Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Catanduva

For one person, living is cheaper in Catanduva: $849 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Catanduva
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Catanduva Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Catanduva

🇧🇷 Brazil

$849

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Catanduva

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $849 in Catanduva.

Medellin $1,639
Catanduva $849

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,382 in Catanduva.

Medellin $2,413
Catanduva $1,382

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,915 in Catanduva.

Medellin $3,186
Catanduva $1,915

Living in Medellin is roughly 93% more expensive than in Catanduva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$8.89 R$47.56

-9.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$33.43 R$179

40.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$8.25 R$44.13

15.15%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.16 R$11.55

39.35%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.19 R$6.39

51.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.82 R$4.36

71.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.20 R$11.79

44.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.64 R$19.49

57.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.00 R$5.33

51.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.94 R$10.38

22.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.23 R$6.61

43.90%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.84 R$9.85

57.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$10.01 R$53.6

1.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.50 R$24.11

119.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$9.98 R$53.4

40.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.15 R$11.52

84.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.34 R$7.16

15.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.47 R$7.85

48.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.71 R$3.81

207.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.97 R$5.20

102.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.90 R$4.84

76.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.85 R$4.57

35.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.82 R$4.36

51.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.30 R$12.29

72.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$7.64 R$40.87

79.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$1.45 R$7.78

14.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$2.44 R$13.07

-7.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.98 R$5.24

19.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$42.09 R$225

83.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.14 R$6.09

11.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.71 R$3.80

188.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$8.10 R$43.35

5.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.09 R$5.81

23.85%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$21.6K R$115.6K

57.64%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$31.4K R$167.9K

10.52%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$60.4 R$323

180.83%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$6.55 R$35.06

106.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$17.06 R$91.3

64.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$24.42 R$131

78.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$27.61 R$148

-37.74%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$6.56 R$35.12

5.34%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$406 R$2,174

96.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$10.2K R$54.5K

-10.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$54.9 R$294

54.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$37.64 R$201

53.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$84.5 R$452

59.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$54.9 R$294

78.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$386 R$2,066

212.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$227 R$1,214

182.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$626 R$3,352

223.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$469 R$2,508

115.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$1,578 R$8,446

164.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,083 R$5,794

76.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.81

1.20%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Catanduva: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Catanduva

$227 26.7% 64.6% $415

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Catanduva

$198 23.3% 33.4% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Catanduva

$84 9.9% 60.2% $127

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Catanduva

$148 17.4% 12.7% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Catanduva

$104 12.3% 38.2% $65

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Catanduva

$51 6% 45.8% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Catanduva

$38 4.4% 34.7% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $386 in Catanduva. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $33 in Catanduva for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $198 per month, with Catanduva cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇷 Catanduva

🕒 Local time

12:49 12:49 PM

14:49 2:49 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

115,791

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 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 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.96 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Catanduva 4,210 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Catanduva

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 Catanduva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Catanduva differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($1,639 vs $849 including rent). Catanduva is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,274 in Catanduva 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 $386 in Catanduva. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Catanduva – a meal for two runs $33 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $849 in Catanduva versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Catanduva but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Catanduva 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.

Expats usually find Catanduva gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.