Cost of living comparison

Buenos Aires, Argentina

compared to

Medellin, Colombia

Medellin vs. Buenos Aires Cost of Living Summary

Medellin is 1.2% cheaper than Buenos Aires.

Restaurants: pay 35.1% less in Medellin
Groceries: pay 19.8% less in Medellin
Transportation: pay 76.7% more in Medellin
Childcare: pay 26.5% more in Medellin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.5% less in Medellin
Clothing: pay 34.7% less in Medellin

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

Medellin vs. Buenos Aires Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.1% less for restaurants

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.00 ARS13,882.52	$5.77 COP23,168.54	-47.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.49 ARS10,714.78	$6.70 COP26,875.51	-21.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ARS1,854.36	$0.95 COP3,827.04	-35.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ARS1,368.71	$0.68 COP2,749.13	-36.8%
Average			-35.1%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.8% less for groceries

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Bread 1 loaf	$2.16 ARS2,719.80	$1.44 COP5,760.90	-33.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.19 ARS6,553.82	$2.18 COP8,762.31	-58.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.04 ARS6,361.42	$3.90 COP15,636.40	-22.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 ARS2,911.25	$1.98 COP7,949.11	-14.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.80 ARS3,537.22	$2.36 COP9,457.37	-15.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 ARS1,166.56	$0.96 COP3,834.82	+3.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.87 ARS1,103.90	$0.42 COP1,700.39	-51.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 ARS764.60	$0.60 COP2,397.13	-1.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 ARS1,261.56	$0.58 COP2,333.99	-41.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.43 ARS538.92	$0.50 COP1,987.49	+16.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 ARS637.78	$0.51 COP2,066.04	+1.9%
Average			-19.8%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of groceries

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pay 76.7% more for transportation

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.50 ARS4,423.21	$3.45 COP13,838.42	-1.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.00 ARS13,882.52	$36.95 COP148,278.65	+235.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,250.00 ARS29,342,606.70	$17,780.31 COP71,359,101.56	-23.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ARS9,276.05	$14.42 COP57,859.65	+96.1%
Average			+76.7%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of transportation

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pay (unknown) more for housing

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$23.79 ARS30,029.63	$22.90 COP91,915.91	-3.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$513.68 ARS648,285.30	$461.27 COP1,851,257.47	-10.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.39 ARS451,046.15	$342.05 COP1,372,779.75	-4.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.23 ARS62,135.07	$58.27 COP233,862.78	+18.4%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of housing

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pay 26.5% more for childcare

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.50 ARS273,233.31	$259.39 COP1,041,039.71	+19.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,476.88 ARS5,650,031.95	$5,957.56 COP23,909,932.73	+33.1%
Average			+26.5%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.80 ARS2,271.39	$1.39 COP5,560.45	-23.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.98 ARS3,766.12	$1.54 COP6,165.27	-48.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.40 ARS3,028.91	$2.08 COP8,340.67	-13.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.22 ARS34,351.55	$27.04 COP108,506.01	-0.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 ARS6,310.24	$4.16 COP16,681.35	-16.9%
Average			-20.5%

Buenos Aires vs. Medellin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.7% less for clothing

	Buenos Aires	Medellin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$89.58 ARS113,047.91	$56.19 COP225,499.76	-37.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$74.73 ARS94,311.72	$34.58 COP138,787.01	-53.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$114.08 ARS143,970.51	$87.11 COP349,587.52	-23.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.22 ARS150,458.79	$90.54 COP363,372.28	-24.1%
Average			-34.7%

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: July 2025

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