Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Puebla and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Puebla: $1,134 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Puebla
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Puebla Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Puebla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,134

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Puebla 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 Puebla and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,134 per month in Puebla vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

Puebla $1,134
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $1,818 per month in Puebla vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

Puebla $1,818
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $2,503 per month in Puebla vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

Puebla $2,503
Medellin $3,190

Puebla is about 30% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Puebla sits 16% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.66 MX$179

$7.93 COP 25.2K

21.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.46 MX$877

$46.13 COP 146.3K

2.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.56 MX$177

$9.50 COP 30.1K

0.63%

Cappuccino

$3.13 MX$57.8

$3.11 COP 9,866

0.64%

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

$1.52 MX$28.02

$1.83 COP 5,800

-16.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 MX$21.94

$1.38 COP 4,360

-13.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.66 MX$49.22

$3.05 COP 9,672

-12.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.79 MX$70.1

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-31.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MX$28.52

$1.45 COP 4,600

6.21%

White Bread (500g)

$3.04 MX$56.2

$2.36 COP 7,496

28.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 MX$32.74

$1.68 COP 5,328

5.36%

Eggs

$3.39 MX$62.7

$2.86 COP 9,077

18.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 MX$120

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-36.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 MX$106

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-39.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.22 MX$207

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-20.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 MX$47.54

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-36.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 MX$31.38

$1.50 COP 4,742

13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 MX$34.82

$2.17 COP 6,891

-13.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.41

$2.31 COP 7,310

-12.55%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 MX$38.86

$1.93 COP 6,113

8.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 MX$35.77

$1.64 COP 5,196

18.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 MX$26.56

$1.13 COP 3,571

27.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 MX$23.82

$1.25 COP 3,954

3.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.06 MX$93.5

$3.99 COP 12.6K

26.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.97 MX$258

$13.35 COP 42.3K

4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 MX$26.99

$1.70 COP 5,384

-14.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 MX$47.41

$2.37 COP 7,525

8.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.88

$1.21 COP 3,827

-56.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.90 MX$460

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-67.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.31 MX$98.1

$1.32 COP 4,179

302.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 MX$35.29

$2.14 COP 6,774

-10.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.79 MX$292

$8.47 COP 26.8K

86.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MX$27.78

$1.30 COP 4,114

15.38%

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

$21.2K MX$391.4K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-24.33%

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

$24.3K MX$449.8K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-31.27%

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

$60.9 MX$1,126

$172 COP 545.6K

-64.61%

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

$18.89 MX$349

$13.37 COP 42.4K

41.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.61 MX$436

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-17.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.49 MX$785

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-6.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.06 MX$241

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-23.36%

Cinema Ticket

$5.63 MX$104

$6.28 COP 19.9K

-10.35%

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

$419 MX$7,742

$770 COP 2.4M

-45.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K MX$365.9K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

119.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.2 MX$1,094

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-31.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 MX$1,133

$57.1 COP 181.1K

7.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MX$1,871

$137 COP 432.9K

-25.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.7 MX$1,805

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-0.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$631 MX$11.7K

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-40.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$355 MX$6,555

$616 COP 2.0M

-42.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$874 MX$16.1K

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-53.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$675 MX$12.5K

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-34.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,652 MX$30.5K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-59.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$904 MX$16.7K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-46.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$664 MX$12.3K

$652 COP 2.1M

1.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.96

10.94

0.18%

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

Last update for Puebla: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Puebla

$355 31.3%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 73.6% $261

Groceries & Markets

Puebla

$261 23%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 12.9% $34

Eating Out

Puebla

$175 15.5%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 3.9% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Puebla

$144 12.7%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 18.3% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Puebla

$103 9.1%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 107% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Puebla

$54 4.7%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 7.6% $4.1

Getting Around

Puebla

$42 3.7%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 123% $51

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $631 in Puebla versus $1,055 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 run about 2% higher in Puebla, 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 $47.00 in Puebla versus $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $261 in Puebla vs $295 in Medellin – so Puebla wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Puebla

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:49 5:49 AM

06:49 6:49 AM

1 h ahead of Puebla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,542,232

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Puebla Medellin 2,830 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Puebla
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

Puebla vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,701 per month in Puebla and $2,421 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Puebla, 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 Puebla and $46.00 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 $1,134 in Puebla and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 42%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Puebla, where all-in costs run around $1,134, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Puebla it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Puebla – 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 Puebla. 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.