Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Recife and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Recife: $924 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Recife
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Recife Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Recife

🇧🇷 Brazil

$924

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $924 per month in Recife vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

Recife $924
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $1,523 per month in Recife vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

Recife $1,523
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $2,121 per month in Recife vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

Recife $2,121
Medellin $3,190

Recife is about 43% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Recife sits 32% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.52 R$27.99

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-30.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.47 R$195

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-16.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.93 R$50.4

$9.50 COP 30.1K

4.53%

Cappuccino

$2.58 R$13.08

$3.11 COP 9,866

-17.04%

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

$1.10 R$5.56

$1.83 COP 5,800

-39.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 R$3.21

$1.38 COP 4,360

-54.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.64 R$8.31

$3.05 COP 9,672

-46.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 R$15.99

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-42.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 R$7.00

$1.45 COP 4,600

-4.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 R$8.63

$2.36 COP 7,496

-27.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 R$8.51

$1.68 COP 5,328

Eggs

$1.91 R$9.68

$2.86 COP 9,077

-33.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.10 R$36.01

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-30.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.68 R$23.73

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-50.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.08 R$40.97

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-42.45%

Apples (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.22

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-65.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.02

$1.50 COP 4,742

-7.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.81 R$4.11

$2.17 COP 6,891

-62.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 R$6.23

$2.31 COP 7,310

-46.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 R$7.50

$1.93 COP 6,113

-23.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 R$5.50

$1.64 COP 5,196

-33.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.52 R$2.65

$1.13 COP 3,571

-53.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 R$4.59

$1.25 COP 3,954

-28.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.76 R$8.94

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-55.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.25 R$41.80

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-38.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R$6.02

$1.70 COP 5,384

-30.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 R$7.65

$2.37 COP 7,525

-36.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.45

$1.21 COP 3,827

-27.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.02 R$193

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-50.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 R$6.50

$1.32 COP 4,179

-3.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R$3.74

$2.14 COP 6,774

-65.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 R$18.42

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-57.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 R$6.91

$1.30 COP 4,114

4.62%

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

$23.7K R$120.1K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-15.34%

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

$33.2K R$168.2K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-6.32%

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

$117 R$596

$172 COP 545.6K

-31.73%

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

$13.49 R$68.4

$13.37 COP 42.4K

0.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.51 R$88.8

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-39.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.79 R$110

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-51.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.68 R$176

$17.04 COP 54.0K

103.52%

Cinema Ticket

$8.54 R$43.28

$6.28 COP 19.9K

35.99%

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

$282 R$1,432

$770 COP 2.4M

-63.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K R$60.9K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

33.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.34 R$235

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-46.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.2 R$259

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-10.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.5 R$383

$137 COP 432.9K

-44.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.6 R$413

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-16.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$509 R$2,578

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-51.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$265 R$1,345

$616 COP 2.0M

-56.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$887 R$4,495

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-53.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 R$3,233

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-37.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,005 R$10.2K

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-50.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,070 R$5,425

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-36.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$437 R$2,214

$652 COP 2.1M

-33.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.75

10.94

7.40%

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

Last update for Recife: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Recife

$265 28.7%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 132% $350

Groceries & Markets

Recife

$184 19.9%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 60.2% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Recife

$148 16.1%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 44.2% $66

Eating Out

Recife

$126 13.7%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 33.3% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Recife

$115 12.4%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 48.5% $56

Getting Around

Recife

$47 5%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 101% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Recife

$39 4.2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 48.7% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $509 in Recife 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 49% 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 $38.00 in Recife versus $46.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $184 vs $295 – making Recife the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Recife

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:14 12:14 AM

22:14 10:14 PM

2 h behind Recife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,488,920

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Recife Medellin 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Recife
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

Recife vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 75%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,386 per month in Recife 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 Recife, 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 $38.00 in Recife 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 $924 in Recife and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 75%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Recife, where all-in costs run around $924, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Recife it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Recife – 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 Recife. 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.