Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Butuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Butuan: $569 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Butuan
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Butuan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Butuan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Butuan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $569 in Butuan.

Medellin $1,639
Butuan $569

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $899 in Butuan.

Medellin $2,413
Butuan $899

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,229 in Butuan.

Medellin $3,186
Butuan $1,229

Living in Medellin is roughly 188% more expensive than in Butuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Butuan is 58% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$4.66 ₱298

73.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$26.45 ₱1,693

77.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$2.32 ₱149

309.48%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.04 ₱131

47.55%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.30 ₱19.17

500.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.24 ₱15.36

487.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.58 ₱101

101.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.37 ₱152

142.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.92 ₱123

-21.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.11 ₱71.1

114.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.90 ₱57.3

96.67%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.83 ₱117

57.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$6.42 ₱411

58.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.75 ₱304

107.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$9.41 ₱602

48.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.65 ₱170

49.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.09 ₱69.8

42.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$2.40 ₱153

-9.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.17 ₱74.7

86.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.97 ₱126

-0.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$3.40 ₱218

-53.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.18 ₱75.5

-2.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.70 ₱44.76

77.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.42 ₱155

63.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$7.68 ₱491

78.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$1.27 ₱81.5

30.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$1.60 ₱103

41.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.81 ₱51.8

56.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.24 ₱15.40

754.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$1.93 ₱124

343.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.06 ₱68.1

27.36%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$20.8K ₱1.3M

63.92%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

81.27%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$106 ₱6,765

60.47%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$18.42 ₱1,179

-26.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$30.63 ₱1,960

-8.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$23.59 ₱1,509

85.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.18 ₱267

65.31%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$106 ₱6,779

652.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$7,473 ₱478.2K

21.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$59.6 ₱3,811

42.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$30.15 ₱1,929

92.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$69.0 ₱4,417

95.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$60.7 ₱3,884

61.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

8.31

31.65%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Butuan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Butuan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Butuan

$198 34.9% 33.2% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Butuan

$155 27.2% 26.7% $56

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Butuan

$84 14.7% 50.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Butuan

$99 17.3% 41.6% $70

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Butuan

$2 * 0.4% 97.9% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Butuan

$32 5.6% 44.5% $26

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $26 in Butuan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $198 per month, with Butuan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇭 Butuan

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

03:02 3:02 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

337,063

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.99 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.23 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Butuan 17,120 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Butuan

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 Butuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Butuan wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Butuan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $854 in Butuan 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.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $106 in Butuan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Butuan – a meal for two runs $26 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $569 in Butuan versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Butuan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Butuan 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.