Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and General Trias

For one person, living is cheaper in General Trias: $618 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 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
29

Cost of Living Index in General Trias
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General Trias Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

General Trias

🇵🇭 Philippines

$618

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in General Trias

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $618 in General Trias, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
General Trias $618

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $990 in General Trias, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
General Trias $990

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,362 in General Trias, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
General Trias $1,362

Medellin costs about 174% more than General Trias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while General Trias is 54% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$4.00 ₱254

108.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$16.20 ₱1,027

187.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$2.45 ₱155

286.53%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$1.83 ₱116

71.04%

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

$1.77 COP 5,696

$0.40 ₱25.35

342.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,594

$0.30 ₱18.79

373.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.01 ₱64.1

211.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$1.51 ₱95.7

277.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,943

$1.64 ₱104

-6.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,389

$1.15 ₱72.7

99.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,273

$0.91 ₱57.8

113.19%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,889

$2.03 ₱129

51.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$4.79 ₱304

108.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.39 ₱215

208.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$7.61 ₱482

83.44%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.19 ₱139

84.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,929

$1.58 ₱100

-3.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,786

$2.29 ₱145

-8.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$1.01 ₱63.9

126.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,803

$1.66 ₱105

27.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,512

$1.70 ₱108

0.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,774

$0.87 ₱55.3

34.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,096

$0.52 ₱32.80

203.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$2.94 ₱186

32.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$8.42 ₱534

66.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,682

$0.96 ₱61.1

83.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,746

$2.06 ₱130

31.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

$0.24 ₱15.26

391.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

$12.30 ₱780

520.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,827

$0.76 ₱47.91

138.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,867

$0.20 ₱12.68

965.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$1.92 ₱122

323.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,113

$1.22 ₱77.6

4.92%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$11.6K ₱735.6K

196.62%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$18.7K ₱1.2M

82.09%

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

$178 COP 573.2K

$31.73 ₱2,010

460.13%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$17.15 ₱1,087

-19.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.1K

$20.95 ₱1,327

46.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.3K

$31.30 ₱1,983

33.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

$5.25 ₱332

220.00%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$5.01 ₱317

49.10%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$129 ₱8,195

510.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$10.8K ₱687.0K

13.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.4K

$28.39 ₱1,799

204.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.1K

$19.41 ₱1,230

205.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.2K

$70.9 ₱4,490

95.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.7K

$55.8 ₱3,536

77.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$95.0 ₱6,020

1311.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$168 ₱10.7K

296.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$484 ₱30.7K

308.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$353 ₱22.4K

192.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$2,636 ₱167.0K

55.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,111 ₱70.4K

74.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.75

62.07%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for General Trias: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

General Trias

$168 27.3% 74.8% $499

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

General Trias

$172 27.9% 43.9% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

General Trias

$70 11.3% 68.6% $153

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

General Trias

$72 11.7% 58.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

General Trias

$79 12.7% 54.4% $94

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

General Trias

$15 2.4% 83.9% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

General Trias

$41 6.7% 27.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $95 in General Trias. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $16 in General Trias. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $172 – making General Trias the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇭 General Trias

🕒 Local time

19:16 7:16 PM

08:16 8:16 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

450,583

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

100 PHP = 1.58 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,225 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,631 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 63.36 PHP (100 PHP = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.33 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin General Trias 17,090 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
General Trias

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 General Trias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 174% more than General Trias, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $926 in General Trias. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in General Trias, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $95 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Public transport costs about 84% less in General Trias. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $129 in General Trias. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in General Trias, where all-in costs run around $618, than in Medellin at $1,692. In General Trias it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward General Trias – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

For expats, General Trias is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 64% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.