Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Craiova

For one person, living is cheaper in Craiova: $1,217 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Craiova
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Craiova Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Craiova

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,217

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Craiova

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,217 in Craiova.

Medellin $1,639
Craiova $1,217

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,869 in Craiova.

Medellin $2,413
Craiova $1,869

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,520 in Craiova.

Medellin $3,186
Craiova $2,520

Living in Medellin is roughly 35% more expensive than in Craiova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Craiova is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$7.14 RON 34.15

13.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$41.37 RON 198

13.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$7.45 RON 35.64

27.52%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.71 RON 12.98

11.07%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$2.23 RON 10.65

-19.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$1.77 RON 8.46

-20.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.24 RON 10.71

41.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.51 RON 16.80

63.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.27 RON 6.09

18.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.82 RON 3.93

190.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.42 RON 6.77

24.65%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$3.26 RON 15.57

-11.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$7.21 RON 34.51

41.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$6.47 RON 30.95

52.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$11.49 RON 55.0

21.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$0.95 RON 4.53

317.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.50 RON 7.16

3.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.45 RON 6.94

50.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.80 RON 8.62

21.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.76 RON 3.65

157.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.89 RON 4.28

78.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$0.73 RON 3.51

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.77 RON 3.67

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$6.59 RON 31.51

-39.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$6.34 RON 30.33

115.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.20 RON 5.76

38.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.46 RON 7.00

54.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.88 RON 4.20

32.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$25.16 RON 120

207.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$0.61 RON 2.93

108.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.65 RON 3.09

215.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.37 RON 30.49

34.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.90 RON 9.11

-28.95%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$28.9K RON 138.1K

17.99%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$25.8K RON 123.6K

34.20%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$216 RON 1,036

-21.63%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$9.24 RON 44.23

46.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$11.57 RON 55.4

142.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$38.59 RON 185

13.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$21.52 RON 103

-20.12%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$7.28 RON 34.81

-5.08%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$411 RON 1,964

94.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$8,047 RON 38.5K

13.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$62.9 RON 301

34.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$50.6 RON 242

14.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$82.8 RON 396

63.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$103 RON 495

-5.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$532 RON 2,544

127.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$418 RON 2,002

53.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$910 RON 4,352

122.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$829 RON 3,966

22.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$2,703 RON 12.9K

54.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,988 RON 9,509

-3.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$914 RON 4,374

-28.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.84

59.94%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Craiova: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Craiova

$418 34.4% 34.8% $223

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Craiova

$194 16% 34.5% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Craiova

$237 19.5% 12.3% $26

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Craiova

$146 12% 13.8% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Craiova

$135 11.1% 20.2% $34

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Craiova

$33 2.7% 65.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Craiova

$53 4.4% 7.6% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $532 in Craiova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Craiova pays 39% 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 $41 in Craiova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $194 per month, with Craiova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇷🇴 Craiova

🕒 Local time

23:56 11:56 PM

06:56 6:56 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

269,506

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR 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 = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Craiova 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Craiova

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 Craiova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Craiova wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Craiova the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 28% 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 $532 in Craiova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $1,217 in Craiova – Craiova is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Craiova runs roughly 67% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

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

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 Craiova gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.