Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Best

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,198 in Best, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
106

Cost of Living Index in Best
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Best Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Best

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,198

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Best

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $2,198 in Best, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Best $2,198

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $3,057 in Best, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Best $3,057

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $3,915 in Best, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Best $3,915

Medellin is about 25% cheaper than Best, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Medellin and Best sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Best by 62%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$22.20 €19.92

-63.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.7K

$85.9 €77.1

-45.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.0K

$12.39 €11.12

-23.33%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,532

$3.50 €3.14

-14.00%

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

$1.80 COP 5,688

$3.22 €2.89

-44.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,465

$2.57 €2.31

-45.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$5.68 €5.10

-44.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$4.82 €4.33

19.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,774

$1.12 €1.00

34.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,517

$1.92 €1.72

23.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,601

$2.14 €1.92

-17.29%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,138

$3.18 €2.85

-9.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$11.09 €9.95

-8.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$11.14 €10.00

-11.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.2K

$14.90 €13.37

-6.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$1.96 €1.76

102.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,907

$1.58 €1.42

-1.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,901

$1.72 €1.54

26.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,904

$5.12 €4.60

-57.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,205

$1.15 €1.03

70.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,025

$1.17 €1.05

35.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,622

$1.05 €0.94

9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,930

$0.78 €0.70

58.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$11.25 €10.10

-64.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$5.74 €5.15

138.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,247

$1.43 €1.28

16.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,139

$2.63 €2.36

-14.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,692

$2.49 €2.23

-53.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.6K

$72.7 €65.2

6.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,009

$3.86 €3.47

-67.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,474

$2.84 €2.55

-27.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.0K

$29.53 €26.49

-71.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,258

$2.41 €2.16

-43.98%

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

$34.1K COP 107.7M

$26.5K €23.8K

28.66%

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

$34.7K COP 109.6M

$38.7K €34.7K

-10.47%

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

$170 COP 536.4K

$184 €165

-7.57%

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

$13.55 COP 42.8K

$14.85 €13.33

-8.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.7K

$38.38 €34.44

-26.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.2K

$40.88 €36.68

6.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.3K

$25.29 €22.70

-32.03%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$13.55 €12.16

-49.00%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$1,260 €1,131

-36.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

$5,129 €4,602

77.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 267.8K

$51.1 €45.87

65.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.2K

$33.16 €29.75

74.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 426.7K

$72.5 €65.0

86.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.4K

$57.8 €51.8

69.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,534 €1,376

-21.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,098 €985

-41.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,990 €1,785

1.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,347 €1,209

-24.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$5,622 €5,045

-25.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$4,407 €3,954

-56.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$4,005 €3,593

-83.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.54

209.04%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Best: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Best

$1.1K 50% 71.2% $457

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Best

$280 12.8% 5.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Best

$237 10.8% 12.1% $26

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Best

$318 14.5% 87.5% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Best

$97 4.4% 42.9% $72

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Best

$101 4.6% 7.6% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Best

$68 3.1% 18.2% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,534 in Best. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Best are about 6.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $86 in Best. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $280 in Best – so Best wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇱 Best

🕒 Local time

17:02 5:02 PM

23:02 11:02 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

29,988

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,162 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Best 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Best

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 Best: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Best is pricier by about 34%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $3,298 in Best. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,208 there versus $1,534 in Best.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $2,198 in Best. That makes Medellin about 25% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 6% less in Best. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,639 in Medellin and $2,198 in Best, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Medellin costs $1,639 versus $2,198 in Best. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Best makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.