Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Mariano Roque Alonso

For one person, living is cheaper in Mariano Roque Alonso: $578 a month against $1,625 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 Mariano Roque Alonso
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Mariano Roque Alonso Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Mariano Roque Alonso

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$578

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Mariano Roque Alonso

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 Mariano Roque Alonso actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $578 in Mariano Roque Alonso.

Medellin $1,625
Mariano Roque Alonso $578

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $965 in Mariano Roque Alonso.

Medellin $2,412
Mariano Roque Alonso $965

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,352 in Mariano Roque Alonso.

Medellin $3,199
Mariano Roque Alonso $1,352

Living in Medellin is roughly 181% more expensive than in Mariano Roque Alonso, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$7.00 ₲39.8K

18.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$35.27 ₲200.6K

33.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$7.11 ₲40.4K

29.96%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$3.34 ₲19.0K

-8.68%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.10 ₲6,243

63.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.61 ₲3,455

126.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$1.94 ₲11.0K

67.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$1.74 ₲9,892

219.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.20 ₲6,813

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$0.91 ₲5,168

160.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.35 ₲7,670

25.93%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.48 ₲14.1K

19.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$8.87 ₲50.4K

15.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$5.22 ₲29.7K

86.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$8.46 ₲48.1K

64.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$2.07 ₲11.8K

99.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$0.71 ₲4,017

115.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$0.84 ₲4,756

164.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.13 ₲12.1K

6.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$1.40 ₲7,952

42.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.31 ₲7,461

27.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$0.72 ₲4,076

63.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.77 ₲4,386

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$2.39 ₲13.6K

61.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$4.28 ₲24.4K

221.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$0.90 ₲5,107

84.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.70 ₲9,695

41.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.64 ₲3,624

93.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$1.52 ₲8,620

-15.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$1.60 ₲9,116

34.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$10.27 ₲58.4K

-18.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.22 ₲6,932

10.66%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$17.6K ₲100.0M

97.72%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$30.1K ₲171.3M

15.11%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$50.3 ₲285.8K

231.58%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$17.47 ₲99.3K

-22.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$20.43 ₲116.2K

42.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$31.30 ₲178.0K

44.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.84 ₲38.9K

1.90%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$185 ₲1.1M

327.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$1,269 ₲7.2M

612.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$43.34 ₲246.4K

102.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$56.6 ₲321.8K

2.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$87.8 ₲499.0K

58.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$72.6 ₲412.5K

36.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$875 ₲5.0M

-24.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

21.56%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mariano Roque Alonso: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Mariano Roque Alonso

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$178 30.9% 40.1% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$88 15.3% 57.9% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$117 20.3% 32.2% $56

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$137 23.8% 19.5% $33

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$12 * 2.1% 87.3% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Mariano Roque Alonso

$45 7.8% 23.8% $14

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

Cost Breakdown

Mariano Roque Alonso pays 32% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $35.00 in Mariano Roque Alonso for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $178 per month, with Mariano Roque Alonso cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇾 Mariano Roque Alonso

🕒 Local time

14:43 2:43 PM

16:43 4:43 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

72,008

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.76 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.56 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5,686 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 6,393 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.56 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Mariano Roque Alonso 4,010 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Mariano Roque Alonso

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 Mariano Roque Alonso: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mariano Roque Alonso wins on cost – living expenses run 181% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Mariano Roque Alonso the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Mariano Roque Alonso. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $185 in Mariano Roque Alonso. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mariano Roque Alonso – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $578 in Mariano Roque Alonso versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mariano Roque Alonso but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Mariano Roque Alonso the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Mariano Roque Alonso delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $578 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Mariano Roque Alonso hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Mariano Roque Alonso gentler on the wallet – expenses run 181% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.