Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Taoyuan

For one person, living is cheaper in Taoyuan: $1,183 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Taoyuan
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Taoyuan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Taoyuan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Taoyuan

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,183 in Taoyuan, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Taoyuan $1,183

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,731 in Taoyuan, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Taoyuan $1,731

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,278 in Taoyuan, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Taoyuan $2,278

Medellin costs about 39% more than Taoyuan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Taoyuan is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.13 NT$135

95.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$24.84 NT$810

89.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$5.46 NT$178

73.99%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$3.00 NT$97.8

0.33%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.00 NT$32.66

80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.69 NT$22.65

104.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.81 NT$58.9

75.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.25 NT$73.3

155.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$2.76 NT$89.9

-45.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.16 NT$37.73

105.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$2.58 NT$84.0

-31.40%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$2.14 NT$69.9

35.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.84 NT$288

15.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$7.14 NT$233

38.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$21.23 NT$692

-34.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$3.77 NT$123

5.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.94 NT$63.3

-20.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$3.05 NT$99.4

-28.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$3.05 NT$99.5

-28.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$2.44 NT$79.5

-19.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$1.91 NT$62.2

-16.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$2.29 NT$74.6

-49.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.87 NT$28.21

42.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.85 NT$158

-18.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$10.78 NT$351

26.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.48 NT$48.27

12.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$2.03 NT$66.3

11.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.52 NT$17.07

125.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

$37.11 NT$1,210

108.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$2.83 NT$92.3

-55.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.81 NT$26.32

153.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.89 NT$225

24.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$0.95 NT$31.03

42.11%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$36.5K NT$1.2M

-6.62%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$23.0K NT$748.9K

50.96%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$66.9 NT$2,180

153.74%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$17.45 NT$569

-22.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$21.84 NT$712

28.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$30.19 NT$984

44.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$7.09 NT$231

142.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.80 NT$352

-36.02%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$521 NT$17.0K

52.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$31.3K NT$1.0M

-70.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$88.0 NT$2,871

-3.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$24.36 NT$794

137.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$83.0 NT$2,707

62.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$96.0 NT$3,129

1.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$641 NT$20.9K

88.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$437 NT$14.2K

46.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$777 NT$25.3K

161.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$610 NT$19.9K

65.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$6,226 NT$203.0K

-33.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$4,079 NT$133.0K

-53.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,507 NT$49.1K

-56.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.38

359.66%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Taoyuan: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Taoyuan

$437 36.9% 31.9% $204

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Taoyuan

$306 25.8% 2.9% $8.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Taoyuan

$106 9% 49.8% $105

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Taoyuan

$106 8.9% 37.7% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Taoyuan

$131 11.1% 22.4% $38

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Taoyuan

$46 3.9% 50.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Taoyuan

$52 4.4% 10% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $641 in Taoyuan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Taoyuan are about 2.3 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 $25 in Taoyuan. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $306 in Taoyuan – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Taoyuan

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

03:39 3:39 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,147,763

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 TWD = 3.07 USD

100 TWD = 2.75 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 31, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 32.61 TWD (100 TWD = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 36.41 TWD (100 TWD = 2.75 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Taoyuan 16,090 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

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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 Taoyuan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 39%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,775 in Taoyuan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Taoyuan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $641 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $25 in Taoyuan. 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 $1,183 in Taoyuan. That makes Taoyuan about 28% cheaper.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $1,183 in Taoyuan. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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