Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Poltava

For one person, living is cheaper in Poltava: $750 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Poltava
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Poltava Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Poltava

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Poltava

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

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $750 in Poltava, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Poltava $750

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $954 in Poltava, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Poltava $954

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $1,157 in Poltava, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Poltava $1,157

Medellin costs about 115% more than Poltava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Poltava is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$5.45 ₴245

45.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$32.82 ₴1,473

40.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$7.92 ₴356

19.95%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$1.68 ₴75.6

85.12%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.77 ₴34.71

137.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.59 ₴26.44

133.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$0.94 ₴42.20

224.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$1.97 ₴88.5

179.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.08 ₴48.39

34.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$0.76 ₴34.23

210.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.49 ₴66.9

12.75%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$1.95 ₴87.6

46.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$9.59 ₴430

6.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$5.23 ₴235

82.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$6.62 ₴297

112.08%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.25 ₴55.9

225.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.54 ₴69.0

-2.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.83 ₴82.3

18.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.31 ₴58.9

76.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$0.46 ₴20.45

319.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$0.28 ₴12.67

485.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.45 ₴65.2

-22.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.65 ₴29.37

92.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$3.40 ₴152

17.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$5.02 ₴225

165.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$0.78 ₴35.16

117.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.43 ₴64.1

65.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.32 ₴14.20

278.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$2.27 ₴102

-41.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.42 ₴18.80

409.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$4.36 ₴196

94.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.49 ₴66.7

-12.75%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$28.7K ₴1.3M

-2.62%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$21.8K ₴976.8K

62.73%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$62.4 ₴2,800

175.92%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$4.89 ₴220

173.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$4.67 ₴209

515.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$20.06 ₴900

125.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$7.36 ₴330

131.52%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$3.10 ₴139

102.58%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$277 ₴12.4K

178.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$15.1K ₴677.5K

-40.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$61.4 ₴2,756

40.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$39.63 ₴1,779

44.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$65.6 ₴2,943

108.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$85.6 ₴3,842

14.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$311 ₴14.0K

239.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$263 ₴11.8K

134.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$881 ₴39.6K

360.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$421 ₴18.9K

54.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

17.88

-38.81%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Poltava: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Poltava

$263 35% 57.3% $353

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Poltava

$169 22.5% 42.8% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Poltava

$72 9.6% 66.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Poltava

$113 15.1% 33.3% $57

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Poltava

$102 13.6% 39.6% $67

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Poltava

$5.6 * 0.8% 94% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Poltava

$26 3.5% 54.6% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $311 in Poltava. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 55% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin versus $33.00 in Poltava. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $169 – making Poltava the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇺🇦 Poltava

🕒 Local time

08:31 8:31 AM

16:31 4:31 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

297,600

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Poltava 10,900 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Poltava

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 Poltava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 115%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $1,125 in Poltava. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Poltava, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin and $33.00 in Poltava. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 75% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Poltava, where all-in costs run around $750, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Poltava it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Poltava. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.