Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Iquique

For one person, living is cheaper in Iquique: $1,009 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Iquique
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Iquique Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Iquique

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,009

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Iquique

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $1,009 in Iquique.

Medellin $1,625
Iquique $1,009

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,595 in Iquique.

Medellin $2,412
Iquique $1,595

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $2,181 in Iquique.

Medellin $3,199
Iquique $2,181

Living in Medellin is roughly 61% more expensive than in Iquique, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Iquique is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$7.52 CLP 7,405

10.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$40.89 CLP 40.3K

14.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$7.09 CLP 6,979

30.32%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$3.45 CLP 3,400

-11.59%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.24 CLP 1,219

45.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$1.02 CLP 1,002

35.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$3.19 CLP 3,141

1.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$3.62 CLP 3,562

53.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.12 CLP 1,102

33.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.17 CLP 1,148

102.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.30 CLP 1,275

30.77%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.97 CLP 2,928

-0.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$10.38 CLP 10.2K

-1.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$10.13 CLP 9,973

-3.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$2.30 CLP 2,263

79.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$2.24 CLP 2,205

-31.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.49 CLP 1,466

48.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.09 CLP 1,071

108.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.73 CLP 722

172.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$0.58 CLP 574

187.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.05 CLP 1,030

12.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$1.35 CLP 1,328

-8.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$7.01 CLP 6,904

-44.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$7.60 CLP 7,477

81.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$0.81 CLP 793

196.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.68 CLP 666

82.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.44 CLP 1,419

-6.25%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$85.7 CLP 84.4K

94.48%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$15.04 CLP 14.8K

-9.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$23.18 CLP 22.8K

25.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$50.1 CLP 49.3K

-9.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.87 CLP 6,764

1.46%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$251 CLP 247.1K

214.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$30.07 CLP 29.6K

191.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$22.86 CLP 22.5K

154.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$45.02 CLP 44.3K

208.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$57.8 CLP 56.9K

71.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$413 CLP 406.6K

148.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$394 CLP 388.3K

57.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$690 CLP 679.5K

172.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$781 CLP 769.1K

28.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$1,709 CLP 1.7M

133.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,902 CLP 1.9M

-10.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$934 CLP 919.7K

-29.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.5

45.87%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Iquique: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Iquique

$394 39.1% 36.3% $225

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Iquique

$199 * 19.7% 33.3% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Iquique

$124 12.3% 40.8% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Iquique

$70 7% 59.4% $103

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Iquique

$155 15.4% 9.2% $16

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Iquique

$2.7 * 0.3% 97.2% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Iquique

$64 6.3% 8.1% $4.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $413 in Iquique. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iquique pays 41% 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 $41.00 in Iquique for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $199 per month, with Iquique cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇱 Iquique

🕒 Local time

09:23 9:23 AM

11:23 11:23 AM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

188,003

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, 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).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Iquique 3,000 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Iquique

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 Iquique: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Iquique differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $1,009 including rent). Iquique is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% lower in Iquique. 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 $413 in Iquique. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,625 per month in Medellin versus $1,009 in Iquique – a 61% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,009 in Iquique versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iquique but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Iquique 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.

Expats usually find Iquique gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.