Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Wellington

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,313 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
110

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,313

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Wellington

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $2,313 in Wellington, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Wellington $2,313

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $3,422 in Wellington, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Wellington $3,422

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $4,530 in Wellington, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Wellington $4,530

Medellin is about 29% cheaper than Wellington, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Medellin and Wellington sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Wellington by 70%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$14.02 NZ$24.99

-42.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$66.5 NZ$118

-29.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$9.23 NZ$16.44

2.93%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.41 NZ$6.08

-11.73%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$2.43 NZ$4.33

-25.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.69 NZ$3.02

-16.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$7.48 NZ$13.34

-57.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$6.74 NZ$12.02

-14.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.95 NZ$3.48

-22.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$2.25 NZ$4.02

5.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.85 NZ$3.31

-4.32%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$7.10 NZ$12.66

-59.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$9.54 NZ$17.00

6.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$9.62 NZ$17.14

2.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$15.26 NZ$27.20

-8.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.09 NZ$5.51

28.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.15 NZ$3.84

-27.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.08 NZ$5.49

-29.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$6.42 NZ$11.45

-66.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.10 NZ$3.74

-6.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.23 NZ$2.20

29.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$2.01 NZ$3.59

-42.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.16 NZ$2.07

6.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$25.37 NZ$45.21

-84.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$11.48 NZ$20.46

19.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$3.12 NZ$5.56

-46.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.89 NZ$5.14

-21.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$2.86 NZ$5.10

-59.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$105 NZ$187

-26.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.88 NZ$3.35

-32.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.83 NZ$3.26

12.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$34.31 NZ$61.1

-75.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.84 NZ$3.28

-26.63%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$28.4K NZ$50.6K

20.00%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$23.8K NZ$42.4K

45.68%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$201 NZ$358

-15.51%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$33.35 NZ$59.4

-59.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$53.7 NZ$95.6

-47.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$35.87 NZ$63.9

21.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$16.18 NZ$28.84

6.24%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$11.78 NZ$21.00

-41.34%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$1,065 NZ$1,897

-25.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$13.3K NZ$23.7K

-31.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$80.4 NZ$143

5.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$28.04 NZ$49.97

106.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$102 NZ$181

32.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$154 NZ$275

-36.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$1,143 NZ$2,036

5.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$1,078 NZ$1,922

-40.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$2,057 NZ$3,665

-1.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,814 NZ$3,232

-44.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$6,594 NZ$11.8K

-36.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$3,655 NZ$6,514

-47.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,785 NZ$4,964

-76.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.39

102.97%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Wellington: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Wellington

$1.1K 46.6% 68.1% $437

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Wellington

$348 15.1% 17.3% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Wellington

$288 12.4% 36.2% $77

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Wellington

$248 10.7% 46.3% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Wellington

$164 7.1% 3% $5.1

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Wellington

$127 5.5% 36.1% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Wellington

$59 2.6% 3.3% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,143 in Wellington. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Wellington are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $66 in Wellington. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $348 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇿 Wellington

🕒 Local time

16:35 4:35 PM

10:35 10:35 AM

18 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

215,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 NZD = 0.561 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, 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).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.561 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Wellington 12,100 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Wellington

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 Wellington: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Wellington is pricier by about 41%, 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 $3,470 in Wellington. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,208 in Medellin and $1,143 in Wellington. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $66 in Wellington. 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 $2,313 in Wellington. That makes Medellin about 29% cheaper.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Medellin costs $1,639 versus $2,313 in Wellington. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Wellington makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.