Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Edessa

For one person, living is cheaper in Edessa: $1,452 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Medellin outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Edessa
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Edessa Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Edessa

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,452

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Edessa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,452 in Edessa.

Medellin $1,692
Edessa $1,452

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $2,139 in Edessa.

Medellin $2,471
Edessa $2,139

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,826 in Edessa.

Medellin $3,249
Edessa $2,826

Living in Medellin is roughly 17% more expensive than in Edessa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 25% above, Edessa 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$16.70 €14.84

-50.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$53.4 €47.40

-12.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$9.78 €8.69

-3.17%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$3.38 €3.00

-7.40%

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

$1.77 COP 5,727

$1.87 €1.66

-5.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,619

$0.59 €0.52

140.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$3.84 €3.41

-17.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$4.55 €4.04

25.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,969

$1.51 €1.34

1.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,429

$1.24 €1.10

84.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,306

$2.01 €1.78

-3.48%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,942

$4.31 €3.83

-28.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$14.17 €12.59

-29.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$8.33 €7.40

25.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$13.08 €11.62

6.73%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.19 €1.95

84.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,956

$1.97 €1.75

-22.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,823

$1.75 €1.56

20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,437

$2.21 €1.96

3.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,839

$1.22 €1.08

72.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,542

$1.27 €1.13

34.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,794

$0.93 €0.83

25.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,123

$0.78 €0.70

102.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$5.69 €5.06

-31.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.5K

$7.16 €6.36

96.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,712

$1.67 €1.48

5.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,793

$2.51 €2.23

7.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

$1.39 €1.23

-15.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$51.2 €45.46

49.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,859

$4.37 €3.89

-58.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,904

$0.98 €0.87

117.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$16.91 €15.02

-51.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,135

$2.25 €2.00

-43.11%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$31.8K €28.3K

8.25%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$27.6K €24.5K

23.61%

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

$178 COP 576.3K

$254 €226

-30.13%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$25.60 €22.74

-45.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$34.87 €30.97

-11.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$48.68 €43.24

-13.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$21.39 €19.00

-21.46%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$9.10 €8.08

-17.91%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$413 €367

91.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$10.1K €8,998

21.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 279.9K

$87.7 €77.9

-1.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$39.41 €35.00

50.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.6K

$94.1 €83.6

46.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.4K

$125 €111

-21.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$343 €305

290.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$343 €304

94.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$590 €524

234.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$466 €414

121.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$1,345 €1,195

204.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$2,204 €1,958

-11.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$767 €682

-15.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.44

146.40%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Edessa: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Edessa

$343 23.6% 48.7% $325

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Edessa

$264 18.2% 14.1% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Edessa

$315 21.7% 41.6% $93

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Edessa

$242 16.7% 40% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Edessa

$156 10.7% 9.5% $16

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Edessa

$66 4.6% 29.4% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Edessa

$67 4.6% 17.6% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $343 in Edessa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Edessa pays 19% 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 $53 in Edessa. Groceries flip the comparison at $307 vs $264, with Edessa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇬🇷 Edessa

🕒 Local time

23:51 11:51 PM

06:51 6:51 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

18,253

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR

1 EUR = 1.13 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.888 EUR (1 EUR = 1.13 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Edessa 10,190 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Edessa

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 Edessa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $1,452 in Edessa, so Edessa is about 14% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 16% 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $343 in Edessa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Edessa runs roughly 33% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $413 in Edessa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Edessa gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.