Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Garliava

For one person, living is cheaper in Garliava: $1,296 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Garliava
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Garliava Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Garliava

🇱🇹 Lithuania

$1,296

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Garliava

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,296 in Garliava.

Medellin $1,614
Garliava $1,296

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,993 in Garliava.

Medellin $2,402
Garliava $1,993

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $2,689 in Garliava.

Medellin $3,190
Garliava $2,689

Living in Medellin is roughly 25% more expensive than in Garliava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Garliava is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$11.71 €10.42

-32.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$50.1 €44.60

-8.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$6.76 €6.02

40.53%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$3.17 €2.82

-1.89%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$2.78 €2.47

-34.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$1.85 €1.65

-25.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$5.11 €4.55

-40.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$4.50 €4.00

22.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.54 €1.37

-5.84%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.71 €1.52

38.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$2.23 €1.99

-24.66%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.84 €2.53

0.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$9.85 €8.77

3.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$8.22 €7.31

15.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$9.88 €8.79

42.11%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.64 €1.46

148.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.55 €1.38

-3.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$2.14 €1.90

1.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$3.35 €2.98

-31.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$0.73 €0.65

164.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.88 €0.78

86.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.84 €1.64

-38.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.84 €0.75

48.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$5.84 €5.19

-31.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$10.14 €9.02

31.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.73 €1.54

-1.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.66 €1.48

42.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$1.16 €1.03

4.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$32.61 €29.00

134.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$1.09 €0.97

21.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.86 €0.76

148.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$13.10 €11.66

-35.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.80 €1.60

-27.78%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$27.5K €24.5K

1.75%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$28.9K €25.7K

22.55%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$194 €173

-11.49%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$15.07 €13.40

-11.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$13.96 €12.42

105.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$39.21 €34.87

15.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$21.93 €19.51

-22.30%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$8.75 €7.78

-28.23%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$472 €420

63.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$8,710 €7,748

3.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$84.8 €75.4

1.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$40.14 €35.70

42.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$80.5 €71.6

69.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$162 €144

-39.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$535 €476

97.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$353 €314

74.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$813 €723

132.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$632 €562

61.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$3,116 €2,772

30.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$1,824 €1,622

-7.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$1,344 €1,195

-51.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.97

175.57%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Garliava: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Garliava

$353 27.3% 42.6% $262

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Garliava

$250 19.3% 15.3% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Garliava

$223 17.2% 4.3% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Garliava

$165 12.8% 2.8% $4.8

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Garliava

$205 15.8% 21.8% $37

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Garliava

$43 3.3% 54.3% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Garliava

$57 4.4% 1.9% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $535 in Garliava. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Garliava pays 106% 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 $50.0 in Garliava. Groceries flip the comparison at $295 vs $250, with Garliava cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇹 Garliava

🕒 Local time

09:26 9:26 AM

17:26 5:26 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

11,264

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Garliava 10,040 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

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Garliava

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 Garliava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Garliava is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 25% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 106% lower in Garliava. 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 $535 in Garliava. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Garliava runs roughly 135% 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 $472 in Garliava. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,296 in Garliava versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Garliava but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Garliava the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Garliava 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.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Garliava are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Garliava gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.