Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and San Felipe

For one person, living is cheaper in San Felipe: $1,164 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in San Felipe
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San Felipe Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

San Felipe

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,164

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in San Felipe

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $1,164 in San Felipe, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
San Felipe $1,164

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,828 in San Felipe, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
San Felipe $1,828

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $2,492 in San Felipe, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
San Felipe $2,492

Medellin costs about 45% more than San Felipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while San Felipe is 14% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$7.16 MX$133

16.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.2K

$43.19 MX$804

7.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$8.57 MX$160

10.50%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.53 MX$65.7

-11.33%

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

$1.77 COP 5,702

$1.39 MX$25.89

27.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,599

$1.00 MX$18.53

42.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.48 MX$46.22

27.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$3.91 MX$72.8

45.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,948

$1.60 MX$29.80

-4.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$2.59 MX$48.11

-11.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,279

$1.69 MX$31.48

14.79%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,900

$2.49 MX$46.32

23.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$8.01 MX$149

24.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$8.12 MX$151

28.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$11.42 MX$212

22.24%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.73 MX$50.8

48.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,934

$1.50 MX$27.86

2.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,794

$1.84 MX$34.18

14.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,405

$1.76 MX$32.73

30.11%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,810

$2.05 MX$38.23

2.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,518

$1.87 MX$34.73

-8.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,778

$1.45 MX$26.97

-19.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,101

$1.06 MX$19.71

49.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$4.38 MX$81.4

-10.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$10.37 MX$193

35.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,688

$1.77 MX$32.87

-0.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,756

$3.18 MX$59.2

-14.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,809

$0.62 MX$11.62

90.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.3K

$29.98 MX$558

154.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,833

$2.61 MX$48.61

-30.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,874

$1.89 MX$35.11

12.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$10.76 MX$200

-24.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,117

$1.43 MX$26.53

-10.49%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$23.4K MX$435.6K

47.11%

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

$34.1K COP 110.2M

$23.1K MX$429.1K

48.03%

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

$178 COP 573.8K

$58.0 MX$1,079

206.48%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$22.03 MX$410

-36.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.2K

$29.28 MX$545

4.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.4K

$31.85 MX$593

31.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

$20.13 MX$375

-16.54%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$5.15 MX$95.9

45.05%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$220 MX$4,089

259.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$4,451 MX$82.8K

176.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.7K

$53.6 MX$997

61.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.3K

$39.71 MX$739

49.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.6K

$96.9 MX$1,803

42.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.0K

$88.9 MX$1,655

11.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$603 MX$11.2K

122.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$427 MX$7,938

56.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$1,010 MX$18.8K

95.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$767 MX$14.3K

34.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$1,913 MX$35.6K

114.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,133 MX$21.1K

71.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.31

-3.27%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for San Felipe: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

San Felipe

$427 36.7% 36.1% $241

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

San Felipe

$261 22.4% 15.2% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

San Felipe

$109 9.4% 50.8% $113

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

San Felipe

$155 13.3% 10.1% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

San Felipe

$126 10.8% 27.1% $47

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

San Felipe

$45 3.8% 52.4% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

San Felipe

$42 3.6% 25.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $603 in San Felipe. 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 in Medellin versus $43 in San Felipe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $261 – making San Felipe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇽 San Felipe

🕒 Local time

15:56 3:56 PM

14:56 2:56 PM

1 h behind Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

28,452

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 MXN = 5.37 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18.61 MXN (100 MXN = 5.37 USD). 1 EUR = 20.81 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin San Felipe 3,230 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
San Felipe

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 San Felipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,746 in San Felipe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Felipe, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $603 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $43 in San Felipe. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $1,164 in San Felipe. That makes San Felipe about 31% cheaper.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Felipe, where all-in costs run around $1,164, than in Medellin at $1,692. In San Felipe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, San Felipe is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 31% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.