Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Matsudo

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsudo: $1,239 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Matsudo
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Matsudo Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Matsudo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,239

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Matsudo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,239 in Matsudo.

Medellin $1,639
Matsudo $1,239

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,907 in Matsudo.

Medellin $2,413
Matsudo $1,907

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,574 in Matsudo.

Medellin $3,186
Matsudo $2,574

Living in Medellin is roughly 32% more expensive than in Matsudo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Matsudo is 9% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$6.20 ¥979

30.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$37.45 ¥5,915

25.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.94 ¥781

92.31%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,734

$3.54 ¥559

-14.97%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.10 ¥174

63.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,560

$0.79 ¥124

78.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.58 ¥407

23.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.13 ¥495

83.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,875

$1.45 ¥229

4.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,677

$1.67 ¥264

42.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,719

$3.60 ¥569

-50.83%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,332

$1.99 ¥314

45.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$10.36 ¥1,636

-1.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$5.96 ¥941

65.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$14.76 ¥2,331

-5.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$4.82 ¥762

-17.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,011

$2.27 ¥358

-31.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,047

$2.82 ¥446

-22.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,050

$4.23 ¥668

-48.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,336

$2.64 ¥417

-25.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,131

$2.66 ¥420

-40.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,698

$1.19 ¥189

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.76 ¥120

63.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.78 ¥597

4.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$6.43 ¥1,016

112.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.71 ¥271

-2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,290

$2.01 ¥318

12.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,770

$1.52 ¥239

-23.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$57.6 ¥9,094

34.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$3.15 ¥497

-59.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,611

$2.69 ¥424

-23.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$18.50 ¥2,922

-53.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,348

$1.10 ¥173

22.73%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$21.9K ¥3.5M

55.44%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$14.9K ¥2.4M

131.97%

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

$170 COP 547.7K

$135 ¥21.3K

25.50%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$23.07 ¥3,644

-41.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$30.51 ¥4,819

-8.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$45.93 ¥7,253

-4.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$13.05 ¥2,061

-47.05%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$835 ¥131.8K

-4.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-38.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$55.8 ¥8,811

51.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.1K

$32.81 ¥5,182

76.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.7K

$62.5 ¥9,873

115.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$70.7 ¥11.2K

38.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$593 ¥93.7K

103.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$383 ¥60.6K

67.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$904 ¥142.8K

124.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$718 ¥113.4K

40.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$4,478 ¥707.3K

-6.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,545 ¥401.9K

-24.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.25

386.22%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Matsudo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Matsudo

$383 31% 40.2% $258

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Matsudo

$281 22.7% 5.2% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Matsudo

$189 15.2% 10.6% $23

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Matsudo

$134 10.8% 21.2% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Matsudo

$100 8.1% 40.9% $69

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Matsudo

$80 6.5% 14.2% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Matsudo

$72 5.8% 25.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $593 in Matsudo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $37 in Matsudo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $281 per month, with Matsudo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇯🇵 Matsudo

🕒 Local time

09:24 9:24 AM

23:24 11:24 PM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

485,803

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, 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 = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Matsudo 14,050 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Matsudo

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 Matsudo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matsudo is about 24% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,859 in Matsudo 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 $593 in Matsudo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Matsudo runs roughly 26% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $835 in Matsudo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,239 in Matsudo versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Matsudo but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Matsudo 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.

Expats usually find Matsudo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.