Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cadca

For one person, living is cheaper in Cadca: $1,400 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Cadca
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Cadca Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Cadca

🇸🇰 Slovakia

$1,400

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cadca

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,400 in Cadca, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Cadca $1,400

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $2,002 in Cadca, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Cadca $2,002

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,604 in Cadca, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Cadca $2,604

Medellin costs about 17% more than Cadca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Medellin and Cadca sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Cadca by 3%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.3K

$9.54 €8.56

-15.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 147.2K

$33.40 €29.96

40.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.7K

$10.22 €9.17

-7.05%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,433

$2.98 €2.68

1.01%

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

$1.80 COP 5,629

$2.21 €1.98

-18.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,419

$2.02 €1.81

-30.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,935

$2.41 €2.16

31.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.0K

$2.41 €2.16

138.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,724

$1.04 €0.94

45.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,439

$1.43 €1.28

66.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,542

$1.86 €1.67

-4.84%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,043

$3.52 €3.16

-17.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 31.9K

$10.08 €9.04

1.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 30.9K

$8.16 €7.32

20.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 43.8K

$11.20 €10.05

24.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.4K

$1.91 €1.71

107.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,856

$1.98 €1.77

-21.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,829

$2.31 €2.08

-5.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,832

$2.73 €2.45

-20.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,140

$1.41 €1.26

39.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 4,973

$1.61 €1.44

-1.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,584

$1.77 €1.59

-35.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,889

$0.83 €0.74

49.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.4K

$6.52 €5.85

-39.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 42.8K

$3.39 €3.04

303.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,193

$1.69 €1.52

-1.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,064

$1.75 €1.57

29.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,654

$1.13 €1.02

3.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 242.1K

$32.06 €28.76

141.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,967

$3.94 €3.54

-67.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,406

$0.41 €0.37

400.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.8K

$13.64 €12.24

-37.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,214

$1.72 €1.55

-21.51%

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

$34.1K COP 106.6M

$25.8K €23.2K

31.90%

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

$34.7K COP 108.5M

$22.7K €20.4K

52.77%

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

$170 COP 530.8K

$227 €203

-25.16%

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

$13.55 COP 42.4K

$19.24 €17.26

-29.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 87.8K

$21.27 €19.08

31.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 136.7K

$41.93 €37.61

4.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 53.8K

$16.41 €14.72

4.75%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.6K

$8.80 €7.90

-21.48%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$410 €368

94.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.5M

$7,353 €6,595

23.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 265.0K

$59.6 €53.4

42.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 181.3K

$31.20 €27.99

85.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 422.2K

$79.2 €71.1

70.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 306.2K

$98.9 €88.7

-1.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$615 €552

96.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$494 €444

29.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.3M

$1,073 €963

88.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$748 €671

35.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.0M

$3,556 €3,189

17.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$2,243 €2,012

-14.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$834 €748

-21.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.57

206.44%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cadca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Cadca

$494 35.3% 22.9% $147

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Cadca

$238 17% 19.7% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Cadca

$267 19.1% 26.5% $56

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Cadca

$177 12.6% 4.1% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Cadca

$121 8.6% 28.4% $48

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Cadca

$43 3% 54.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Cadca

$60 4.3% 3.5% $2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $615 in Cadca. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 27% higher in Cadca, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $33 in Cadca. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $238 – making Cadca the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇸🇰 Cadca

🕒 Local time

18:53 6:53 PM

00:53 12:53 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

24,315

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.2 USD

10,000 COP = 2.87 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 3,129 COP (10,000 COP = 3.2 USD). 1 EUR = 3,488 COP (10,000 COP = 2.87 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Cadca 9,790 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cadca

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 Cadca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 17% more than Cadca, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $2,100 in Cadca. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cadca, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $615 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Public transport costs about 59% less in Cadca. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $797 per month in Medellin and $410 in Cadca. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $1,400 in Cadca. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cadca – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, Cadca is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and the 17% gap matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.