Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Rui'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Rui'an: $715 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Rui'an
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Rui'an Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Rui'an

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Rui'an

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

A single person spends $1,589 per month in Medellin vs $715 in Rui'an, rent included.

Medellin $1,589
Rui'an $715

A couple spends around $2,364 per month in Medellin vs $1,141 in Rui'an, rent included.

Medellin $2,364
Rui'an $1,141

A family of three spends $3,139 per month in Medellin vs $1,566 in Rui'an, rent included.

Medellin $3,139
Rui'an $1,566

Medellin costs about 122% more than Rui'an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 19% above the global median, while Rui'an is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.6K

$2.86 ¥19.11

180.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.7K

$21.28 ¥142

118.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$4.79 ¥32.00

96.87%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,300

$2.97 ¥19.85

-2.02%

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

$1.75 COP 5,599

$0.44 ¥2.93

297.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,229

$0.27 ¥1.80

388.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,993

$0.88 ¥5.85

255.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$2.04 ¥13.61

172.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,506

$1.88 ¥12.53

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,796

$1.61 ¥10.77

51.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,204

$0.96 ¥6.41

69.79%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 9,012

$1.54 ¥10.32

83.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 31.0K

$12.88 ¥86.1

-24.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.8K

$3.10 ¥20.72

200.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 43.0K

$10.28 ¥68.7

30.93%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$1.80 ¥12.01

122.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,730

$1.20 ¥8.01

23.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,785

$1.49 ¥9.95

42.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,196

$1.10 ¥7.32

104.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,107

$0.75 ¥5.04

154.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,173

$0.89 ¥5.92

82.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,667

$0.56 ¥3.77

105.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,031

$0.50 ¥3.37

152.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$3.12 ¥20.85

22.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.9K

$10.61 ¥70.9

23.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,096

$0.74 ¥4.96

116.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,206

$1.58 ¥10.57

43.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,740

$0.27 ¥1.78

333.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.6K

$16.92 ¥113

343.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,066

$1.42 ¥9.47

-10.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,548

$0.35 ¥2.37

485.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.2K

$6.72 ¥44.88

22.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$1.13 ¥7.56

12.39%

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

$26.8K COP 85.5M

$19.7K ¥132.0K

35.60%

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

$34.4K COP 109.9M

$17.4K ¥116.0K

98.20%

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

$162 COP 518.2K

$45.23 ¥302

258.63%

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

$13.12 COP 41.9K

$9.67 ¥64.6

35.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.7K

$11.80 ¥78.9

138.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.6K

$41.87 ¥280

5.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.2K

$13.75 ¥91.9

18.76%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$5.76 ¥38.46

5.73%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$329 ¥2,199

132.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$16.6K ¥110.7K

-46.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 271.4K

$43.49 ¥291

95.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.6K

$30.24 ¥202

90.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 420.9K

$72.0 ¥481

83.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.9K

$72.5 ¥485

32.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$280 ¥1,874

266.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$195 ¥1,301

210.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.8M

$590 ¥3,941

205.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$354 ¥2,364

180.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

$3,050 ¥20.4K

28.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

$1,998 ¥13.3K

-17.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.89

181.23%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Rui'an: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Rui'an

$195 27.2% 67.8% $410

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Rui'an

$198 27.6% 31.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Rui'an

$67 9.3% 67.2% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Rui'an

$98 13.7% 41% $68

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Rui'an

$84 11.8% 49.4% $82

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Rui'an

$21 3% 76.8% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Rui'an

$53 7.5% 5.5% $3.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Medellin versus $280 in Rui'an. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Medellin versus $21.00 in Rui'an. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $198 – making Rui'an the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇨🇳 Rui'an

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

14:21 2:21 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

213,600

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.13 USD

10,000 COP = 2.79 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 3,194 COP (10,000 COP = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 3,580 COP (10,000 COP = 2.79 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 6.68 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Rui'an 15,850 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

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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 Rui'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 122%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,384 per month in Medellin and $1,072 in Rui'an. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rui'an, 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 $47.00 in Medellin and $21.00 in Rui'an. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,589 in Medellin and $715 in Rui'an. That's a gap of about 122%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Rui'an, where all-in costs run around $715, than in Medellin at $1,589. In Rui'an it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rui'an – 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 Rui'an. 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.