Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Taipei: $1,330 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
64

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Taipei

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,330 in Taipei, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Taipei $1,330

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $2,145 in Taipei, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Taipei $2,145

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,959 in Taipei, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Taipei $2,959

Medellin costs about 23% more than Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Taipei is 2% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$4.70 NT$152

72.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$46.13 NT$1,496

1.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$5.80 NT$188

63.79%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.37 NT$109

-10.68%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.91 NT$29.44

97.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.66 NT$21.46

113.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.98 NT$96.6

6.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.64 NT$118

57.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.95 NT$95.7

-48.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.92 NT$62.4

23.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$3.10 NT$100

-42.90%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.62 NT$84.8

10.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$19.04 NT$617

-46.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$9.54 NT$309

3.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$20.87 NT$677

-32.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$4.72 NT$153

-15.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$3.33 NT$108

-53.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$2.95 NT$95.6

-26.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$4.26 NT$138

-48.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.75 NT$89.3

-28.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.22 NT$72.1

-28.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.66 NT$53.8

-30.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.08 NT$34.89

14.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.95 NT$128

0.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$13.89 NT$450

-1.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$1.58 NT$51.4

5.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$2.18 NT$70.6

3.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.58 NT$18.88

101.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$36.25 NT$1,175

113.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$2.54 NT$82.2

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.75 NT$24.31

173.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$8.99 NT$292

-4.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.00 NT$32.44

35.00%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$34.6K NT$1.1M

-1.67%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$23.0K NT$746.8K

50.54%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$85.6 NT$2,775

98.21%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$16.94 NT$549

-20.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$26.94 NT$874

4.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$39.55 NT$1,283

10.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$15.36 NT$498

11.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$9.72 NT$315

-28.91%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$710 NT$23.0K

12.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$16.3K NT$529.8K

-44.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$62.0 NT$2,010

36.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$39.30 NT$1,274

47.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$84.1 NT$2,727

60.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$102 NT$3,298

-3.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$961 NT$31.1K

25.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$456 NT$14.8K

40.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,511 NT$49.0K

34.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$919 NT$29.8K

10.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$11.4K NT$369.9K

-63.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$6,882 NT$223.2K

-72.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,703 NT$55.2K

-61.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.4

355.83%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Taipei

$456 34.3% 29% $186

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Taipei

$388 29.2% 30.7% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 38.7% $82

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Taipei

$124 9.3% 27% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Taipei

$129 9.7% 23.5% $40

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Taipei

$45 3.4% 52% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Taipei

$59 4.4% 2.5% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $961 in Taipei. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Taipei are about 2.6 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $46 in Taipei. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $388 in Taipei – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

23:05 11:05 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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 = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.09 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Taipei 16,070 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Taipei

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 Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 23%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,995 in Taipei. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taipei, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $961 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Public transport costs about 53% less in Taipei. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Interestingly, groceries are about 23% cheaper in Medellin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Taipei, where all-in costs run around $1,330, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Taipei it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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