Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Lanus

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanus: $1,083 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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 Lanus
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Lanus Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Lanus

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,083

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Lanus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,083 in Lanus.

Medellin $1,639
Lanus $1,083

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,867 in Lanus.

Medellin $2,413
Lanus $1,867

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,651 in Lanus.

Medellin $3,186
Lanus $2,651

Living in Medellin is roughly 51% more expensive than in Lanus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

-19.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$38.23 ARS 58.8K

23.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$12.86 ARS 19.8K

-26.13%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.89 ARS 5,980

-22.62%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$2.05 ARS 3,152

-12.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.70 ARS 2,609

-17.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$3.94 ARS 6,059

-19.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.29 ARS 3,518

151.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.29 ARS 1,990

17.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$2.63 ARS 4,045

-9.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.66 ARS 2,551

6.63%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.53 ARS 3,899

14.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$6.90 ARS 10.6K

47.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$9.06 ARS 13.9K

8.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$13.24 ARS 20.4K

5.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.82 ARS 4,336

40.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.04 ARS 3,136

-24.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.05 ARS 1,620

107.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.76 ARS 2,713

23.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.93 ARS 1,430

110.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.64 ARS 982

148.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.64 ARS 2,515

-29.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.72 ARS 2,646

-27.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.21 ARS 4,941

23.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$5.49 ARS 8,438

149.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.53 ARS 2,354

8.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.78 ARS 4,272

-18.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.95 ARS 1,468

23.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.63 ARS 2,513

-22.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.02 ARS 1,567

100.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$8.14 ARS 12.5K

5.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.10 ARS 1,688

22.73%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$23.8K ARS 36.6M

43.29%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$30.3K ARS 46.6M

14.41%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$60.8 ARS 93.5K

179.17%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$19.90 ARS 30.6K

-31.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$27.26 ARS 41.9K

2.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$31.53 ARS 48.5K

38.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$19.01 ARS 29.2K

-9.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.83 ARS 7,434

43.06%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$232 ARS 357.4K

242.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$4,127 ARS 6.3M

120.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$36.34 ARS 55.9K

133.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$59.3 ARS 91.2K

-2.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$117 ARS 179.9K

15.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$102 ARS 156.8K

-4.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$582 ARS 895.1K

107.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$320 ARS 492.9K

100.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,017 ARS 1.6M

99.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$897 ARS 1.4M

12.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,214 ARS 1.9M

57.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

57.25

-80.89%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lanus: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Lanus

$320 29.6% 50% $321

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Lanus

$257 23.7% 13.6% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Lanus

$108 10% 48.9% $103

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Lanus

$205 18.9% 20.9% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Lanus

$142 13.1% 16.2% $27

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Lanus

$11 * 1% 88.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Lanus

$41 3.8% 28.4% $16

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $582 in Lanus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $38 in Lanus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $257 per month, with Lanus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇷 Lanus

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

19:05 7:05 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

459,263

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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 = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Lanus 4,900 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Lanus

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 Lanus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lanus is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in transport, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,625 in Lanus to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $582 in Lanus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $232 in Lanus. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Lanus – a meal for two runs $38 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,083 in Lanus versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lanus but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Lanus 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.