Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Queenstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,370 in Queenstown, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
115

Cost of Living Index in Queenstown
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Queenstown Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Queenstown

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,370

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Queenstown

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $2,370 in Queenstown, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Queenstown $2,370

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $3,764 in Queenstown, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Queenstown $3,764

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $5,158 in Queenstown, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Queenstown $5,158

Medellin is about 31% cheaper than Queenstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Medellin and Queenstown sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Queenstown by 74%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$17.26 NZ$30.77

-53.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$86.8 NZ$155

-45.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$9.76 NZ$17.39

-2.66%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.28 NZ$5.84

-8.23%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$2.29 NZ$4.08

-21.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$2.08 NZ$3.71

-32.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$6.75 NZ$12.02

-52.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$6.19 NZ$11.04

-7.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.14 NZ$3.81

-29.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.96 NZ$3.49

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.78 NZ$3.17

-0.56%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$5.80 NZ$10.33

-50.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$8.53 NZ$15.21

19.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$10.16 NZ$18.11

-2.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$15.81 NZ$28.18

-11.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.92 NZ$5.21

35.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.40 NZ$4.28

-35.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.89 NZ$6.94

-43.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$5.50 NZ$9.80

-60.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$3.55 NZ$6.33

-44.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.84 NZ$3.28

-13.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$2.42 NZ$4.31

-52.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.97 NZ$3.50

-37.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$27.67 NZ$49.31

-85.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$9.24 NZ$16.47

48.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$4.50 NZ$8.02

-63.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$6.63 NZ$11.81

-65.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.88 NZ$3.35

-37.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$128 NZ$229

-39.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$2.69 NZ$4.80

-52.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.92 NZ$3.43

6.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$29.48 NZ$52.5

-71.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.70 NZ$3.03

-20.59%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$26.7K NZ$47.5K

27.81%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$22.5K NZ$40.1K

53.96%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$111 NZ$197

53.49%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$28.93 NZ$51.6

-53.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$51.8 NZ$92.4

-45.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$55.9 NZ$99.6

-21.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$26.64 NZ$47.47

-35.47%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$11.17 NZ$19.91

-38.14%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$983 NZ$1,752

-18.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$7,685 NZ$13.7K

18.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$60.0 NZ$107

41.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$46.90 NZ$83.6

23.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$91.0 NZ$162

48.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$137 NZ$245

-28.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,523 NZ$2,714

-20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,162 NZ$2,072

-44.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$2,918 NZ$5,200

-30.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$2,294 NZ$4,089

-55.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$7,612 NZ$13.6K

-45.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$5,271 NZ$9,395

-63.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$3,054 NZ$5,443

-78.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.12

78.76%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Queenstown: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Queenstown

$1.2K 49% 81.2% $521

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Queenstown

$369 15.6% 24.3% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Queenstown

$191 8.1% 9.5% $20

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Queenstown

$270 11.4% 59.4% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Queenstown

$151 6.4% 10.7% $18

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Queenstown

$148 6.3% 58.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Queenstown

$78 3.3% 36% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,523 in Queenstown. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Queenstown are about 4.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $87 in Queenstown. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $369 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇿 Queenstown

🕒 Local time

09:07 9:07 AM

03:07 3:07 AM

18 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

15,450

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Queenstown 12,510 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Queenstown

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 Queenstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Queenstown is pricier by about 45%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $3,556 in Queenstown. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,208 there versus $1,523 in Queenstown.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $87 in Queenstown. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $2,370 in Queenstown. That’s a gap of about 45%.

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

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