Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ciudad Guayana

For one person, living is cheaper in Ciudad Guayana: $692 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Ciudad Guayana

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ciudad Guayana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $692 in Ciudad Guayana.

Medellin $1,639
Ciudad Guayana $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,173 in Ciudad Guayana.

Medellin $2,413
Ciudad Guayana $1,173

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,655 in Ciudad Guayana.

Medellin $3,186
Ciudad Guayana $1,655

Living in Medellin is roughly 137% more expensive than in Ciudad Guayana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Ciudad Guayana is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$9.53 VES 8,439

-15.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$40.52 VES 35.9K

16.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$14.60 VES 12.9K

-34.93%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.45 VES 3,052

-12.75%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.46 VES 1,295

23.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.02 VES 905

38.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.03 VES 911

208.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.03 VES 1,800

183.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.86 VES 1,649

-18.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.01 VES 896

53.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.02 VES 904

113.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$3.05 VES 2,703

-28.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$3.06 VES 2,712

-48.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.96 VES 1,738

-41.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.51 VES 1,342

-17.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.88 VES 3,437

2.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$0.89 VES 787

86.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.96 VES 1,739

15.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.60 VES 532

95.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$29.75 VES 26.4K

160.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$4.38 VES 3,882

-71.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$3.98 VES 3,528

-48.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.51 VES 453

164.71%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$40.6K VES 35.9M

-16.04%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$69.8K VES 61.8M

-50.32%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$40.74 VES 36.1K

316.42%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$15.10 VES 13.4K

85.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$42.88 VES 38.0K

1.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$17.37 VES 15.4K

-1.04%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$7.86 VES 6,966

-12.09%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$29.95 VES 26.5K

182.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$34.55 VES 30.6K

67.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$180 VES 159.9K

-25.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$98.6 VES 87.4K

-0.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$150 VES 133.2K

703.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$101 VES 89.6K

534.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$396 VES 350.9K

411.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$254 VES 225.4K

297.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$258 VES 228.1K

1519.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$131 VES 116.2K

1356.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$112 VES 99.1K

487.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-56.24%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ciudad Guayana: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Ciudad Guayana

–

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $150 in Ciudad Guayana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 5.9 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $41 in Ciudad Guayana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $85 per month, with Ciudad Guayana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇻🇪 Ciudad Guayana

🕒 Local time

16:39 4:39 PM

17:39 5:39 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

820,780

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.13 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, 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).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 886 VES (1,000 VES = 1.13 USD). 1 EUR = 986 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Ciudad Guayana 1,440 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ciudad Guayana

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 Ciudad Guayana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $692 in Ciudad Guayana, so Ciudad Guayana is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Medellin is about 5.9 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $150 in Ciudad Guayana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ciudad Guayana – a meal for two runs $41 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Ciudad Guayana runs roughly 62% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $692 in Ciudad Guayana versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ciudad Guayana but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Ciudad Guayana 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 Ciudad Guayana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.