Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Katowice

For one person, living is cheaper in Katowice: $1,447 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Katowice
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Katowice Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Katowice

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,447

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Katowice

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,447 in Katowice.

Medellin $1,639
Katowice $1,447

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,057 in Katowice.

Medellin $2,413
Katowice $2,057

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,668 in Katowice.

Medellin $3,186
Katowice $2,668

Living in Medellin is roughly 13% more expensive than in Katowice, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Katowice 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$10.16 zł 40.22

-20.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$34.95 zł 138

34.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$8.73 zł 34.54

8.82%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.51 zł 13.89

-14.25%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$2.73 zł 10.81

-34.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$2.61 zł 10.33

-45.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$3.60 zł 14.23

-11.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$4.51 zł 17.85

27.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.97 zł 3.86

55.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.25 zł 4.93

90.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.49 zł 5.90

18.79%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$3.33 zł 13.18

-13.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$7.86 zł 31.09

29.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$5.46 zł 21.59

80.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$13.59 zł 53.8

2.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.08 zł 4.27

267.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.45 zł 5.74

6.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.47 zł 5.81

48.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$2.54 zł 10.06

-14.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.96 zł 3.80

104.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.81 zł 3.21

96.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.27 zł 5.03

-9.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.63 zł 2.50

96.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$5.80 zł 22.97

-31.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$6.24 zł 24.68

119.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.00 zł 3.95

66.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.61 zł 6.35

40.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.14 zł 4.51

2.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$30.60 zł 121

152.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.82 zł 7.19

-30.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.69 zł 2.71

197.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$10.68 zł 42.25

-19.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.72 zł 6.82

-21.51%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$30.5K zł 120.9K

11.55%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$27.0K zł 107.0K

28.21%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$283 zł 1,119

-39.99%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$7.72 zł 30.55

75.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$17.37 zł 68.7

61.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$33.83 zł 134

29.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$17.76 zł 70.3

-3.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$7.47 zł 29.55

-7.50%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$554 zł 2,194

43.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$12.2K zł 48.2K

-25.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$67.4 zł 267

25.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$31.10 zł 123

86.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$88.7 zł 351

52.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$93.0 zł 368

5.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$683 zł 2,703

76.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$522 zł 2,067

22.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,008 zł 3,988

101.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$829 zł 3,282

22.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$3,145 zł 12.4K

32.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$2,003 zł 7,927

-4.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,752 zł 6,933

-62.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.19

52.16%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Katowice: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Katowice

$522 36.1% 18.6% $119

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Katowice

$204 14.1% 31.4% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Katowice

$308 21.3% 45.7% $97

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Katowice

$198 13.7% 16.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Katowice

$126 8.7% 25.4% $43

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Katowice

$40 2.8% 56.8% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Katowice

$49 3.4% 15.2% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $683 in Katowice. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Katowice pays about 2.7 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 $35 in Katowice for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $204 per month, with Katowice cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇱 Katowice

🕒 Local time

10:50 10:50 AM

16:50 4:50 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

286,960

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 PLN = 0.253 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.96 PLN (1 PLN = 0.253 USD). 1 EUR = 4.4 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Katowice 9,800 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Katowice

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 Katowice: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Katowice differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,639 vs $1,447 including rent). Katowice is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% 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 $683 in Katowice. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $554 in Katowice. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Katowice 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.

Expats usually find Katowice gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.