Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cesis

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesis: $1,112 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 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 Cesis
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Cesis Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Cesis

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cesis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,112 in Cesis.

Medellin $1,639
Cesis $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,837 in Cesis.

Medellin $2,413
Cesis $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,562 in Cesis.

Medellin $3,186
Cesis $2,562

Living in Medellin is roughly 47% more expensive than in Cesis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Cesis is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$16.57 €14.85

-51.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$67.1 €60.2

-29.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$9.43 €8.45

0.74%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$3.80 €3.40

-20.79%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.64 €1.47

9.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$1.20 €1.08

17.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$5.47 €4.90

-41.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$5.05 €4.52

13.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.20 €1.08

25.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.47 €1.32

61.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.46 €2.20

-28.05%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.65 €2.37

9.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$10.59 €9.49

-3.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$8.50 €7.62

16.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$13.58 €12.17

3.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.06 €1.84

92.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.82 €1.63

-14.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$2.45 €2.20

-11.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$2.92 €2.62

-25.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.88 €0.79

122.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.87 €0.78

82.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.66 €1.49

-30.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.93 €0.84

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$6.78 €6.08

-41.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$7.64 €6.85

79.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.71 €1.53

-2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.08 €1.86

8.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$3.43 €3.08

-62.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.03 €0.92

99.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$17.42 €15.61

-50.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$2.11 €1.89

-36.02%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$26.9K €24.1K

26.79%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$30.1K €27.0K

15.02%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$376 €337

-54.85%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$19.15 €17.16

-29.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$20.14 €18.05

39.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.91 €9.77

-36.66%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$711 €637

12.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$17.8K €15.9K

-48.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$69.5 €62.3

21.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$49.82 €44.64

16.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$85.0 €76.2

58.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$136 €122

-27.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$277 €248

265.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,106 €991

-40.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.77

129.35%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cesis: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Cesis

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Cesis

$258 23.2% 13.1% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Cesis

$415 37.3% 96.5% $204

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Cesis

$255 23% 50.5% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Cesis

$153 13.8% 9.5% $16

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Cesis

$8.6 * 0.8% 90.8% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Cesis

$22 * 2% 62.1% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Cesis pays 68% 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 $67 in Cesis. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $258, with Cesis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇻 Cesis

🕒 Local time

12:29 12:29 PM

19:29 7:29 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

17,673

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Cesis 10,070 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cesis

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 Cesis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cesis is about 32% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 41% 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.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $711 in Cesis. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $67 in Cesis. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,112 in Cesis versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cesis but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cesis 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.