Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Zhubei City

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhubei City: $1,055 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Zhubei City
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Zhubei City Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Zhubei City

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,055

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Zhubei City

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

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $1,055 in Zhubei City, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Zhubei City $1,055

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $1,841 in Zhubei City, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Zhubei City $1,841

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $2,627 in Zhubei City, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Zhubei City $2,627

Medellin costs about 53% more than Zhubei City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Zhubei City is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$4.83 NT$157

64.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$28.00 NT$908

64.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.07 NT$164

87.38%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$2.89 NT$93.8

7.61%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$0.91 NT$29.41

101.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.59 NT$19.02

133.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$1.93 NT$62.5

58.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.33 NT$75.6

136.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$2.79 NT$90.4

-48.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$1.87 NT$60.7

26.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$4.59 NT$149

-63.40%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.85 NT$92.5

0.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$24.76 NT$803

-58.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$8.37 NT$271

13.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$25.93 NT$841

-45.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$4.04 NT$131

0.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$2.42 NT$78.5

-38.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$2.69 NT$87.3

-19.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$3.27 NT$106

-29.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$3.02 NT$97.9

-36.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$2.02 NT$65.5

-18.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$2.06 NT$66.9

-45.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$1.33 NT$43.25

-6.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$3.88 NT$126

2.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$9.23 NT$299

44.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.43 NT$46.36

18.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$2.33 NT$75.4

1.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$0.61 NT$19.85

98.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$3.10 NT$101

-57.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.64 NT$20.76

234.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$9.25 NT$300

-8.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$0.99 NT$32.17

31.31%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$33.5K NT$1.1M

-16.37%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$24.8K NT$805.7K

42.53%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$103 NT$3,331

67.55%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$18.96 NT$615

-29.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$22.80 NT$739

26.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$31.40 NT$1,018

44.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$9.99 NT$324

-37.14%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$646 NT$20.9K

19.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$16.5K NT$533.8K

-45.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$57.7 NT$1,870

49.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$31.13 NT$1,010

83.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$90.8 NT$2,946

50.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$99.0 NT$3,209

-1.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$501 NT$16.2K

110.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$217 NT$7,032

183.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$1,100 NT$35.7K

72.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$768 NT$24.9K

33.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$16.2K NT$525.9K

-74.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$9,751 NT$316.2K

-82.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$2,391 NT$77.5K

-72.72%

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 12, 2026

Last update for Zhubei City: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Zhubei City

$217 20.6% 64.8% $399

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Zhubei City

$400 37.9% 35.6% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Zhubei City

$144 13.7% 32.6% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Zhubei City

$125 11.9% 26.3% $45

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Zhubei City

$109 10.3% 35.4% $60

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Zhubei City

$8.8 * 0.8% 90.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Zhubei City

$51 4.9% 11.1% $6.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $501 in Zhubei City. 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 267% higher in Zhubei City, 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 $46.00 in Medellin versus $28.00 in Zhubei City. Groceries tell a different story – $295 in Medellin vs $400 in Zhubei City – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇼 Zhubei City

🕒 Local time

17:36 5:36 PM

06:36 6:36 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

211,746

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Zhubei City 16,120 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Zhubei City

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 Zhubei City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 53%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $1,583 in Zhubei City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zhubei City, 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 $46.00 in Medellin and $28.00 in Zhubei City. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 36% cheaper in Medellin – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zhubei City, where all-in costs run around $1,055, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Zhubei City it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zhubei City – 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 Zhubei City. 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.