Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Kaohsiung: $1,105 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
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Kaohsiung Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kaohsiung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,105 in Kaohsiung.

Medellin $1,639
Kaohsiung $1,105

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,796 in Kaohsiung.

Medellin $2,413
Kaohsiung $1,796

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,487 in Kaohsiung.

Medellin $3,186
Kaohsiung $2,487

Living in Medellin is roughly 48% more expensive than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kaohsiung is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.74 NT$155

70.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$30.77 NT$1,003

52.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.60 NT$150

106.52%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.93 NT$95.4

2.73%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.05 NT$34.21

71.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.69 NT$22.61

104.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.51 NT$49.24

110.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.39 NT$78.1

140.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$3.16 NT$103

-52.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.18 NT$71.1

9.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.87 NT$93.5

-38.33%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.54 NT$82.9

13.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$15.21 NT$496

-33.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$8.03 NT$262

22.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$14.77 NT$481

-5.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$6.40 NT$209

-37.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.79 NT$90.9

-44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$2.42 NT$78.8

-9.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$3.02 NT$98.6

-27.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$2.68 NT$87.4

-26.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.97 NT$64.4

-19.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$2.30 NT$74.9

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.02 NT$33.12

21.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.24 NT$138

-6.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$15.44 NT$503

-11.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.61 NT$52.5

3.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.09 NT$68.0

8.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.62 NT$20.35

88.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$12.04 NT$393

542.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$2.64 NT$86.0

-51.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.78 NT$25.48

162.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$5.68 NT$185

50.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.97 NT$31.78

39.18%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$37.1K NT$1.2M

-8.29%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$22.7K NT$739.4K

52.89%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$82.1 NT$2,676

106.71%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$16.89 NT$551

-19.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$25.27 NT$824

11.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$39.20 NT$1,278

11.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$10.12 NT$330

69.86%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.11 NT$330

-31.65%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$448 NT$14.6K

77.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$13.7K NT$445.8K

-33.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$90.0 NT$2,935

-5.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$31.24 NT$1,019

85.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$86.0 NT$2,805

56.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$99.3 NT$3,239

-1.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$430 NT$14.0K

180.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$301 NT$9,806

113.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$985 NT$32.1K

105.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$681 NT$22.2K

48.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$4,146 NT$135.2K

0.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,875 NT$93.7K

-33.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,401 NT$45.7K

-53.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.56

327.34%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kaohsiung

$301 27.2% 53.1% $341

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kaohsiung

$355 32.1% 19.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kaohsiung

$124 11.3% 41.2% $87

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kaohsiung

$106 9.6% 37.4% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kaohsiung

$138 12.5% 18.4% $31

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kaohsiung

$21 1.9% 77.5% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kaohsiung

$59 5.4% 3.3% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays about 2.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $31 in Kaohsiung. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $355, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

18:04 6:04 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,777,873

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.39 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Kaohsiung 16,370 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kaohsiung

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 Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,105 in Kaohsiung, so Kaohsiung is about 33% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 53% lower in Medellin. 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $430 in Kaohsiung. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $448 in Kaohsiung. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kaohsiung gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.