Cost of living comparison

compared to

Medellin vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Medellin is 10.5% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 24.1% more in Medellin
Groceries: pay 3.8% less in Medellin
Transportation: pay 10.9% more in Medellin
Housing: pay 10.6% more in Medellin
Childcare: pay 42.6% more in Medellin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.9% less in Medellin
Clothing: pay 23.8% more in Medellin

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

Medellin vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Medellin instead of Lima, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 24.1% more for restaurants

	Lima	Medellin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.86	$6.40 COP23,534.79	+49.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN24.77	$7.68 COP28,241.74	+7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.49	$1.16 COP4,276.91	+15.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.26	$0.81 COP2,963.51	+23.5%
Average			+24.1%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.8% less for groceries

	Lima	Medellin
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN9.25	$1.42 COP5,231.87	-46.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.67	$2.26 COP8,313.26	-50.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.97	$4.18 COP15,360.62	-27.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN10.28	$2.36 COP8,668.79	-20.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN9.14	$2.61 COP9,582.68	-1.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.52	$1.13 COP4,159.70	+11.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.76	$0.48 COP1,781.61	-4.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN2.00	$0.79 COP2,921.96	+37.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.95	$0.65 COP2,372.27	+14.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.60	$0.58 COP2,146.90	+26.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.51	$0.51 COP1,884.17	+18.1%
Average			-3.8%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.9% more for transportation

	Lima	Medellin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN18.03	$3.94 COP14,489.44	-24.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN79.27	$43.52 COP160K	+90.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN69,359.67	$18,943.94 COP70M	-5.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN75.30	$17.92 COP65,897.40	-17.4%
Average			+10.9%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.6% more for housing

	Lima	Medellin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN86.69	$25.49 COP93,720.75	+2.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,294.86	$532.59 COP2M	-19.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,298.44	$400.83 COP1M	+7.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN151.03	$66.50 COP245K	+52.8%
Average			+10.6%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of housing

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pay 42.6% more for childcare

	Lima	Medellin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN666.92	$400.53 COP1M	+108.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN28,503.52	$6,297.58 COP23M	-23.3%
Average			+42.6%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Medellin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.93	$1.79 COP6,589.74	-21.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN9.07	$1.76 COP6,470.12	-32.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.82	$2.30 COP8,472.52	-59.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN108.00	$26.71 COP98,218.51	-14.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN24.77	$3.84 COP14,120.87	-46.2%
Average			-34.9%

Lima vs. Medellin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.8% more for clothing

	Lima	Medellin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN177.20	$66.24 COP244K	+29.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN123.99	$37.24 COP137K	+4.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN291.42	$108.25 COP398K	+28.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN290.41	$110.81 COP407K	+32.4%
Average			+23.8%

Lima 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: April 2026

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