Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Pingtung city

For one person, living is cheaper in Pingtung city: $890 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Pingtung city
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Pingtung city Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Pingtung city

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$890

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Pingtung city

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $890 in Pingtung city, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Pingtung city $890

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,441 in Pingtung city, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Pingtung city $1,441

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,993 in Pingtung city, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Pingtung city $1,993

Medellin costs about 84% more than Pingtung city, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Pingtung city is 35% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.51 NT$147

79.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$30.78 NT$1,003

52.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.74 NT$154

100.42%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.95 NT$96.3

2.03%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.02 NT$33.23

76.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.64 NT$20.76

120.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.46 NT$47.49

117.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.43 NT$79.3

136.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$3.22 NT$105

-53.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.87 NT$60.8

27.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.54 NT$82.9

-30.31%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.55 NT$83.3

13.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$15.44 NT$504

-34.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$7.67 NT$250

28.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$14.97 NT$488

-6.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$4.32 NT$141

-8.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.92 NT$62.7

-19.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$2.53 NT$82.5

-13.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$3.02 NT$98.6

-27.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.22 NT$39.81

60.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.86 NT$60.8

-14.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$2.26 NT$73.8

-49.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.84 NT$27.39

47.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.72 NT$121

6.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$15.66 NT$511

-12.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.54 NT$50.2

7.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.16 NT$70.6

4.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.48 NT$15.66

143.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$2.63 NT$85.7

-51.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.80 NT$26.00

156.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.25 NT$204

36.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.99 NT$32.36

36.36%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$34.7K NT$1.1M

-1.94%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$22.2K NT$722.4K

56.49%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$108 NT$3,527

56.85%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$14.35 NT$468

-5.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$25.28 NT$824

11.04%

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

$9.96 NT$325

-30.62%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$328 NT$10.7K

142.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$13.6K NT$443.2K

-32.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$69.5 NT$2,267

21.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$30.29 NT$988

91.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$80.8 NT$2,635

67.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$100 NT$3,268

-2.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$243 NT$7,923

397.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$153 NT$5,000

318.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$713 NT$23.2K

184.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$372 NT$12.1K

171.78%

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

$1,946 NT$63.4K

-66.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.27

381.94%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pingtung city: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Pingtung city

$153 17.2% 76.1% $488

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Pingtung city

$329 37% 10.8% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Pingtung city

$148 16.6% 30% $63

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Pingtung city

$105 11.8% 38.3% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Pingtung city

$126 14.2% 25.2% $43

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Pingtung city

$8.5 * 1% 90.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Pingtung city

$20 * 2.2% 65.4% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $243 in Pingtung city. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Pingtung city are about 3 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $31 in Pingtung city. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $329 in Pingtung city – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Pingtung city

🕒 Local time

00:44 12:44 AM

13:44 1:44 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

201,644

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Pingtung city 16,350 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Pingtung city

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 Pingtung city: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 84%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,334 in Pingtung city. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pingtung city, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $243 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $31 in Pingtung city. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 10% cheaper in Medellin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Pingtung city, where all-in costs run around $890, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Pingtung city it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Pingtung city – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.