Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Luis and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in San Luis: $1,175 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
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San Luis Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,175

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,175 per month in San Luis vs $1,589 in Medellin, rent included.

San Luis $1,175
Medellin $1,589

A couple spends around $1,962 per month in San Luis vs $2,364 in Medellin, rent included.

San Luis $1,962
Medellin $2,364

A family of three spends $2,749 per month in San Luis vs $3,139 in Medellin, rent included.

San Luis $2,749
Medellin $3,139

San Luis is about 26% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

San Luis sits 13% below the global median, while Medellin is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.42 ARS 12.8K

$7.93 COP 25.3K

6.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.1 ARS 76.0K

$46.13 COP 147.4K

8.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.72 ARS 13.2K

$9.50 COP 30.4K

-8.21%

Cappuccino

$2.10 ARS 3,180

$3.11 COP 9,940

-32.48%

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

$2.36 ARS 3,585

$1.83 COP 5,843

28.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ARS 2,852

$1.38 COP 4,393

36.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.25 ARS 4,926

$3.05 COP 9,744

6.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ARS 6,881

$5.50 COP 17.6K

-17.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 ARS 1,863

$1.45 COP 4,634

-15.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 ARS 3,090

$2.36 COP 7,552

-13.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.06 ARS 1,602

$1.68 COP 5,368

-36.90%

Eggs

$3.05 ARS 4,623

$2.86 COP 9,145

6.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.72 ARS 22.3K

$10.19 COP 32.5K

44.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.40 ARS 9,702

$9.53 COP 30.4K

-32.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.02 ARS 16.7K

$14.04 COP 44.8K

-21.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 ARS 3,552

$4.07 COP 13.0K

-42.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 ARS 3,244

$1.50 COP 4,778

42.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 ARS 2,045

$2.17 COP 6,943

-37.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 ARS 4,825

$2.31 COP 7,365

37.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 ARS 1,484

$1.93 COP 6,159

-49.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,197

$1.64 COP 5,235

-11.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.93 ARS 2,933

$1.13 COP 3,597

70.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ARS 3,697

$1.25 COP 3,984

95.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.81 ARS 4,254

$3.99 COP 12.7K

-29.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.11 ARS 7,749

$13.35 COP 42.6K

-61.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,581

$1.70 COP 5,424

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ARS 4,514

$2.37 COP 7,581

25.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 ARS 949

$1.21 COP 3,856

-47.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 244.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.66 ARS 1,003

$1.32 COP 4,211

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,550

$2.14 COP 6,825

-52.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 ARS 7,210

$8.47 COP 27.0K

-43.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 ARS 1,838

$1.30 COP 4,145

-6.92%

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

$27.3K ARS 41.3M

$28.0K COP 89.4M

-2.61%

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

$33.4K ARS 50.6M

$35.4K COP 113.1M

-5.72%

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

$39.37 ARS 59.7K

$172 COP 549.7K

-77.12%

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

$16.91 ARS 25.6K

$13.37 COP 42.7K

26.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.67 ARS 37.4K

$28.73 COP 91.8K

-14.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.15 ARS 50.3K

$45.24 COP 144.5K

-26.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$5.46 ARS 8,274

$6.28 COP 20.1K

-13.06%

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

$176 ARS 266.4K

$770 COP 2.5M

-77.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,167 ARS 6.3M

$9,011 COP 28.8M

-53.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$126 ARS 191.6K

$86.4 COP 276.0K

46.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$142 ARS 215.1K

$57.1 COP 182.5K

148.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$144 ARS 218.5K

$137 COP 436.2K

5.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 ARS 243.7K

$97.9 COP 312.8K

64.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$446 ARS 676.9K

$1,055 COP 3.4M

-57.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ARS 532.6K

$616 COP 2.0M

-42.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,077 ARS 1.6M

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-43.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$781 ARS 1.2M

$1,023 COP 3.3M

-23.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 13.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

439.31%

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

Last update for San Luis: 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

San Luis

$351 29.9%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 75.3% $265

Groceries & Markets

San Luis

$272 23.1%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 8.5% $23

Clothing & Footwear

San Luis

$258 21.9%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 34% $88

Eating Out

San Luis

$161 13.7%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 4.6% $7.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Luis

$81 6.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 165% $133

Sport & Entertainment

San Luis

$44 3.8%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 31.2% $14

Getting Around

San Luis

$8.3 * 0.7%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 1028% $85

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $446 in San Luis versus $1,028 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in San Luis versus $47.00 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $272 in San Luis vs $288 in Medellin – so San Luis wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Luis

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

05:10 5:10 AM

2 h behind San Luis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,019

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.13 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,693 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 3,194 COP (10,000 COP = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 3,566 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Luis Medellin 4,510 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

San Luis
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

San Luis vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,762 per month in San Luis and $2,384 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Luis, 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 $50.0 in San Luis and $47.00 in Medellin. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Luis, where all-in costs run around $1,175, than in Medellin at $1,589. In San Luis it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Luis – 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 San Luis. 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.