Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Sucre

For one person, living is cheaper in Sucre: $646 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Sucre
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Sucre Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Sucre

🇧🇴 Bolivia

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Sucre

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $646 in Sucre, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Sucre $646

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $971 in Sucre, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Sucre $971

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,296 in Sucre, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Sucre $1,296

Medellin costs about 154% more than Sucre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Sucre is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$1.46 BOB 17.59

454.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$15.30 BOB 185

207.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$3.27 BOB 39.49

190.52%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$1.69 BOB 20.38

78.11%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$0.81 BOB 9.82

122.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.50 BOB 6.03

182.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$2.08 BOB 25.15

52.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.09 BOB 25.25

175.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$0.81 BOB 9.82

86.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.28 BOB 15.42

85.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$0.97 BOB 11.67

82.47%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.25 BOB 15.12

131.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$3.92 BOB 47.27

159.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$2.43 BOB 29.32

306.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$4.24 BOB 51.2

229.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.78 BOB 21.47

123.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$0.86 BOB 10.38

80.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$0.73 BOB 8.79

198.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$2.77 BOB 33.48

-21.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$0.42 BOB 5.03

366.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$0.69 BOB 8.27

130.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.28 BOB 3.36

310.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.80 BOB 9.69

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.07 BOB 12.89

270.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$9.39 BOB 113

45.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.32 BOB 15.96

25.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.18 BOB 2.12

550.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$0.53 BOB 6.44

139.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.40 BOB 4.82

412.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$0.71 BOB 8.56

90.14%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$14.18 BOB 171

1096.40%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$14.47 BOB 175

-6.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$20.94 BOB 253

34.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$27.59 BOB 333

58.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.30 BOB 63.9

30.38%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$99.5 BOB 1,201

700.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$36.32 BOB 438

133.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$71.8 BOB 867

87.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$64.5 BOB 778

51.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$456 BOB 5,500

165.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$280 BOB 3,378

129.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$763 BOB 9,212

165.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$482 BOB 5,822

109.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$313 BOB 3,779

109.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

9.40%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sucre: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Sucre

$280 43.3% 56.4% $362

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Sucre

$136 * 21.1% 54.2% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Sucre

$50 7.7% 76.5% $162

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Sucre

$62 9.5% 63.7% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Sucre

$78 * 12% 54% $91

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Sucre

$3.2 * 0.5% 96.5% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Sucre

$38 5.9% 33.6% $19

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 $456 in Sucre. 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 2.1 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 $15 in Sucre. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $136 – making Sucre the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇴 Sucre

🕒 Local time

14:27 2:27 PM

15:27 3:27 PM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

238,798 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Bolivian Boliviano BOB Bs.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 BOB = 8.29 USD

100 BOB = 7.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BOB, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Bolivian Boliviano exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 12.07 BOB (100 BOB = 8.29 USD). 1 EUR = 13.48 BOB (100 BOB = 7.42 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Sucre 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Sucre

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 Sucre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 154%, 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 $969 in Sucre. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sucre, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $456 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $15 in Sucre. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 118% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Sucre, where all-in costs run around $646, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Sucre it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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