Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Castelo Branco

For one person, living is cheaper in Castelo Branco: $1,100 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Castelo Branco
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Castelo Branco Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Castelo Branco

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,100

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Castelo Branco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,100 in Castelo Branco.

Medellin $1,614
Castelo Branco $1,100

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,666 in Castelo Branco.

Medellin $2,402
Castelo Branco $1,666

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $2,233 in Castelo Branco.

Medellin $3,190
Castelo Branco $2,233

Living in Medellin is roughly 47% more expensive than in Castelo Branco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Castelo Branco is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$11.29 €10.05

-29.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$39.12 €34.80

17.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$9.62 €8.56

-1.25%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$1.25 €1.11

148.80%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.41 €1.25

29.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$1.26 €1.12

9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.09 €0.97

179.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.20 €1.96

150.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.17 €1.04

23.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.30 €1.16

81.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.45 €1.29

15.86%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$3.87 €3.44

-26.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$8.76 €7.79

16.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$5.80 €5.16

64.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$8.58 €7.63

63.64%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$2.11 €1.88

92.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.31 €1.17

14.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.75 €1.56

24.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$2.30 €2.05

0.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$1.65 €1.47

16.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.45 €1.29

13.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.14 €1.02

-0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.81 €0.72

54.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$5.97 €5.31

-33.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$3.39 €3.01

293.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.17 €1.04

45.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.95 €1.73

21.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$1.25 €1.11

-3.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$22.20 €19.75

244.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$2.25 €2.00

-41.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.74 €0.66

189.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$16.67 €14.83

-49.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$2.04 €1.82

-36.27%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$33.5K €29.8K

-16.47%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$40.5K €36.0K

-12.52%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$120 €106

43.83%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$19.03 €16.92

-29.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$31.99 €28.45

-10.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$39.32 €34.97

15.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$6.70 €5.96

-6.27%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$678 €603

13.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$16.9K €15.1K

-46.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$78.7 €70.0

9.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$44.71 €39.77

27.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$82.1 €73.0

66.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$67.6 €60.2

44.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$458 €407

130.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$363 €323

69.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$796 €708

137.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$605 €538

69.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$1,574 €1,400

157.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,322 €1,176

26.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$1,617 €1,438

-59.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.85

184.16%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Castelo Branco: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Castelo Branco

$363 33% 41.1% $253

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Castelo Branco

$203 18.4% 31.2% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Castelo Branco

$171 15.5% 20.3% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Castelo Branco

$123 11.2% 27.7% $47

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Castelo Branco

$155 14.1% 8.1% $14

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Castelo Branco

$33 3% 64.4% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Castelo Branco

$53 4.8% 8.8% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $458 in Castelo Branco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Castelo Branco pays 148% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $39.00 in Castelo Branco for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $203 per month, with Castelo Branco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇹 Castelo Branco

🕒 Local time

09:00 9:00 AM

15:00 3:00 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

52,291

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 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 October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Castelo Branco 7,700 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Castelo Branco

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 Castelo Branco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Castelo Branco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 47% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 148% lower in Castelo Branco. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $458 in Castelo Branco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,614 per month in Medellin versus $1,100 in Castelo Branco – a 47% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Castelo Branco runs roughly 245% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,100 in Castelo Branco versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Castelo Branco but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Castelo Branco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Castelo Branco is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Castelo Branco are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Castelo Branco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.