Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Braganca

For one person, living is cheaper in Braganca: $1,014 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Braganca
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Braganca Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Braganca

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,014

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Braganca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,014 in Braganca.

Medellin $1,639
Braganca $1,014

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,532 in Braganca.

Medellin $2,413
Braganca $1,532

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,049 in Braganca.

Medellin $3,186
Braganca $2,049

Living in Medellin is roughly 62% more expensive than in Braganca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Braganca is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$11.30 €10.12

-28.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$39.85 €35.69

18.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$9.21 €8.24

3.15%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$1.43 €1.28

110.49%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.38 €1.24

30.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$1.03 €0.93

36.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.10 €0.98

189.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.29 €2.06

151.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.06 €0.95

42.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.72 €1.54

38.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.51 €1.35

17.22%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$3.22 €2.88

-10.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$9.38 €8.40

8.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$6.38 €5.72

54.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$12.09 €10.83

15.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.36 €2.12

68.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.36 €1.22

13.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.82 €1.63

19.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$2.66 €2.38

-18.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$1.98 €1.77

-1.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$1.95 €1.74

-18.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$1.35 €1.21

-14.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.91 €0.81

36.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$5.77 €5.17

-31.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$4.42 €3.96

209.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.16 €1.04

43.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$1.57 €1.41

43.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$11.33 €10.14

582.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$3.91 €3.50

-67.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$1.13 €1.01

81.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$16.23 €14.53

-47.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$2.17 €1.94

-37.79%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$33.7K €30.2K

1.07%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$37.5K €33.6K

-7.48%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$104 €93.0

63.42%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$16.79 €15.04

-19.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$34.87 €31.23

-19.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$33.95 €30.40

28.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$5.65 €5.06

204.25%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.50 €4.92

25.64%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$307 €275

159.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$9,170 €8,213

-0.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$22.69 €20.32

273.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$22.62 €20.26

156.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$67.5 €60.4

100.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$98.7 €88.4

-0.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$400 €358

201.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$315 €282

103.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$735 €658

175.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$474 €424

113.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$1,064 €953

292.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$853 €764

124.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,160 €1,039

-43.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.47

215.27%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Braganca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Braganca

$315 31.1% 50.8% $326

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Braganca

$228 22.4% 23.4% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Braganca

$155 15.3% 26.4% $56

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Braganca

$155 15.3% 8.7% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Braganca

$95 9.4% 43.7% $74

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Braganca

$21 * 2.1% 77.7% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Braganca

$45 4.4% 21.9% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $400 in Braganca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Braganca pays 77% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $40 in Braganca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $228 per month, with Braganca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇹 Braganca

🕒 Local time

20:37 8:37 PM

01:37 1:37 AM

5 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

34,589

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Medellin Braganca 7,800 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Braganca

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 Braganca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,014 in Braganca, so Braganca is about 38% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 43% 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 $400 in Braganca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Braganca runs roughly 85% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $307 in Braganca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Braganca gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Braganca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.