Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and San Lorenzo, Paraguay

For one person, living is cheaper in San Lorenzo: $577 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
28

Cost of Living Index in San Lorenzo
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San Lorenzo Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

San Lorenzo

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$577

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $577 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
San Lorenzo $577

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $985 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
San Lorenzo $985

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,392 in San Lorenzo, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
San Lorenzo $1,392

Medellin costs about 184% more than San Lorenzo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while San Lorenzo is 58% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$7.15 ₲41.5K

13.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$43.29 ₲251.2K

8.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.01 ₲40.7K

35.52%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.36 ₲19.5K

-10.42%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.05 ₲6,073

71.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.56 ₲3,227

151.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.09 ₲12.1K

52.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.80 ₲10.4K

219.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.20 ₲6,955

25.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.01 ₲5,854

135.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.39 ₲8,039

27.34%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.40 ₲14.0K

20.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$5.22 ₲30.3K

95.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$2.30 ₲13.3K

329.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$6.62 ₲38.4K

111.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.19 ₲12.7K

81.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.24 ₲7,177

25.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.07 ₲6,189

103.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.18 ₲6,852

84.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.04 ₲6,053

88.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.97 ₲5,624

63.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.50 ₲2,910

130.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.51 ₲2,947

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.28 ₲13.2K

73.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$3.73 ₲21.7K

266.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$0.59 ₲3,409

181.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$0.85 ₲4,938

165.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$35.05 ₲203.4K

120.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.48 ₲8,581

-14.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.55 ₲8,972

32.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$4.13 ₲23.9K

107.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.28 ₲7,419

5.47%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$17.0K ₲98.9M

99.83%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$29.7K ₲172.4M

16.69%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$50.5 ₲292.8K

236.21%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$17.36 ₲100.7K

-21.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$22.10 ₲128.3K

27.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$21.23 ₲123.2K

105.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$11.94 ₲69.3K

43.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.37 ₲25.3K

58.12%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$186 ₲1.1M

327.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$5,795 ₲33.6M

57.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$65.4 ₲379.3K

29.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$56.9 ₲329.9K

1.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$109 ₲634.2K

23.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$70.7 ₲410.6K

38.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.5

4.19%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Lorenzo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

San Lorenzo

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

San Lorenzo

$138 23.9% 53.5% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

San Lorenzo

$90 15.6% 57.4% $121

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

San Lorenzo

$139 24.1% 18% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

San Lorenzo

$136 23.6% 19.5% $33

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

San Lorenzo

$44 * 7.7% 52.7% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

San Lorenzo

$30 5.2% 47.9% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $43 in San Lorenzo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $138 – making San Lorenzo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇾 San Lorenzo

🕒 Local time

17:23 5:23 PM

19:23 7:23 PM

2 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

489,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, 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 = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5,803 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.72 USD). 1 EUR = 6,460 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.55 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin San Lorenzo 4,020 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
San Lorenzo

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 Lorenzo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 184%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $866 in San Lorenzo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $43 in San Lorenzo. 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 $577 in San Lorenzo. That makes San Lorenzo about 65% cheaper.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in San Lorenzo, where all-in costs run around $577, than in Medellin at $1,639. In San Lorenzo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $577 in San Lorenzo to $1,639 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.