Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Praia and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Praia: $1,195 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Praia
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Praia Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Praia

🇨🇻 Cape Verde

$1,195

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Praia and in Medellin

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Praia and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,195 per month in Praia vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Praia $1,195
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,794 per month in Praia vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Praia $1,794
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,394 per month in Praia vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Praia $2,394
Medellin $3,186

Praia is about 27% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Praia sits 12% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.05 CVE 498

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-37.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.98 CVE 3,544

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-23.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 CVE 713

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-23.79%

Cappuccino

$2.68 CVE 264

$3.01 COP 9,722

-10.96%

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

$1.60 CVE 157

$1.80 COP 5,801

-11.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 CVE 117

$1.41 COP 4,554

-16.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.48 CVE 244

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-22.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 CVE 187

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-66.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 CVE 131

$1.51 COP 4,869

-11.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.03 CVE 200

$2.38 COP 7,667

-14.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.61 CVE 356

$1.77 COP 5,712

103.95%

Eggs

$2.38 CVE 235

$2.89 COP 9,320

-17.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.48 CVE 2,509

$10.19 COP 32.9K

150.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.65 CVE 458

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-52.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.52 CVE 1,627

$13.99 COP 45.1K

18.08%

Apples (1kg)

$5.16 CVE 508

$3.97 COP 12.8K

29.97%

Banana (1kg)

$3.01 CVE 296

$1.55 COP 5,005

94.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.08 CVE 401

$2.18 COP 7,039

87.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.39 CVE 432

$2.18 COP 7,041

101.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 CVE 148

$1.96 COP 6,328

-22.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 CVE 141

$1.59 COP 5,125

-10.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 CVE 99.2

$1.15 COP 3,694

-12.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 CVE 148

$1.24 COP 4,009

21.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.38 CVE 530

$3.96 COP 12.8K

35.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 CVE 778

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-42.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 CVE 174

$1.66 COP 5,352

6.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 CVE 170

$2.26 COP 7,281

-23.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 CVE 74.9

$1.17 COP 3,766

-35.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.34 CVE 2,890

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-62.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.80 CVE 177

$1.27 COP 4,089

41.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.21 CVE 119

$2.05 COP 6,603

-40.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 CVE 153

$1.35 COP 4,343

14.81%

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

$28.5K CVE 2.8M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-16.30%

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

$38.6K CVE 3.8M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

11.36%

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

$179 CVE 17.7K

$170 COP 547.0K

5.66%

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

$18.06 CVE 1,779

$13.55 COP 43.7K

33.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.7 CVE 5,088

$28.07 COP 90.5K

84.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.24 CVE 3,176

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-26.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.14 CVE 999

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-41.01%

Cinema Ticket

$5.51 CVE 542

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-20.26%

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

$125 CVE 12.4K

$797 COP 2.6M

-84.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,111 CVE 306.4K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-65.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.1 CVE 6,014

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-27.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.85 CVE 2,546

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-55.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.4 CVE 6,541

$135 COP 435.2K

-50.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.9 CVE 9,153

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-5.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$570 CVE 56.1K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-52.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$283 CVE 27.9K

$642 COP 2.1M

-55.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$886 CVE 87.2K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-56.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$478 CVE 47.1K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-52.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,360 CVE 134.0K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-67.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$994 CVE 97.9K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-47.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$300 CVE 29.6K

$657 COP 2.1M

-54.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-26.87%

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

Last update for Praia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Praia

$346 29%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 14.3% $50

Accommodation & Living

Praia

$283 23.7%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 126% $358

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Praia

$249 20.8%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 15.1% $38

Eating Out

Praia

$122 10.2%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 39.5% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Praia

$111 9.3%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 52.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Praia

$43 3.6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 33% $14

Getting Around

Praia

$40 3.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 133% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $570 in Praia versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Praia versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $346 in Praia vs $297 in Medellin – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇻 Praia

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

07:00 7:00 AM

4 h behind Praia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,832 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Cabo Verdean Escudo CVE $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CVE = 10.15 USD

1,000 CVE = 9.09 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CVE – Cabo Verdean Escudo Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇻 Cabo Verdean Escudo ($)

Cabo Verdean Escudo exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 98.5 CVE (100 CVE = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 110 CVE (1,000 CVE = 9.09 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to CVE in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Praia Medellin 5,760 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Praia
Medellin

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

Praia vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,792 per month in Praia and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Praia, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $570 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Praia and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,195 in Praia and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Praia about 27% cheaper.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,195 in Praia and $1,639 in Medellin. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

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