $3,186
Barreiras $1,737

Living in Medellin is roughly 93% more expensive than in Barreiras, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Barreiras is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.99 R$27.12

62.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.8K

$28.61 R$156

64.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$8.28 R$45.01

14.73%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,729

$1.86 R$10.09

61.83%

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

$1.80 COP 5,806

$1.34 R$7.30

34.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,558

$0.62 R$3.37

127.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.66 R$9.03

91.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.06 R$16.65

87.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,873

$0.95 R$5.14

58.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,673

$1.40 R$7.61

70.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,716

$1.29 R$7.03

37.21%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,327

$1.94 R$10.54

48.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.57 R$46.61

18.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$4.19 R$22.79

135.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$8.87 R$48.24

57.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.99 R$10.84

99.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,009

$1.23 R$6.66

26.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,044

$1.01 R$5.49

115.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,047

$1.28 R$6.96

70.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,333

$1.19 R$6.48

64.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,129

$1.17 R$6.37

35.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,696

$0.67 R$3.63

71.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,012

$0.80 R$4.36

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$2.37 R$12.88

67.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$7.28 R$39.57

87.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,356

$1.11 R$6.03

49.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,286

$2.06 R$11.20

9.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,769

$1.01 R$5.51

15.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.7K

$47.13 R$256

64.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,092

$1.16 R$6.31

9.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,608

$0.83 R$4.53

146.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$7.02 R$38.17

21.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,346

$1.25 R$6.79

8.00%

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

$34.1K COP 109.9M

$24.2K R$131.3K

41.02%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$31.2K R$169.8K

10.98%

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

$170 COP 547.5K

$68.8 R$374

146.62%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$13.01 R$70.7

4.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$17.85 R$97.0

57.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.0K

$23.91 R$130

82.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$24.78 R$135

-30.63%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.81 R$31.58

18.93%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$241 R$1,308

231.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$6,301 R$34.3K

44.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.4K

$59.3 R$322

42.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.0K

$40.44 R$220

43.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.5K

$76.5 R$416

76.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.8K

$70.9 R$386

37.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$372 R$2,021

224.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$257 R$1,398

149.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$539 R$2,928

276.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$396 R$2,150

155.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$1,627 R$8,844

156.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,048 R$5,697

82.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-0.55%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barreiras: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Barreiras

$257 30.3% 59.9% $384

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Barreiras

$180 21.2% 39.4% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Barreiras

$100 11.7% 52.8% $112

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Barreiras

$109 12.9% 35.5% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Barreiras

$111 13.1% 34.2% $58

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Barreiras

$57 6.7% 39.6% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Barreiras

$36 4.2% 38.3% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $372 in Barreiras. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $29 in Barreiras for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $180 per month, with Barreiras cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇷 Barreiras

🕒 Local time

05:30 5:30 AM

07:30 7:30 AM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

159,734

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 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 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Barreiras 3,960 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Barreiras

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 Barreiras: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barreiras is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,274 in Barreiras to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $372 in Barreiras. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $241 in Barreiras. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $849 in Barreiras versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Barreiras but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Barreiras 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.

Expats usually find Barreiras gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.