Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Besancon

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,614 a month against $1,755 in Besancon, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
86

Cost of Living Index in Besancon
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Besancon Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Besancon

🇫🇷 France

$1,755

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Besancon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,755 in Besancon.

Medellin $1,614
Besancon $1,755

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $2,536 in Besancon.

Medellin $2,402
Besancon $2,536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $3,318 in Besancon.

Medellin $3,190
Besancon $3,318

Living in Medellin costs roughly 8% less than in Besancon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Besancon 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.3K

$16.69 €14.89

-52.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 147.3K

$55.2 €49.19

-16.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.3K

$10.94 €9.76

-13.16%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,933

$3.03 €2.71

2.64%

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

$1.83 COP 5,839

$2.36 €2.10

-22.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,389

$1.55 €1.38

-10.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,737

$6.58 €5.87

-53.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.5K

$5.56 €4.96

-1.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,631

$1.28 €1.14

13.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,547

$1.71 €1.52

38.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,365

$2.14 €1.91

-21.50%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,139

$4.41 €3.94

-35.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.5K

$19.97 €17.81

-48.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.4K

$10.95 €9.77

-12.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.8K

$17.89 €15.96

-21.52%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 13.0K

$2.65 €2.36

53.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,774

$2.26 €2.01

-33.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,938

$2.72 €2.43

-20.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,359

$2.46 €2.19

-6.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,155

$2.54 €2.27

-24.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,231

$2.42 €2.16

-32.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,595

$1.43 €1.28

-20.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,981

$1.17 €1.04

6.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.7K

$13.78 €12.29

-71.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.6K

$9.39 €8.37

42.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,420

$4.85 €4.32

-64.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,576

$3.25 €2.90

-27.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,853

$1.68 €1.50

-27.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 244.2K

$44.17 €39.40

73.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,208

$3.04 €2.71

-56.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,820

$2.12 €1.89

0.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 27.0K

$30.05 €26.80

-71.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,142

$2.13 €1.90

-38.97%

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

$28.0K COP 89.3M

$34.4K €30.7K

-18.66%

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

$35.4K COP 113.0M

$34.3K €30.6K

3.31%

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

$172 COP 549.3K

$225 €200

-23.37%

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

$13.37 COP 42.7K

$14.65 €13.07

-8.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.7K

$34.19 €30.50

-15.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 144.4K

$26.44 €23.58

71.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.4K

$19.68 €17.55

-13.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 20.1K

$11.32 €10.10

-44.52%

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

$770 COP 2.5M

$339 €302

127.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.8M

$7,309 €6,520

23.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 275.8K

$99.0 €88.3

-12.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 182.4K

$38.58 €34.41

48.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 435.8K

$93.0 €83.0

46.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 312.5K

$124 €110

-20.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.4M

$635 €566

66.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$590 €527

4.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$991 €884

90.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.3M

$803 €717

27.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 13.0M

$2,822 €2,517

43.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.4M

$2,245 €2,002

-25.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$2,181 €1,945

-70.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.62

202.21%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Besancon: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Besancon

$590 33.6% 4.1% $25

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Besancon

$356 20.3% 20.8% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Besancon

$273 15.6% 27.7% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Besancon

$159 9.1% 6.3% $11

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Besancon

$262 15% 55.8% $94

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Besancon

$65 3.7% 30.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Besancon

$49 2.8% 15.1% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $635 in Besancon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Besancon pays 234% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $55.0 in Besancon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $356 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇫🇷 Besancon

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

00:16 12:16 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

119,198

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.13 USD

10,000 COP = 2.79 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 October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,192 COP (10,000 COP = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 3,579 COP (10,000 COP = 2.79 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Besancon 8,860 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Besancon

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 Besancon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Besancon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 234% lower in Besancon. 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 $635 in Besancon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 73% less than in Besancon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $339 in Besancon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,755 in Besancon, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Besancon. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medellin delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,614 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medellin hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Besancon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Besancon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.