Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Linyi

For one person, living is cheaper in Linyi: $589 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Linyi
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Linyi Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Linyi

🇨🇳 China

$589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Linyi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $589 in Linyi.

Medellin $1,639
Linyi $589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $940 in Linyi.

Medellin $2,413
Linyi $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,291 in Linyi.

Medellin $3,186
Linyi $1,291

Living in Medellin is roughly 178% more expensive than in Linyi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Linyi is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$2.34 ¥15.52

245.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$24.86 ¥165

89.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$4.81 ¥31.99

97.51%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$2.65 ¥17.59

13.58%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$0.47 ¥3.10

282.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.21 ¥1.39

571.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$0.91 ¥6.07

249.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.03 ¥13.46

183.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.51 ¥10.07

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.45 ¥9.62

64.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$0.43 ¥2.84

311.63%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.06 ¥7.05

172.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.97 ¥59.6

13.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$1.81 ¥12.05

445.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$11.21 ¥74.5

24.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.14 ¥7.55

248.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.01 ¥6.73

53.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.01 ¥6.74

115.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$0.94 ¥6.24

131.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$0.44 ¥2.92

345.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$0.38 ¥2.54

318.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.57 ¥3.76

101.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.61 ¥4.09

103.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.48 ¥29.74

-11.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$9.95 ¥66.1

37.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$0.71 ¥4.74

133.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$1.33 ¥8.83

69.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.31 ¥2.06

277.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$1.03 ¥6.81

23.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.25 ¥1.66

720.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$4.44 ¥29.50

92.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$1.17 ¥7.75

15.38%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$16.5K ¥109.4K

106.89%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$15.1K ¥100.5K

129.24%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$72.2 ¥480

135.00%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$4.70 ¥31.20

188.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$5.05 ¥33.56

455.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$53.7 ¥356

-18.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$26.38 ¥175

-34.84%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.13 ¥34.07

34.70%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$213 ¥1,415

274.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$10.7K ¥71.0K

-14.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$22.15 ¥147

282.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$22.68 ¥151

155.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$69.8 ¥464

93.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$70.8 ¥470

38.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$212 ¥1,407

470.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$116 ¥773

451.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$499 ¥3,317

306.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$209 ¥1,390

383.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$1,501 ¥9,971

177.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$980 ¥6,510

94.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$785 ¥5,215

-16.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.13

249.52%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Linyi: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Linyi

$116 19.8% 81.9% $525

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Linyi

$164 27.8% 44.9% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Linyi

$82 13.9% 61.2% $129

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Linyi

$76 12.9% 55.1% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Linyi

$83 14.2% 50.6% $86

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Linyi

$3.5 * 0.6% 96.2% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Linyi

$64 10.9% 11.1% $6.4

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 $212 in Linyi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Linyi pays 19% 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 $25 in Linyi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $164 per month, with Linyi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Linyi

🕒 Local time

10:45 10:45 AM

23:45 11:45 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,710,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Linyi 15,190 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

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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 Linyi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Linyi wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Linyi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 16% 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 $212 in Linyi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $589 in Linyi – Linyi is about 64% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $589 in Linyi versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Linyi but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Linyi 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.