Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kobe

For one person, living is cheaper in Kobe: $1,381 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
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Kobe Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kobe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $1,381 in Kobe.

Medellin $1,614
Kobe $1,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $2,056 in Kobe.

Medellin $2,402
Kobe $2,056

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $2,732 in Kobe.

Medellin $3,190
Kobe $2,732

Living in Medellin is roughly 17% more expensive than in Kobe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Kobe 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$7.75 ¥1,224

2.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$30.99 ¥4,896

48.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$4.76 ¥752

99.58%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$2.34 ¥370

32.91%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.14 ¥180

60.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.62 ¥97.6

122.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$2.05 ¥324

48.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.33 ¥369

136.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.53 ¥242

-5.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.25 ¥198

88.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$4.19 ¥662

-59.90%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.00 ¥317

43.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$12.57 ¥1,985

-18.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$7.06 ¥1,115

34.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$17.20 ¥2,717

-18.37%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$7.99 ¥1,263

-49.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$2.94 ¥464

-48.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$5.09 ¥804

-57.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$7.64 ¥1,208

-69.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$3.86 ¥610

-50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$3.37 ¥533

-51.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.18 ¥186

-4.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.88 ¥140

42.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$3.40 ¥538

17.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$8.29 ¥1,309

61.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.96 ¥310

-13.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.50 ¥237

58.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$1.47 ¥232

-17.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

$64.1 ¥10.1K

19.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$3.17 ¥501

-58.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$3.17 ¥501

-32.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$26.12 ¥4,127

-67.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.10 ¥173

18.18%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$20.1K ¥3.2M

39.03%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$15.5K ¥2.4M

129.01%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$143 ¥22.6K

20.54%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$23.62 ¥3,732

-43.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$31.28 ¥4,942

-8.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$45.38 ¥7,170

-0.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$11.47 ¥1,813

48.56%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$11.46 ¥1,810

-45.20%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$317 ¥50.0K

143.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$6,099 ¥963.6K

47.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$49.73 ¥7,857

73.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$25.25 ¥3,988

126.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$46.07 ¥7,279

196.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$64.8 ¥10.2K

51.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$683 ¥107.8K

54.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$459 ¥72.5K

34.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$1,057 ¥166.9K

79.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$741 ¥117.1K

37.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$4,263 ¥673.4K

-4.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$2,821 ¥445.7K

-40.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$1,962 ¥310.0K

-66.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.02

441.58%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kobe: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Kobe

$459 33.3% 25.4% $157

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Kobe

$356 25.8% 21% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Kobe

$198 14.3% 7.7% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Kobe

$84 6.1% 50.8% $86

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Kobe

$126 9.2% 25% $42

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Kobe

$89 6.5% 4.6% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Kobe

$68 5% 18.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,055 in Medellin and $683 in Kobe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays 201% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $31.00 in Kobe. Groceries flip the comparison at $295 vs $356, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇯🇵 Kobe

🕒 Local time

22:34 10:34 PM

12:34 12:34 PM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,537,272

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Kobe 14,430 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
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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 Kobe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kobe wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kobe the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 201% lower in Kobe. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $683 in Kobe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kobe runs roughly 19% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $317 in Kobe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,381 in Kobe versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kobe but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kobe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kobe delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,381 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kobe hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Kobe 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 Kobe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.