Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Castanhal

For one person, living is cheaper in Castanhal: $838 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Castanhal
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Castanhal Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Castanhal

🇧🇷 Brazil

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Castanhal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $838 in Castanhal.

Medellin $1,639
Castanhal $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,350 in Castanhal.

Medellin $2,413
Castanhal $1,350

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,862 in Castanhal.

Medellin $3,186
Castanhal $1,862

Living in Medellin is roughly 96% more expensive than in Castanhal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Castanhal is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$5.63 R$30.61

43.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.8K

$32.17 R$175

46.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$7.37 R$40.07

28.90%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,729

$1.91 R$10.41

57.59%

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

$1.80 COP 5,806

$1.19 R$6.47

51.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,558

$0.70 R$3.78

101.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.84 R$10.01

72.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.75 R$14.93

109.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,873

$0.83 R$4.50

81.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,673

$1.49 R$8.10

59.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,716

$1.14 R$6.22

55.26%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,327

$2.00 R$10.85

44.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$7.88 R$42.82

29.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$3.94 R$21.39

150.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$8.87 R$48.20

57.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.20 R$11.97

80.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,009

$1.26 R$6.83

23.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,044

$1.25 R$6.80

74.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,047

$1.67 R$9.06

30.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,333

$1.09 R$5.92

79.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,129

$0.91 R$4.97

74.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,696

$0.76 R$4.14

51.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,012

$0.78 R$4.22

58.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$2.20 R$11.97

80.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$7.31 R$39.77

87.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,356

$1.10 R$6.00

50.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,286

$1.89 R$10.25

19.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,769

$0.99 R$5.37

18.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.7K

$40.44 R$220

91.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,092

$1.18 R$6.42

7.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,608

$0.84 R$4.55

144.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.65 R$36.15

28.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,346

$1.15 R$6.25

17.39%

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

$34.1K COP 109.9M

$19.0K R$103.1K

79.66%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$31.6K R$172.0K

9.59%

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

$170 COP 547.5K

$72.3 R$393

134.58%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$9.79 R$53.2

38.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$22.03 R$120

27.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.0K

$23.85 R$130

83.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$21.97 R$119

-21.76%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$6.80 R$36.99

1.62%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$288 R$1,566

176.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$6,516 R$35.4K

39.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.4K

$51.8 R$282

63.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.0K

$46.71 R$254

24.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.5K

$83.5 R$454

61.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.8K

$67.7 R$368

44.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$350 R$1,901

245.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$243 R$1,324

163.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$651 R$3,537

211.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$506 R$2,750

99.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$1,564 R$8,504

166.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,119 R$6,083

70.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-0.55%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Castanhal: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Castanhal

$243 29% 62.1% $398

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Castanhal

$179 21.3% 39.8% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Castanhal

$104 12.4% 50.7% $107

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Castanhal

$112 13.4% 33.7% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Castanhal

$112 13.4% 33.5% $57

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Castanhal

$50 5.9% 46.8% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Castanhal

$37 4.5% 34.9% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $350 in Castanhal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $32 in Castanhal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $179 per month, with Castanhal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇷 Castanhal

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

192,256

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 BRL = 0.184 USD

1 BRL = 0.164 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 5.44 BRL (1 BRL = 0.184 USD). 1 EUR = 6.09 BRL (1 BRL = 0.164 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Castanhal 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Castanhal

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 Castanhal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castanhal wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Castanhal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,258 in Castanhal 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $350 in Castanhal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Castanhal – a meal for two runs $32 versus $47 in Medellin. 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 $838 in Castanhal – Castanhal is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Castanhal is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Castanhal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.