Cost of living comparison

compared to

Medellin vs. Buenos Aires Cost of Living Summary

Medellin is 17.2% cheaper than Buenos Aires.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% less in Medellin
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in Medellin
Transportation: pay 43.3% more in Medellin
Housing: pay 20.1% less in Medellin
Childcare: pay 11.8% more in Medellin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.7% less in Medellin
Clothing: pay 33.7% less in Medellin

The cost of transportation and childcare in Medellin are more expensive than in Buenos Aires. Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, groceries, and housing are lower in Medellin.

Medellin vs. Buenos Aires Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Medellin instead of Buenos Aires, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% less for restaurants

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.00 ARS25,933.50	$6.40 COP24,335.78	-64.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00 ARS17,289.00	$7.68 COP29,202.93	-36.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.18 ARS3,142.45	$1.16 COP4,422.47	-46.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 ARS1,999.93	$0.81 COP3,064.37	-41.9%
Average			-47.2%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Bread 1 loaf	$2.89 ARS4,164.89	$1.42 COP5,409.93	-50.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.13 ARS8,836.60	$2.26 COP8,596.20	-63.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.84 ARS8,409.97	$4.18 COP15,883.41	-28.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.29 ARS4,738.61	$2.36 COP8,963.82	-28.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.92 ARS5,647.01	$2.61 COP9,908.82	-33.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 ARS1,658.22	$1.13 COP4,301.27	-1.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 ARS1,384.97	$0.48 COP1,842.25	-49.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 ARS815.96	$0.79 COP3,021.40	+40.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 ARS1,641.89	$0.65 COP2,453.01	-43.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 ARS948.96	$0.58 COP2,219.97	-11.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 ARS834.01	$0.51 COP1,948.30	-11.5%
Average			-25.6%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.3% more for transportation

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.31 ARS6,213.73	$3.94 COP14,982.58	-8.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 ARS28,815.00	$43.52 COP165,483.28	+117.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 ARS36,018,750.00	$18,943.94 COP72,033,897.26	-24.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.51 ARS13,708.68	$17.92 COP68,140.17	+88.3%
Average			+43.3%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.1% less for housing

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.42 ARS42,390.25	$25.49 COP96,910.47	-13.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$659.06 ARS949,547.18	$532.59 COP2,025,157.04	-19.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$463.75 ARS668,143.89	$400.83 COP1,524,163.01	-13.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.98 ARS145,484.43	$66.50 COP252,874.58	-34.1%
Average			-20.1%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of housing

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pay 11.8% more for childcare

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$367.39 ARS529,319.02	$400.53 COP1,523,015.15	+9.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,496.25 ARS7,918,722.19	$6,297.58 COP23,946,403.68	+14.6%
Average			+11.8%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.80 ARS5,474.85	$1.79 COP6,814.02	-52.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.13 ARS5,943.95	$1.76 COP6,690.33	-57.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.68 ARS5,301.96	$2.30 COP8,760.88	-37.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.59 ARS62,797.79	$26.71 COP101,561.31	-38.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 ARS12,966.75	$3.84 COP14,601.47	-57.3%
Average			-48.7%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.7% less for clothing

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$112.87 ARS162,612.84	$66.24 COP251,875.28	-41.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$91.59 ARS131,962.90	$37.24 COP141,589.97	-59.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$129.33 ARS186,337.00	$108.25 COP411,622.27	-16.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.94 ARS194,408.71	$110.81 COP421,356.58	-17.9%
Average			-33.7%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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