Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Marabella

For one person, living is cheaper in Marabella: $770 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Marabella
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Marabella Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Marabella

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$770

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Marabella

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $770 in Marabella.

Medellin $1,639
Marabella $770

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,322 in Marabella.

Medellin $2,413
Marabella $1,322

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,873 in Marabella.

Medellin $3,186
Marabella $1,873

Living in Medellin is roughly 113% more expensive than in Marabella, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Marabella is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$10.47 TTD 70.3

-22.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$59.8 TTD 401

-21.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$7.98 TTD 53.6

19.05%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$3.82 TTD 25.64

-21.20%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.00 TTD 6.68

80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.77 TTD 5.18

83.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.79 TTD 11.99

77.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.57 TTD 17.24

123.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$2.00 TTD 13.43

-24.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.24 TTD 15.06

6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.87 TTD 19.26

-38.33%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$3.94 TTD 26.46

-26.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$6.70 TTD 44.97

52.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$10.27 TTD 68.9

-3.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$9.18 TTD 61.6

52.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$5.45 TTD 36.57

-27.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.53 TTD 17.01

-38.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$3.67 TTD 24.64

-40.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$4.26 TTD 28.56

-48.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.72 TTD 4.81

172.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.71 TTD 4.76

123.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.51 TTD 10.13

-23.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$1.17 TTD 7.83

5.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$5.57 TTD 37.40

-28.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$17.94 TTD 120

-23.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.51 TTD 10.11

9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$3.08 TTD 20.65

-26.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$0.87 TTD 5.85

45.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.93 TTD 6.22

120.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$15.04 TTD 101

-43.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.17 TTD 7.83

15.38%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$36.2K TTD 243.2K

-5.99%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$41.0K TTD 274.9K

-15.38%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$44.53 TTD 299

280.98%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$41.74 TTD 280

-67.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$44.96 TTD 302

-37.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$8.75 TTD 58.7

-21.03%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$404 TTD 2,710

97.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$10.9K TTD 73.3K

-16.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$55.4 TTD 371

53.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$36.52 TTD 245

58.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$89.7 TTD 602

50.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$87.4 TTD 587

11.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.75

90.26%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Marabella: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Marabella

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Marabella

$320 41.6% 7.9% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Marabella

$131 17% 37.9% $80

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Marabella

$175 22.7% 3% $5.1

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Marabella

$121 15.7% 28.4% $48

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Marabella

$5.5 * 0.7% 94.1% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Marabella

$17 * 2.3% 69.6% $40

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $60 in Marabella for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $320 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇹 Marabella

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

20:02 8:02 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

26,700

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.71 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 TTD (1 TTD = 0.133 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Marabella 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Marabella

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 Marabella: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $770 in Marabella, so Marabella is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,155 in Marabella 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.

Shoppers in Medellin pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $770 in Marabella – Marabella is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $770 in Marabella versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Marabella but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Marabella 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.