Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Brasov

For one person, living is cheaper in Brasov: $1,329 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Brasov
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Brasov Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Brasov

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,329

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Brasov

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,329 in Brasov.

Medellin $1,639
Brasov $1,329

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,100 in Brasov.

Medellin $2,413
Brasov $2,100

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,872 in Brasov.

Medellin $3,186
Brasov $2,872

Living in Medellin is roughly 23% more expensive than in Brasov, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Brasov is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$11.18 RON 53.4

-27.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$51.6 RON 247

-8.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$7.52 RON 35.96

26.33%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$3.56 RON 17.02

-15.45%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$2.47 RON 11.79

-27.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$2.24 RON 10.71

-37.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$3.10 RON 14.84

2.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$3.43 RON 16.39

67.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.58 RON 7.53

-4.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.37 RON 6.57

73.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.74 RON 8.34

1.72%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$3.56 RON 17.02

-18.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.89 RON 42.46

14.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$6.71 RON 32.08

47.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$12.46 RON 59.5

12.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.52 RON 7.29

161.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.56 RON 7.46

-0.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.58 RON 7.57

37.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$2.59 RON 12.37

-15.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$0.78 RON 3.71

151.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$0.86 RON 4.10

84.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.91 RON 4.36

26.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.77 RON 3.66

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$6.03 RON 28.81

-34.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$7.29 RON 34.84

87.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.18 RON 5.65

40.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$1.87 RON 8.91

20.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$1.02 RON 4.88

14.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$23.18 RON 111

233.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$0.64 RON 3.04

98.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.67 RON 3.22

205.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.65 RON 31.76

28.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$1.93 RON 9.21

-30.05%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$28.1K RON 134.5K

21.06%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$24.9K RON 119.1K

39.07%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$179 RON 856

-5.25%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$7.57 RON 36.18

79.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$9.32 RON 44.55

201.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$55.5 RON 265

-21.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$13.39 RON 64.0

28.38%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$9.42 RON 45.03

-26.65%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$434 RON 2,076

83.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$6,793 RON 32.5K

34.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$52.2 RON 249

62.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$35.26 RON 168

64.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$75.5 RON 361

78.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$89.8 RON 429

8.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$684 RON 3,266

76.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$492 RON 2,350

30.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,247 RON 5,957

62.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,010 RON 4,826

0.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$3,153 RON 15.1K

32.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,361 RON 11.3K

-19.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,096 RON 5,239

-40.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.2

51.94%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Brasov: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Brasov

$492 37% 23.4% $150

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Brasov

$226 17% 24% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Brasov

$196 14.8% 7.3% $15

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Brasov

$196 14.8% 15.5% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Brasov

$114 8.6% 32.7% $55

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Brasov

$31 2.4% 66.6% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Brasov

$74 5.6% 29.2% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $684 in Brasov. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brasov pays 67% 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 $52 in Brasov. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $226, with Brasov cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇷🇴 Brasov

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

02:56 2:56 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

253,200

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Brasov 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Brasov

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 Brasov: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,329 in Brasov, so Brasov is about 19% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 40% 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 $684 in Brasov. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $52 in Brasov. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $1,329 in Brasov – Brasov is about 19% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Brasov 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.