Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Granada, Nicaragua

Name: Granada
Address: Granada, NI

For one person, living is cheaper in Granada: $924 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Granada
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Granada Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Granada

🇳🇮 Nicaragua

$924

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Granada

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $924 in Granada, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Granada $924

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,288 in Granada, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Granada $1,288

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,652 in Granada, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Granada $1,652

Medellin costs about 83% more than Granada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Granada is 32% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$4.30 NIO 157

93.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$23.84 NIO 873

95.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$6.81 NIO 250

39.06%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$1.76 NIO 64.6

77.84%

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

$1.77 COP 5,728

$0.87 NIO 31.78

103.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,620

$0.68 NIO 24.87

108.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.33 NIO 48.60

136.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$2.05 NIO 74.9

178.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,971

$1.21 NIO 44.33

26.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,431

$1.54 NIO 56.5

48.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,308

$0.54 NIO 19.74

259.26%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,945

$1.18 NIO 43.28

160.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$5.01 NIO 184

99.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$4.94 NIO 181

111.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$7.92 NIO 290

76.26%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$4.08 NIO 149

-0.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,957

$0.63 NIO 22.97

142.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,825

$1.81 NIO 66.4

16.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,439

$0.98 NIO 36.07

133.67%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,841

$2.84 NIO 104

-25.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,543

$1.02 NIO 37.46

67.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,795

$1.02 NIO 37.20

14.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,125

$1.05 NIO 38.62

50.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$2.76 NIO 101

41.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.6K

$10.18 NIO 373

37.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,714

$1.49 NIO 54.5

18.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,796

$1.77 NIO 64.8

53.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,826

$0.11 NIO 4.07

972.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$3.92 NIO 144

1846.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,860

$0.62 NIO 22.71

191.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,906

$1.58 NIO 58.0

34.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$6.93 NIO 254

17.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,136

$1.29 NIO 47.30

-0.78%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$22.9K NIO 837.4K

50.62%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$26.3K NIO 964.4K

29.62%

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

$178 COP 576.4K

$149 NIO 5,439

19.67%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$19.89 NIO 728

-30.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$32.03 NIO 1,173

-4.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$8.95 NIO 328

-16.54%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$235 NIO 8,599

236.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$6,063 NIO 222.1K

102.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 280.0K

$14.82 NIO 543

482.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$30.25 NIO 1,108

95.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.7K

$34.31 NIO 1,256

303.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.5K

$35.30 NIO 1,293

179.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$421 NIO 15.4K

218.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$355 NIO 13.0K

87.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$791 NIO 29.0K

149.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$517 NIO 18.9K

99.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$134 NIO 4,892

383.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.92

-8.22%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Granada: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Granada

$355 38.4% 46.8% $312

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Granada

$193 20.9% 37.3% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Granada

$200 21.7% 9.9% $22

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Granada

$93 10.1% 46.2% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Granada

$52 5.6% 70% $121

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Granada

$13 1.4% 86.2% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Granada

$18 * 1.9% 68.5% $39

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $421 in Granada. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 4.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $24 in Granada. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $193 – making Granada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇮 Granada

🕒 Local time

01:06 1:06 AM

00:06 12:06 AM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

128,937

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Nicaraguan Córdoba NIO C$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

100 NIO = 2.73 USD

100 NIO = 2.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NIO, 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).

Nicaraguan Córdoba exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 36.62 NIO (100 NIO = 2.73 USD). 1 EUR = 40.96 NIO (100 NIO = 2.44 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Granada 1,300 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Granada

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 Granada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,692 in Medellin, $924 in Granada – Granada comes out roughly 45% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,385 in Granada. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Granada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $421 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Public transport costs about 95% less in Granada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $235 in Granada. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Granada, where all-in costs run around $924, than in Medellin at $1,692. In Granada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Granada costs $924 versus $1,692 in Medellin. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Granada. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.