🧮 Build Your Budget
Quick Start — Choose a Lifestyle:
🏠 Housing
🍽️ Food & Dining
🚇 Transportation
🎉 Lifestyle & Entertainment
🏥 Health & Insurance
📦 Other Expenses
Your Monthly Budget
$1,665
Estimated monthly cost in Medellín
🏠 Housing
$780
🍽️ Food
$390
🚇 Transport
$60
🎉 Lifestyle
$170
🏥 Health
$100
📦 Other
$165
😊 Comfortable Living
Compared to Other Cities
🇺🇸 New York City
Save 65%
🇺🇸 Miami
Save 55%
🇪🇸 Barcelona
Save 40%
🇲🇽 Mexico City
Save 15%
🇹🇭 Bangkok
+10% more
📋 Real Price Reference (November 2025)
🍽️ Dining
- Menu del día (local lunch)$3-4
- Arepa con huevo (street)$1-2
- Nice restaurant dinner$15-25
- Upscale Poblado restaurant$30-50
- McDonald's meal$6-8
- Domino's pizza (large)$10-12
☕ Drinks
- Tinto (small coffee)$0.30-0.50
- Specialty café latte$2.50-4
- Beer at bar$2-4
- Craft beer$4-7
- Cocktail at nice bar$8-15
- Bottle of wine (store)$8-15
🛒 Groceries
- Eggs (30 pack)$3-4
- Chicken breast (1kg)$4-5
- Avocados (3)$1-2
- Fresh fruit (1kg mangos)$1-2
- Rice (1kg)$1
- Imported products2-3x US price
🚇 Transport
- Metro ride$0.70
- Uber (Poblado→Laureles)$4-7
- Uber (airport)$25-35
- Gas (1 gallon)$2.50
- Taxi (base fare)$1.25
🏠 Housing
- 1BR Poblado (nice)$900-1500
- 1BR Laureles$500-900
- 1BR Envigado$450-800
- Shared room (Poblado)$400-600
- Airbnb premium+30-50%
💼 Services
- Gym membership$30-60
- Coworking (day pass)$10-15
- Coworking (monthly)$150-250
- Spanish class (hour)$8-15
- Haircut (men)$5-15
- Maid (weekly, 4hrs)$15-25
💡 Money-Saving Tips
🏠 Skip Airbnb Long-Term
Airbnb charges 30-50% premium. After 2-4 weeks, find a direct rental through Facebook groups or finca raiz sites. You'll save hundreds monthly.
🍽️ Eat "Menu del Día"
Local restaurants offer lunch specials ($3-4) with soup, main, drink, and dessert. Better than cooking and incredibly cheap.
💳 Use Wise or Revolut
Avoid bank ATM fees and bad exchange rates. Use Wise for best USD→COP conversion. Withdraw at Bancolombia ATMs in malls.
🚇 Live Near Metro
$0.70 rides add up to huge savings vs daily Uber. Laureles near Estadio station is perfect — walkable + metro access.
📱 Get Claro Prepaid
~$15/month for unlimited data. Buy at any Éxito supermarket. No contract needed. Works everywhere in the city.
🛒 Shop at D1 & Éxito
D1 and Ara are discount grocers with great prices. Éxito for variety. Carulla is expensive (like Whole Foods).