Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Herceg Novi

For one person, living is cheaper in Herceg Novi: $1,257 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Herceg Novi
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Herceg Novi Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Herceg Novi

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,257

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Herceg Novi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $1,257 in Herceg Novi.

Medellin $1,625
Herceg Novi $1,257

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,997 in Herceg Novi.

Medellin $2,412
Herceg Novi $1,997

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $2,737 in Herceg Novi.

Medellin $3,199
Herceg Novi $2,737

Living in Medellin is roughly 29% more expensive than in Herceg Novi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Herceg Novi is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$11.23 €9.99

-26.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$36.29 €32.28

29.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$9.16 €8.15

0.87%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$2.65 €2.36

15.09%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$2.50 €2.23

-28.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$1.63 €1.45

-15.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$2.84 €2.53

14.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$3.34 €2.97

66.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.20 €1.07

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.01 €0.90

134.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$2.93 €2.61

-41.98%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.98 €2.65

-0.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$9.02 €8.02

13.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$7.43 €6.61

31.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$12.99 €11.56

7.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.33 €1.18

210.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.57 €1.39

-2.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.63 €1.45

36.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.96 €2.63

-23.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.95 €0.85

109.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.29 €1.15

29.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.54 €1.37

-23.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.95 €0.85

30.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$4.00 €3.56

-3.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$4.37 €3.89

215.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$1.28 €1.14

29.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.74 €1.55

37.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$1.64 €1.46

-24.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$44.46 €39.55

75.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$2.84 €2.53

-54.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$1.10 €0.97

95.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$17.09 €15.20

-51.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.72 €1.53

-21.51%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$32.3K €28.8K

7.54%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$21.4K €19.0K

62.18%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$136 €121

22.35%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$13.14 €11.69

3.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$33.88 €30.14

-14.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$56.6 €50.3

-20.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$11.39 €10.13

50.83%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$7.81 €6.94

-10.76%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$444 €395

78.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$7,024 €6,248

28.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$84.3 €75.0

4.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$33.74 €30.01

72.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$72.7 €64.7

91.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$95.8 €85.2

3.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$651 €579

57.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$399 €355

55.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$1,257 €1,118

49.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$888 €790

13.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$3,685 €3,278

8.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$2,421 €2,153

-29.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$1,031 €917

-35.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

118.80%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Herceg Novi: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Herceg Novi

$399 31.7% 35.6% $221

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Herceg Novi

$228 18.1% 23.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Herceg Novi

$183 14.6% 12.5% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Herceg Novi

$129 10.3% 25.4% $44

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Herceg Novi

$187 14.8% 9.2% $16

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Herceg Novi

$59 4.7% 37.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Herceg Novi

$72 5.7% 22.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $651 in Herceg Novi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Herceg Novi pays 55% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $36.00 in Herceg Novi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $228 per month, with Herceg Novi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇪 Herceg Novi

🕒 Local time

06:41 6:41 AM

13:41 1:41 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

11,059

💱 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 20, 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Herceg Novi 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Herceg Novi

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 Herceg Novi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Herceg Novi differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $1,257 including rent). Herceg Novi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 55% lower in Herceg Novi. 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $651 in Herceg Novi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Herceg Novi – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,257 in Herceg Novi versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Herceg Novi but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Herceg Novi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Herceg Novi 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 Herceg Novi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.