Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Chillan

For one person, living is cheaper in Chillan: $876 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Chillan
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Chillan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Chillan

🇨🇱 Chile

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Chillan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $876 in Chillan.

Medellin $1,614
Chillan $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,321 in Chillan.

Medellin $2,402
Chillan $1,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $1,766 in Chillan.

Medellin $3,190
Chillan $1,766

Living in Medellin is roughly 84% more expensive than in Chillan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Chillan is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$5.24 CLP 5,162

51.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$46.84 CLP 46.1K

-1.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.85 CLP 5,761

62.39%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$3.65 CLP 3,592

-14.79%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.92 CLP 909

98.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.99 CLP 970

39.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$3.52 CLP 3,467

-13.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$4.55 CLP 4,477

20.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.06 CLP 1,043

36.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.62 CLP 1,593

45.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.83 CLP 1,804

-8.20%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$3.70 CLP 3,640

-22.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$7.08 CLP 6,974

43.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$2.51 CLP 2,473

279.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$8.12 CLP 7,998

72.91%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.48 CLP 1,454

175.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.64 CLP 1,616

-8.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.25 CLP 1,234

73.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.03 CLP 1,018

124.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$1.44 CLP 1,415

34.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.26 CLP 1,236

30.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.03 CLP 1,009

9.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$1.19 CLP 1,176

5.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$4.58 CLP 4,507

-12.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$3.37 CLP 3,320

296.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.25 CLP 1,234

36.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$2.03 CLP 1,996

16.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.58 CLP 571

108.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$36.06 CLP 35.5K

112.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$0.60 CLP 590

120.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$1.15 CLP 1,133

86.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$12.29 CLP 12.1K

-31.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.34 CLP 1,316

-2.99%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$11.9K CLP 11.7M

135.09%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$14.7K CLP 14.5M

140.12%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$127 CLP 125.4K

35.05%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$10.30 CLP 10.1K

29.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$23.07 CLP 22.7K

24.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$15.49 CLP 15.3K

192.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$16.60 CLP 16.3K

2.65%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$11.08 CLP 10.9K

-43.32%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$35.58 CLP 35.0K

142.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$18.16 CLP 17.9K

214.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$48.07 CLP 47.3K

184.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$64.8 CLP 63.7K

51.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$302 CLP 297.5K

249.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$243 CLP 239.7K

152.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$445 CLP 437.9K

325.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$330 CLP 324.8K

210.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$2,415 CLP 2.4M

68.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$2,414 CLP 2.4M

-30.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$664 CLP 653.6K

-1.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Chillan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Chillan

$243 27.8% 60.5% $372

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Chillan

$177 20.2% 40% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Chillan

$161 18.4% 24.9% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Chillan

$75 8.6% 55.9% $95

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Chillan

$138 15.7% 18.3% $31

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Chillan

$45 5.1% 52.1% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Chillan

$38 4.3% 34.9% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $302 in Chillan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Chillan pays 2% 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 $47.00 in Chillan. Groceries flip the comparison at $295 vs $177, with Chillan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇱 Chillan

🕒 Local time

20:03 8:03 PM

22:03 10:03 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

164,270

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR 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).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Chillan 4,780 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Chillan

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 Chillan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Chillan differ by about 84% in total monthly costs ($1,614 vs $876 including rent). Chillan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Chillan. 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 $302 in Chillan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,614 per month in Medellin versus $876 in Chillan – a 84% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $876 in Chillan versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chillan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Chillan 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 Chillan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.