Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Champotón

For one person, living is cheaper in Champotón: $1,258 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Champotón
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Champotón Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Champotón

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,258

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Champotón

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,258 in Champotón.

Medellin $1,614
Champotón $1,258

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,918 in Champotón.

Medellin $2,402
Champotón $1,918

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $2,578 in Champotón.

Medellin $3,190
Champotón $2,578

Living in Medellin is roughly 28% more expensive than in Champotón, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Champotón is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$13.80 MX$255

-42.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$54.5 MX$1,007

-15.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$8.05 MX$149

18.01%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$3.83 MX$70.8

-18.80%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.12 MX$20.75

63.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$1.16 MX$21.45

18.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$2.94 MX$54.3

3.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$3.88 MX$71.6

41.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.08 MX$20.01

34.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$2.21 MX$40.87

6.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.72 MX$31.73

-2.33%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.96 MX$36.18

45.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$10.14 MX$187

0.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$7.78 MX$144

22.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$6.45 MX$119

117.67%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$2.84 MX$52.5

43.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.38 MX$25.54

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$2.14 MX$39.52

1.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$2.04 MX$37.75

13.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$2.23 MX$41.14

-13.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.84 MX$34.07

-10.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.49 MX$27.45

-24.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$1.13 MX$20.83

10.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$4.51 MX$83.3

-11.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$9.83 MX$182

35.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.45 MX$26.81

17.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$2.56 MX$47.32

-7.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.57 MX$10.50

112.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$2.72 MX$50.3

-51.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$3.95 MX$72.9

-45.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$8.68 MX$160

-2.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.57 MX$29.03

-17.20%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$21.4K MX$395.8K

30.66%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$23.7K MX$437.6K

49.56%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$116 MX$2,143

48.42%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$21.89 MX$405

-38.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$34.64 MX$640

-17.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$33.26 MX$615

36.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$21.06 MX$389

-19.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$7.30 MX$135

-13.97%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$262 MX$4,842

193.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$3,655 MX$67.5K

146.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$55.2 MX$1,019

56.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$52.9 MX$977

8.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$100 MX$1,856

35.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$86.2 MX$1,593

13.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$537 MX$9,922

96.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$429 MX$7,919

43.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$924 MX$17.1K

104.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$672 MX$12.4K

52.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$2,014 MX$37.2K

101.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,137 MX$21.0K

47.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.64

-6.01%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Champotón: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Champotón

$429 34.1% 30.4% $187

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Champotón

$239 19% 18.8% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Champotón

$172 13.7% 19.5% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Champotón

$133 10.5% 22.1% $38

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Champotón

$212 16.9% 26% $44

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Champotón

$25 * 2% 73.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Champotón

$48 3.8% 17.2% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $537 in Champotón. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $54.0 in Champotón. Groceries flip the comparison at $295 vs $239, with Champotón cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 Champotón

🕒 Local time

21:50 9:50 PM

20:50 8:50 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

35,799

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Champotón 2,190 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Champotón

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 Champotón: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Champotón wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Champotón the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,421 in Medellin and $1,887 in Champotón 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $537 in Champotón. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $262 in Champotón. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Champotón – a meal for two runs $54.0 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,258 in Champotón versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Champotón but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Champotón the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Champotón delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,258 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Champotón hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Champotón 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 Champotón gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.