Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cartagena vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Cartagena is 19.9% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 38.7% less in Cartagena
Groceries
pay 11.8% more in Cartagena
Transportation
pay 14.0% less in Cartagena
Housing
pay 32.9% less in Cartagena
Childcare
pay 34.5% less in Cartagena
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.7% more in Cartagena

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

Cartagena vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cartagena instead of Rome, you would:

pay 38.7% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Cartagena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$5.71
COP18,489.52
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$10.21
COP33,031.91
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.96
€2.66
$2.51
COP8,138.85

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pay 11.8% more for groceries

 
Rome
Cartagena
Bread
1 loaf
$2.22
€2.00
$2.78
COP8,994.90
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.42
€6.66
$6.61
COP21,387.88
Milk (1 gallon) $6.49
€5.82
$7.05
COP22,811.88

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pay 14.0% less for transportation

 
Rome
Cartagena
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.04
€7.21
$4.91
COP15,878.35
Monthly public transit pass $39.19
€35.16
$57.81
COP187K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,551.60
€31,895.12
$23,157.99
COP75M

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pay 32.9% less for housing

 
Rome
Cartagena
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.87
€28.59
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,208.81
€1,084.48
$1,028.35
COP3M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $873.39
€783.57
$574.35
COP2M

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pay 34.5% less for childcare

 
Rome
Cartagena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $487.21
€437.10
$617.63
COP2M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,862.20
€15,127.92
$5,713.07
COP18M

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pay 4.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Cartagena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.02
$3.21
COP10,394.11
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.07
€1.86
$4.32
COP13,992.07
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.53
??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Rome
Cartagena
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.31
€63.98
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.31
€32.58
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.63
€75.03
??

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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