Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taichung and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Taichung: $1,112 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Taichung
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Taichung Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Taichung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,112

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,112 per month in Taichung vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Taichung $1,112
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,856 per month in Taichung vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Taichung $1,856
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,601 per month in Taichung vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Taichung $2,601
Medellin $3,186

Taichung is about 32% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Taichung sits 18% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 NT$152

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-42.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.30 NT$1,014

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-33.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.64 NT$150

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-51.16%

Cappuccino

$2.89 NT$93.8

$3.01 COP 9,485

-3.99%

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

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.80 COP 5,660

-42.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 NT$24.47

$1.41 COP 4,443

-46.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.50 NT$48.52

$3.18 COP 9,990

-52.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 NT$86.3

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-53.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.08 NT$99.9

$1.51 COP 4,751

103.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.65 NT$53.4

$2.38 COP 7,480

-30.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.59 NT$83.8

$1.77 COP 5,573

46.33%

Eggs

$2.54 NT$82.4

$2.89 COP 9,093

-12.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$28.53 NT$924

$10.19 COP 32.1K

179.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.76 NT$251

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-21.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.59 NT$537

$13.99 COP 44.0K

18.58%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 NT$137

$3.97 COP 12.5K

6.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 NT$62.8

$1.55 COP 4,883

25.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 NT$97.6

$2.18 COP 6,867

38.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 NT$69.1

$2.18 COP 6,870

-2.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 NT$39.28

$1.96 COP 6,174

-38.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 NT$62.6

$1.59 COP 5,000

21.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.25 NT$73.1

$1.15 COP 3,604

95.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 NT$28.87

$1.24 COP 3,911

-28.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.79 NT$123

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-4.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.10 NT$489

$13.68 COP 43.0K

10.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 NT$51.7

$1.66 COP 5,221

-3.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 NT$78.6

$2.26 COP 7,103

7.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 NT$20.46

$1.17 COP 3,674

-46.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.67 NT$605

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-75.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 NT$83.5

$1.27 COP 3,989

103.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 NT$29.11

$2.05 COP 6,442

-56.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.19 NT$298

$8.55 COP 26.9K

7.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 NT$33.71

$1.35 COP 4,237

-22.96%

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

$35.3K NT$1.1M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

3.56%

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

$22.2K NT$720.4K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-35.87%

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

$122 NT$3,956

$170 COP 533.7K

-28.02%

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

$14.52 NT$470

$13.55 COP 42.6K

7.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.46 NT$663

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-27.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.28 NT$1,013

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-28.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 NT$369

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-33.74%

Cinema Ticket

$10.22 NT$331

$6.91 COP 21.7K

47.90%

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

$326 NT$10.6K

$797 COP 2.5M

-59.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K NT$533.0K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

80.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.8 NT$2,325

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-15.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.78 NT$1,159

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-38.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.7 NT$2,645

$135 COP 424.6K

-39.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 NT$3,587

$97.9 COP 307.9K

13.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 NT$12.4K

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-68.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$266 NT$8,612

$642 COP 2.0M

-58.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,188 NT$38.5K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-41.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$739 NT$23.9K

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-26.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,811 NT$188.3K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

39.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,266 NT$138.2K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

123.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,400 NT$45.3K

$657 COP 2.1M

113.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

10.94

-79.25%

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

Last update for Taichung: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Taichung

$368 33.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 19.2% $71

Accommodation & Living

Taichung

$266 23.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 141% $376

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taichung

$157 14.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 34.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Taichung

$135 12.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 25.2% $34

Eating Out

Taichung

$106 9.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 59.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Taichung

$52 4.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 11.2% $5.8

Getting Around

Taichung

$28 2.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 231% $65

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $382 in Taichung 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 Taichung are about 2.1 times higher, 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 $31 in Taichung versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $368 in Taichung vs $297 in Medellin – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taichung

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:34 5:34 AM

16:34 4:34 PM

13 h behind Taichung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,767,239

2,486,723

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.09 USD

100 TWD = 2.77 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 32.4 TWD (100 TWD = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 36.07 TWD (100 TWD = 2.77 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taichung Medellin 16,200 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Taichung
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

Taichung vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,667 per month in Taichung 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 Taichung, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $382 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $31 in Taichung 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 $1,112 in Taichung and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Taichung about 32% cheaper.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,112 in Taichung and $1,639 in Medellin. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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