Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Centurion

For one person, living is cheaper in Centurion: $1,367 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Centurion
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Centurion Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Centurion

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,367

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Centurion

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,367 in Centurion.

Medellin $1,639
Centurion $1,367

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,206 in Centurion.

Medellin $2,413
Centurion $2,206

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $3,045 in Centurion.

Medellin $3,186
Centurion $3,045

Living in Medellin is roughly 20% more expensive than in Centurion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$21.75 R 361

-62.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.9K

$40.00 R 664

17.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.75 R 95.5

65.22%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,540

$2.67 R 44.30

12.73%

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

$1.80 COP 5,693

$0.97 R 16.05

85.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,469

$0.87 R 14.41

62.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$2.04 R 33.90

55.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$2.42 R 40.14

137.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,778

$1.17 R 19.35

29.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,524

$1.21 R 20.13

96.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,606

$2.11 R 35.07

-16.11%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,146

$2.93 R 48.73

-1.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$10.09 R 168

0.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$6.63 R 110

48.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.3K

$7.26 R 121

92.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$1.86 R 30.91

113.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,911

$1.86 R 30.93

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,907

$2.14 R 35.49

1.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,910

$2.05 R 34.08

6.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,210

$1.59 R 26.34

23.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,029

$1.78 R 29.58

-10.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,625

$1.36 R 22.52

-15.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,934

$1.39 R 23.06

-10.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.70 R 61.4

7.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$5.94 R 98.7

130.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

$1.58 R 26.26

5.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

$2.09 R 34.68

8.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

$2.36 R 39.18

-50.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

$97.4 R 1,617

-20.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,013

$1.22 R 20.30

4.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

$1.18 R 19.61

73.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

$9.04 R 150

-5.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,262

$1.44 R 23.93

-6.25%

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

$34.1K COP 107.8M

$35.7K R 593.0K

-4.58%

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

$34.7K COP 109.7M

$32.9K R 545.8K

5.51%

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

$170 COP 536.8K

$136 R 2,263

24.54%

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

$13.55 COP 42.9K

$29.89 R 497

-54.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.8K

$40.20 R 668

-30.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

$43.78 R 727

-0.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$10.59 R 176

-34.75%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$315 R 5,226

153.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

$4,416 R 73.4K

106.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 268.1K

$58.5 R 972

44.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.4K

$43.25 R 718

34.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 427.1K

$117 R 1,944

15.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.7K

$102 R 1,696

-4.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$335 R 5,571

260.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$369 R 6,124

74.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$581 R 9,643

249.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$891 R 14.8K

13.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$527 R 8,757

691.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$605 R 10.0K

215.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,364 R 39.3K

-72.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.5

4.19%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Centurion: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Centurion

$369 27% 42.5% $273

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Centurion

$223 16.3% 25% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Centurion

$206 15.1% 2.3% $5

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Centurion

$246 18% 44.8% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Centurion

$144 10.6% 14.6% $25

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Centurion

$114 8.3% 21.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Centurion

$65 4.8% 12.9% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $335 in Centurion. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Centurion pays about 3.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $40 in Centurion for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $223 per month, with Centurion cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇦 Centurion

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

07:25 7:25 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

236,580

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Centurion 11,690 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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Medellin
Centurion

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 Centurion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Centurion wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Centurion the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Medellin. 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $335 in Centurion. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 21% less than in Centurion. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $315 in Centurion. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Centurion is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Centurion delivers better value at $1,367 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Centurion hard to pass up.