Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and San Pablo

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pablo: $622 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 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
30

Cost of Living Index in San Pablo
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San Pablo Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

San Pablo

🇵🇭 Philippines

$622

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $622 in San Pablo, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
San Pablo $622

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $900 in San Pablo, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
San Pablo $900

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,178 in San Pablo, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
San Pablo $1,178

Medellin costs about 164% more than San Pablo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while San Pablo is 54% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$3.93 ₱251

105.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$16.44 ₱1,050

186.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$2.72 ₱174

249.26%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.82 ₱116

65.38%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.38 ₱24.05

373.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.22 ₱13.80

540.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$0.95 ₱60.8

234.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.60 ₱102

259.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.65 ₱106

-8.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.10 ₱70.4

116.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.96 ₱61.5

84.38%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.97 ₱126

46.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$5.15 ₱329

97.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$3.40 ₱217

190.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$7.35 ₱470

90.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.26 ₱144

75.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.42 ₱90.7

9.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.58 ₱101

37.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.01 ₱64.4

115.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.54 ₱98.3

27.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.70 ₱109

-6.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.61 ₱38.84

88.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.48 ₱30.92

158.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.74 ₱175

44.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$6.29 ₱402

117.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$0.90 ₱57.7

84.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.95 ₱125

15.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.24 ₱15.40

387.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.75 ₱47.97

69.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.22 ₱14.03

831.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$1.86 ₱119

359.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.18 ₱75.4

14.41%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$20.9K ₱1.3M

62.88%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$19.1K ₱1.2M

81.43%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$137 ₱8,783

23.42%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$11.65 ₱744

16.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$23.40 ₱1,495

19.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.95 ₱317

39.60%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$130 ₱8,275

515.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$10.9K ₱693.3K

-16.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$28.47 ₱1,819

197.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$18.79 ₱1,201

208.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$69.8 ₱4,462

93.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$55.3 ₱3,534

76.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$140 ₱8,921

765.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$125 ₱7,980

413.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$202 ₱12.9K

904.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$187 ₱11.9K

441.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$924 ₱59.0K

351.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$789 ₱50.4K

142.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$278 ₱17.8K

136.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.75

62.07%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Pablo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

San Pablo

$125 20.1% 80.5% $517

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

San Pablo

$162 26.1% 45.4% $135

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

San Pablo

$173 27.8% 18.3% $39

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

San Pablo

$72 11.6% 57.7% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

San Pablo

$78 12.5% 54.1% $91

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

San Pablo

$2.8 * 0.5% 97% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

San Pablo

$9.9 * 1.6% 82.8% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $140 in San Pablo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 2.4 times higher, 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 $47 in Medellin versus $16 in San Pablo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $162 – making San Pablo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇭 San Pablo

🕒 Local time

15:48 3:48 PM

04:48 4:48 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

266,068

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin San Pablo 17,080 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
San Pablo

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 Pablo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 164%, 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 $933 in San Pablo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Pablo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $140 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $16 in San Pablo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 83% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in San Pablo, where all-in costs run around $622, than in Medellin at $1,639. In San Pablo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Pablo – 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 San Pablo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.