Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Zărnești

For one person, living is cheaper in Zărnești: $889 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Zărnești

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

A single person spends $1,625 per month in Medellin vs $889 in Zărnești, rent included.

Medellin $1,625
Zărnești $889

A couple spends around $2,412 per month in Medellin vs $1,383 in Zărnești, rent included.

Medellin $2,412
Zărnești $1,383

A family of three spends $3,199 per month in Medellin vs $1,877 in Zărnești, rent included.

Medellin $3,199
Zărnești $1,877

Medellin costs about 83% more than Zărnești, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Zărnești is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$9.00 RON 42.60

-7.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$42.40 RON 201

10.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$8.36 RON 39.57

10.53%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$2.18 RON 10.34

39.91%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.46 RON 6.90

23.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$1.20 RON 5.66

15.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$1.90 RON 9.00

70.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$2.28 RON 10.79

143.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.27 RON 6.02

18.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.07 RON 5.06

121.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.44 RON 6.81

18.06%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.79 RON 13.20

6.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$7.89 RON 37.33

29.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$4.74 RON 22.42

105.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$10.40 RON 49.21

33.65%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$0.93 RON 4.41

344.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.33 RON 6.30

15.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.27 RON 6.02

74.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.28 RON 6.06

77.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$0.78 RON 3.67

155.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$0.52 RON 2.45

221.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$0.80 RON 3.80

47.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.77 RON 3.63

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$5.15 RON 24.37

-24.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$7.42 RON 35.09

85.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$1.07 RON 5.08

55.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.29 RON 6.12

86.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.70 RON 3.32

77.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$21.32 RON 101

266.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$0.88 RON 4.15

45.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.86 RON 4.05

150.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$7.45 RON 35.26

12.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.51 RON 7.16

-10.60%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$28.5K RON 134.9K

21.93%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$26.0K RON 122.9K

33.53%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$99.0 RON 468

68.42%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$9.28 RON 43.89

46.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$8.00 RON 37.86

264.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$37.82 RON 179

19.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$19.41 RON 91.9

-11.49%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.24 RON 29.55

11.70%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$429 RON 2,031

84.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$7,733 RON 36.6K

16.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$44.43 RON 210

97.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$27.26 RON 129

113.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$68.9 RON 326

101.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$76.8 RON 363

28.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$434 RON 2,054

136.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$266 RON 1,258

132.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$576 RON 2,727

226.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$424 RON 2,008

137.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$1,751 RON 8,283

127.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$1,329 RON 6,288

28.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$510 RON 2,415

29.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.47

46.45%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Zărnești

$266 29.9% 57.1% $354

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Zărnești

$182 20.4% 39% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Zărnești

$116 13.1% 44.5% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Zărnești

$98 11% 43.4% $75

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Zărnești

$148 16.7% 13.3% $23

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Zărnești

$29 3.3% 69.2% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Zărnești

$50 5.7% 14.8% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Medellin versus $434 in Zărnești. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 30% higher in Medellin, 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 $47.00 in Medellin versus $42.00 in Zărnești. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $182 – making Zărnești the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🕒 Local time

19:07 7:07 PM

03:07 3:07 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

24,926

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Zărnești 10,350 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Zărnești

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 Zărnești: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 83%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,437 per month in Medellin and $1,334 in Zărnești. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zărnești, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Medellin and $42.00 in Zărnești. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,625 in Medellin and $889 in Zărnești. That's a gap of about 83%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zărnești, where all-in costs run around $889, than in Medellin at $1,625. In Zărnești it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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