Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Magnitogorsk

For one person, living is cheaper in Magnitogorsk: $1,163 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Magnitogorsk
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Magnitogorsk Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Magnitogorsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,163

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Magnitogorsk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $1,163 in Magnitogorsk.

Medellin $1,625
Magnitogorsk $1,163

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,772 in Magnitogorsk.

Medellin $2,412
Magnitogorsk $1,772

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $2,380 in Magnitogorsk.

Medellin $3,199
Magnitogorsk $2,380

Living in Medellin is roughly 40% more expensive than in Magnitogorsk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Magnitogorsk is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$9.25 ₽772

-10.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$36.14 ₽3,016

29.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$8.25 ₽689

12.00%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$3.13 ₽261

-2.56%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.14 ₽95.4

57.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.35 ₽28.84

294.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$2.46 ₽206

31.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$2.88 ₽240

93.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.21 ₽101

23.97%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.05 ₽87.9

125.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$2.14 ₽179

-20.56%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$1.60 ₽133

85.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$15.28 ₽1,275

-33.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$6.19 ₽516

57.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$11.41 ₽953

21.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.74 ₽145

137.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.74 ₽146

-12.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$2.13 ₽178

4.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.33 ₽194

-2.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.85 ₽70.7

134.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$0.55 ₽46.01

203.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.07 ₽88.9

10.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.73 ₽61.1

69.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$3.66 ₽305

5.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$12.19 ₽1,017

13.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$0.81 ₽67.6

104.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.58 ₽132

51.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.55 ₽45.93

125.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$2.99 ₽249

-57.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.38 ₽31.44

465.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$7.35 ₽614

13.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$0.85 ₽70.9

58.82%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$52.8K ₽4.4M

-34.14%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$41.5K ₽3.5M

-16.34%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$153 ₽12.8K

8.98%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$6.43 ₽537

111.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$8.31 ₽694

250.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$32.44 ₽2,707

39.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$26.09 ₽2,177

-34.15%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.00 ₽500

16.17%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$299 ₽24.9K

164.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$5,859 ₽489.0K

54.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$50.9 ₽4,248

72.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$69.4 ₽5,790

-16.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$163 ₽13.6K

-14.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$146 ₽12.2K

-32.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$464 ₽38.7K

121.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$354 ₽29.6K

74.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$936 ₽78.2K

100.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$601 ₽50.2K

67.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$2,136 ₽178.3K

86.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,641 ₽136.9K

3.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

20.5

-46.63%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Magnitogorsk: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Magnitogorsk

$354 30.5% 42.8% $265

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Magnitogorsk

$236 20.3% 20.7% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Magnitogorsk

$168 14.4% 19.9% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Magnitogorsk

$193 16.6% 11.8% $20

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Magnitogorsk

$160 13.8% 6.1% $10

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Magnitogorsk

$7.1 * 0.6% 92.6% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Magnitogorsk

$44 3.8% 24.7% $15

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 $1,028 in Medellin and $464 in Magnitogorsk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $36.00 in Magnitogorsk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $236 per month, with Magnitogorsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇷🇺 Magnitogorsk

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

05:18 5:18 AM

10 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

413,251

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Medellin Magnitogorsk 12,140 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Magnitogorsk

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 Magnitogorsk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Magnitogorsk wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Magnitogorsk the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,437 in Medellin and $1,745 in Magnitogorsk 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $464 in Magnitogorsk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,625 per month in Medellin versus $1,163 in Magnitogorsk – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,163 in Magnitogorsk versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Magnitogorsk but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Magnitogorsk the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Magnitogorsk delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,163 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Magnitogorsk hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Magnitogorsk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.