Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Itanagar

For one person, living is cheaper in Itanagar: $350 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 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
17

Cost of Living Index in Itanagar
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Itanagar Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Itanagar

🇮🇳 India

$350

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Itanagar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $350 in Itanagar.

Medellin $1,692
Itanagar $350

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $558 in Itanagar.

Medellin $2,471
Itanagar $558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $765 in Itanagar.

Medellin $3,249
Itanagar $765

Living in Medellin is roughly 384% more expensive than in Itanagar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Itanagar is 74% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$2.84 ₹269

193.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$11.71 ₹1,109

297.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$5.40 ₹512

75.37%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$2.46 ₹233

27.24%

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

$1.77 COP 5,728

$0.43 ₹41.16

311.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,620

$0.16 ₹15.55

787.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.30 ₹123

142.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$3.50 ₹331

62.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,971

$0.67 ₹63.1

128.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,431

$0.38 ₹36.36

502.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,308

$0.61 ₹57.7

218.03%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,945

$0.95 ₹90.3

223.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$2.07 ₹196

382.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$3.30 ₹313

216.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.20 ₹209

84.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,957

$0.73 ₹68.8

109.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,825

$0.95 ₹89.8

121.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,439

$0.62 ₹59.1

269.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,841

$0.35 ₹33.32

502.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,543

$0.35 ₹32.93

388.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,795

$0.31 ₹28.97

277.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,125

$0.25 ₹23.60

532.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$3.66 ₹346

6.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.6K

$4.61 ₹437

204.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,714

$1.52 ₹144

15.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,796

$1.24 ₹117

118.55%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.84 ₹458

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,826

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,860

$0.68 ₹64.5

166.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,906

$0.28 ₹26.21

660.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$1.31 ₹124

520.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,136

$0.96 ₹91.3

33.33%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$11.3K ₹1.1M

205.08%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$16.8K ₹1.6M

103.68%

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

$178 COP 576.4K

$34.74 ₹3,291

411.60%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$3.36 ₹319

313.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$6.41 ₹608

379.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$21.33 ₹2,020

96.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$3.26 ₹309

129.14%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$28.09 ₹2,661

2712.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$470 ₹44.6K

2513.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 280.0K

$16.04 ₹1,519

438.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$34.53 ₹3,271

71.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.7K

$36.18 ₹3,427

282.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.5K

$26.92 ₹2,550

267.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$72.7 ₹6,890

1743.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$53.0 ₹5,017

1159.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$161 ₹15.2K

1128.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$127 ₹12.1K

711.21%

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

$321 ₹30.4K

101.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.26

50.69%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Itanagar: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Itanagar

$53 15.1% 92.1% $614

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Itanagar

$87 24.9% 71.7% $220

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Itanagar

$45 12.7% 80% $178

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Itanagar

$84 24.1% 51.1% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Itanagar

$51 14.6% 70.3% $121

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Itanagar

$2.1 * 0.6% 97.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Itanagar

$28 8% 51.1% $29

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 $1,341 in Medellin and $73 in Itanagar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $12 in Itanagar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $87 per month, with Itanagar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇮🇳 Itanagar

🕒 Local time

02:36 2:36 AM

13:06 1:06 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

60,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.56 USD

1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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 = 3,636 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 94.73 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Itanagar 16,130 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Itanagar

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 Itanagar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Itanagar is about 79% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Medellin is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,341 in Medellin versus $73 in Itanagar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $28 in Itanagar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Itanagar – a meal for two runs $12 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $350 in Itanagar versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Itanagar but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Itanagar 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.

It comes down to priorities – Itanagar wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.