Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rijeka and Medellin

For one person, living costs are similar in Rijeka and in Medellin: $1,577 and $1,614 a month, rent and utilities included.

77

Cost of Living Index in Rijeka
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Rijeka Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Rijeka

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,577

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,577 per month in Rijeka vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

Rijeka $1,577
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $2,412 per month in Rijeka vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

Rijeka $2,412
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $3,248 per month in Rijeka vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

Rijeka $3,248
Medellin $3,190

Rijeka is about 2% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Rijeka and Medellin sit above the global median – Rijeka by 17%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.14 €11.69

$7.93 COP 25.2K

65.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.2 €65.1

$46.13 COP 146.3K

58.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.10 €8.98

$9.50 COP 30.1K

6.32%

Cappuccino

$2.35 €2.09

$3.11 COP 9,866

-24.44%

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

$3.03 €2.70

$1.83 COP 5,800

65.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.38 COP 4,360

41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.86 €3.43

$3.05 COP 9,672

26.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.88

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-20.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 €1.11

$1.45 COP 4,600

-13.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 €1.37

$2.36 COP 7,496

-35.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.29 €2.93

$1.68 COP 5,328

95.83%

Eggs

$3.72 €3.31

$2.86 COP 9,077

30.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.64 €13.91

$10.19 COP 32.3K

53.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.25 €9.12

$9.53 COP 30.2K

7.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.21 €12.64

$14.04 COP 44.5K

1.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 €1.47

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-59.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.50 COP 4,742

16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$2.17 COP 6,891

-15.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.62 €2.33

$2.31 COP 7,310

13.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.93 COP 6,113

-29.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.64 COP 5,196

-19.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 €1.17

$1.13 COP 3,571

16.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.25 COP 3,954

8.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.92 €5.26

$3.99 COP 12.6K

48.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.78 €6.92

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-41.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.70 COP 5,384

-5.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 €1.88

$2.37 COP 7,525

-10.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.21 COP 3,827

82.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.4 €48.37

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-28.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.10

$1.32 COP 4,179

334.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.44 €1.28

$2.14 COP 6,774

-32.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.76 €24.70

$8.47 COP 26.8K

227.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 €1.64

$1.30 COP 4,114

42.31%

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

$26.0K €23.1K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-7.07%

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

$24.7K €21.9K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-30.33%

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

$185 €164

$172 COP 545.6K

7.36%

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

$23.53 €20.93

$13.37 COP 42.4K

75.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.52 €34.26

$28.73 COP 91.1K

34.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 €48.13

$45.24 COP 143.5K

19.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.04 €9.82

$17.04 COP 54.0K

-35.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.70 €5.96

$6.28 COP 19.9K

6.69%

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

$538 €479

$770 COP 2.4M

-30.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K €11.4K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

41.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.9 €88.8

$86.4 COP 274.0K

15.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.00 €37.36

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-26.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €89.9

$137 COP 432.9K

-26.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 €95.8

$97.9 COP 310.4K

9.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$693 €616

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-34.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$525 €467

$616 COP 2.0M

-14.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 €1,072

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-36.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$859 €764

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-16.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,045 €3,598

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-0.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,954 €3,517

$1,678 COP 5.3M

135.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,494 €1,329

$652 COP 2.1M

129.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.73

10.94

-65.90%

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

Last update for Rijeka: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rijeka

$525 33.3%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 17.3% $91

Groceries & Markets

Rijeka

$292 18.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 0.9% $2.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rijeka

$247 15.7%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 13.2% $33

Eating Out

Rijeka

$212 13.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 20.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Rijeka

$158 10%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 7.8% $12

Getting Around

Rijeka

$76 4.8%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 22.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Rijeka

$68 4.3%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 14.4% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $693 in Rijeka 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 129% higher in Rijeka, 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 $73.0 in Rijeka versus $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $292 in Rijeka vs $295 in Medellin – so Rijeka wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇭🇷 Rijeka

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:47 5:47 PM

10:47 10:47 AM

7 h behind Rijeka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,964

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rijeka Medellin 9,520 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

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Rijeka
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

Rijeka vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,365 per month in Rijeka 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 Rijeka, 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 $73.0 in Rijeka 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 $1,577 in Rijeka and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 2%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Rijeka, where all-in costs run around $1,577, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Rijeka it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Rijeka – 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 Rijeka. 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.