Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tokyo and Medellin

For one person, living costs are similar in Tokyo and in Medellin: $1,663 and $1,614 a month, rent and utilities included.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tokyo
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Tokyo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Tokyo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,663

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,663 per month in Tokyo vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

Tokyo $1,663
Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $2,592 per month in Tokyo vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

Tokyo $2,592
Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $3,521 per month in Tokyo vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

Tokyo $3,521
Medellin $3,190

Tokyo costs about 3% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Tokyo and Medellin sit above the global median – Tokyo by 23%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.47 ¥1,180

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-5.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.48 ¥5,921

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-18.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 ¥774

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-48.42%

Cappuccino

$3.62 ¥571

$3.11 COP 9,866

16.40%

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

$1.66 ¥262

$1.83 COP 5,800

-9.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥133

$1.38 COP 4,360

-39.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 ¥582

$3.05 COP 9,672

20.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.24 ¥829

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-4.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ¥236

$1.45 COP 4,600

2.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 ¥276

$2.36 COP 7,496

-25.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.63 ¥889

$1.68 COP 5,328

235.12%

Eggs

$2.20 ¥348

$2.86 COP 9,077

-23.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 ¥1,767

$10.19 COP 32.3K

9.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.84 ¥1,081

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-28.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.61 ¥2,624

$14.04 COP 44.5K

18.30%

Apples (1kg)

$4.80 ¥759

$4.07 COP 12.9K

17.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.24 ¥354

$1.50 COP 4,742

49.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.22 ¥666

$2.17 COP 6,891

94.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.20 ¥821

$2.31 COP 7,310

125.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.29 ¥520

$1.93 COP 6,113

70.47%

Onion (1kg)

$3.05 ¥481

$1.64 COP 5,196

85.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ¥188

$1.13 COP 3,571

5.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥129

$1.25 COP 3,954

-35.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.92 ¥619

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-1.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.65 ¥1,524

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-27.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ¥258

$1.70 COP 5,384

-4.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 ¥426

$2.37 COP 7,525

13.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.25 ¥197

$1.21 COP 3,827

3.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.9 ¥10.1K

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-16.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 ¥494

$1.32 COP 4,179

137.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.21 ¥507

$2.14 COP 6,774

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.55 ¥2,931

$8.47 COP 26.8K

119.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ¥166

$1.30 COP 4,114

-19.23%

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

$21.5K ¥3.4M

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-23.01%

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

$15.2K ¥2.4M

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-57.19%

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

$149 ¥23.5K

$172 COP 545.6K

-13.70%

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

$21.59 ¥3,412

$13.37 COP 42.4K

61.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.62 ¥4,837

$28.73 COP 91.1K

6.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.7 ¥10.5K

$45.24 COP 143.5K

47.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.58 ¥4,042

$17.04 COP 54.0K

50.12%

Cinema Ticket

$12.68 ¥2,004

$6.28 COP 19.9K

101.91%

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

$1,350 ¥213.3K

$770 COP 2.4M

75.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K ¥2.8M

$9,011 COP 28.6M

98.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.0 ¥8,853

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-35.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.14 ¥5,236

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-41.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.3 ¥10.2K

$137 COP 432.9K

-52.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.2 ¥11.1K

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-28.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,253 ¥197.9K

$1,055 COP 3.3M

18.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$700 ¥110.6K

$616 COP 2.0M

13.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,502 ¥395.3K

$1,892 COP 6.0M

32.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,430 ¥225.9K

$1,023 COP 3.2M

39.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,428 ¥1.5M

$4,059 COP 12.9M

132.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,236 ¥669.3K

$1,678 COP 5.3M

152.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,998 ¥473.7K

$652 COP 2.1M

359.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.25

10.94

-79.43%

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

Last update for Tokyo: 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

Tokyo

$700 42.1%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 12% $84

Groceries & Markets

Tokyo

$325 19.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 9.3% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tokyo

$201 12.1%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 6.7% $13

Eating Out

Tokyo

$157 9.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 7.4% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Tokyo

$101 6.1%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 69% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Tokyo

$92 5.5%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 37.2% $34

Getting Around

Tokyo

$88 5.3%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 6% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,253 in Tokyo 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 360% higher in Tokyo, 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 $37.00 in Tokyo versus $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $325 in Tokyo vs $295 in Medellin – so Medellin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tokyo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:51 12:51 AM

10:51 10:51 AM

14 h behind Tokyo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,613,660 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 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 JPY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tokyo Medellin 14,070 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Tokyo
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

Tokyo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Tokyo is pricier by about 3%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,495 per month in Tokyo 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 Medellin, 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 $37.00 in Tokyo 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 $1,663 in Tokyo and $1,614 in Medellin. That's a gap of about 3%.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,614, than in Tokyo at $1,663. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Tokyo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Medellin – 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 Medellin. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Tokyo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.