Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Dabas

For one person, living is cheaper in Dabas: $1,282 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Dabas
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Dabas Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Dabas

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,282

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Dabas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,282 in Dabas.

Medellin $1,692
Dabas $1,282

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,940 in Dabas.

Medellin $2,471
Dabas $1,940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,598 in Dabas.

Medellin $3,249
Dabas $2,598

Living in Medellin is roughly 32% more expensive than in Dabas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Dabas is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$11.32 Ft 3,679

-26.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$36.91 Ft 12.0K

26.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$9.03 Ft 2,933

4.87%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$1.50 Ft 488

108.67%

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

$1.77 COP 5,728

$1.30 Ft 421

36.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,620

$0.44 Ft 143

222.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.71 Ft 555

84.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$1.54 Ft 499

270.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,971

$1.19 Ft 387

28.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,431

$1.49 Ft 484

53.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,308

$2.46 Ft 800

-21.14%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,945

$3.32 Ft 1,078

-7.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$10.09 Ft 3,280

-0.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$6.74 Ft 2,191

55.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$15.89 Ft 5,164

-12.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.44 Ft 793

65.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,957

$2.26 Ft 735

-32.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,825

$2.65 Ft 862

-20.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,439

$3.87 Ft 1,257

-40.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,841

$1.14 Ft 370

85.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,543

$1.39 Ft 451

23.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,795

$1.87 Ft 606

-37.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,125

$0.54 Ft 175

192.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$7.70 Ft 2,503

-49.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.6K

$4.53 Ft 1,471

209.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,714

$1.30 Ft 422

35.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,796

$2.63 Ft 853

3.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,826

$1.20 Ft 391

-1.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$26.73 Ft 8,687

185.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,860

$3.34 Ft 1,085

-45.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,906

$1.32 Ft 429

61.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$24.60 Ft 7,995

-66.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,136

$1.49 Ft 485

-14.09%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$27.2K Ft 8.9M

26.42%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$35.5K Ft 11.5M

-3.95%

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

$178 COP 576.4K

$167 Ft 54.3K

6.37%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$20.52 Ft 6,669

-32.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$20.78 Ft 6,752

47.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$50.4 Ft 16.4K

-16.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$18.35 Ft 5,963

-8.45%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$8.78 Ft 2,852

-14.92%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$423 Ft 137.4K

86.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$7,536 Ft 2.4M

63.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 280.0K

$98.5 Ft 32.0K

-12.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$51.9 Ft 16.9K

14.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.7K

$96.7 Ft 31.4K

43.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.5K

$109 Ft 35.4K

-9.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$532 Ft 173.0K

151.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$391 Ft 127.2K

70.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$766 Ft 249.0K

157.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$660 Ft 214.5K

56.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$3,203 Ft 1.0M

27.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$2,475 Ft 804.1K

-21.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

36.75%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dabas: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Dabas

$391 30.5% 41.3% $276

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Dabas

$258 20.1% 16% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Dabas

$208 16.3% 6.3% $14

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Dabas

$154 12% 10.6% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Dabas

$160 12.5% 7% $12

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Dabas

$41 3.2% 55.6% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Dabas

$68 5.3% 19.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $532 in Dabas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $37 in Dabas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $258 per month, with Dabas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇭🇺 Dabas

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

05:29 5:29 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

17,542

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,243 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,627 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Dabas 9,870 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Dabas

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 Dabas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dabas wins on cost – living expenses run 24% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Dabas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,538 in Medellin and $1,923 in Dabas 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $532 in Dabas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dabas runs roughly 65% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $423 in Dabas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Dabas 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 Dabas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.