Cost of living comparison
compared to
Quito vs. Cartagena Cost of Living Summary
Quito is 8.1% more expensive than Cartagena.
- Restaurants
-
pay 47.8% less in Quito
- Groceries
-
pay 8.3% less in Quito
- Transportation
-
pay 5.8% more in Quito
- Housing
-
pay 44.8% less in Quito
- Childcare
-
pay 100.0% more in Quito
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.6% less in Quito
- Clothing
-
pay 58.2% more in Quito
The cost of childcare, clothing, and transportation in Quito are more expensive than in Cartagena. Expenses including restaurants, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Quito. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Quito.
Quito vs. Cartagena Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Quito instead of Cartagena, you would:
pay 47.8% less for restaurants
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$14.02
€11.94
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.18
€6.97
|
$7.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
€2.21
|
$1.13
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.87
€1.59
|
$0.73
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.3% less for groceries
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.03
€0.88
|
$1.62
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.48
€4.67
|
$4.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.49
€3.83
|
$4.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.00
€2.56
|
$2.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.81
€3.25
|
$3.52
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.06
€0.90
|
$0.98
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.72
|
$0.51
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.65
€0.55
|
$0.48
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.68
|
$0.59
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
€0.50
|
$0.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.49
€0.42
|
$0.47
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of groceries
pay 5.8% more for transportation
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.80
€5.79
|
$2.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.68
€9.95
|
$27.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,951.72
€26,371.06
|
$20,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.21
€12.96
|
$13.50
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of transportation
pay 44.8% less for housing
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.98
€25.54
|
$28.44
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$846.79
€721.47
|
$448.12
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$627.79
€534.88
|
$317.19
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$111.87
€95.32
|
$25.07
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of housing
pay 100.0% more for childcare
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$428.26
€364.88
|
$283.25
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,803.18
€2,388.32
|
$9,360.00
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of childcare
pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.50
€2.99
|
$2.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.61
€2.23
|
$2.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.84
€4.98
|
$6.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.42
€33.59
|
$38.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.18
€6.97
|
$7.00
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 58.2% more for clothing
|
Cartagena
|
Quito
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.26
€38.56
|
$60.15
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.83
€27.12
|
$46.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$45.26
€38.56
|
$105.42
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$77.38
€65.93
|
$92.78
|
|
Cartagena vs. Quito - Cost of clothing
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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