Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Foshan

For one person, living is cheaper in Foshan: $777 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Foshan
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Foshan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Foshan

🇨🇳 China

$777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Foshan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $777 in Foshan.

Medellin $1,614
Foshan $777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,242 in Foshan.

Medellin $2,402
Foshan $1,242

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $1,708 in Foshan.

Medellin $3,190
Foshan $1,708

Living in Medellin is roughly 108% more expensive than in Foshan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Foshan is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$3.78 ¥25.26

109.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$22.79 ¥152

102.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.11 ¥34.19

85.91%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$3.07 ¥20.50

1.30%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.52 ¥3.49

251.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.31 ¥2.09

345.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.22 ¥8.17

150.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$1.89 ¥12.61

191.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.66 ¥11.11

-12.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.12 ¥7.48

110.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$0.92 ¥6.16

82.61%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.70 ¥11.38

68.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$16.68 ¥112

-38.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$3.92 ¥26.18

143.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$10.69 ¥71.5

31.34%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$3.01 ¥20.16

35.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.27 ¥8.51

18.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.90 ¥12.69

14.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.63 ¥10.91

41.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$1.09 ¥7.27

77.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.95 ¥6.38

72.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$0.64 ¥4.26

76.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.50 ¥3.36

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$2.23 ¥14.89

78.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$10.23 ¥68.4

30.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$0.93 ¥6.24

82.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.51 ¥10.13

56.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.31 ¥2.08

290.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$10.62 ¥71.0

620.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$1.52 ¥10.18

-13.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.47 ¥3.15

355.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$8.81 ¥58.9

-3.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.22 ¥8.19

6.56%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$21.3K ¥142.3K

31.52%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$16.2K ¥108.3K

118.66%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$84.5 ¥565

103.61%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$7.92 ¥53.0

68.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$15.69 ¥105

83.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$71.4 ¥477

-36.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$23.83 ¥159

-28.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$5.31 ¥35.50

18.27%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$457 ¥3,054

68.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$23.3K ¥155.8K

-61.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$42.21 ¥282

104.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$18.76 ¥125

204.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$62.1 ¥415

119.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$91.8 ¥614

6.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$304 ¥2,031

247.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$159 ¥1,061

288.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$596 ¥3,982

217.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$341 ¥2,279

200.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$4,329 ¥28.9K

-6.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,864 ¥12.5K

-9.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$802 ¥5,362

-18.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.83

185.64%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Foshan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Foshan

$159 20.4% 74.2% $457

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Foshan

$220 28.4% 25.2% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Foshan

$108 13.9% 49.5% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Foshan

$97 12.4% 43.1% $73

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Foshan

$96 12.3% 43.2% $73

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Foshan

$16 2% 83.1% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Foshan

$82 10.6% 41.8% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $304 in Foshan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Foshan pays 23% 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 $23.00 in Foshan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $220 per month, with Foshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Foshan

🕒 Local time

00:29 12:29 AM

13:29 1:29 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

9,498,863

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Foshan 16,620 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Foshan

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 Foshan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Foshan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 108% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Foshan. 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 $304 in Foshan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Foshan runs roughly 620% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $457 in Foshan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $777 in Foshan versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Foshan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Foshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Foshan is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Foshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 108% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.