Cost of living
Cost of living in Colombia for digital nomads
What a solo remote worker actually spends per month in Medellín and Bogotá, and where the money really goes.
Key takeaways
- A solo nomad gets by on about $955–$1,305 (COL$3,280,000–4,480,000) a month in Medellín, before flights, visa and insurance.
- Rent is what moves the number: roughly COL$2,112,844 for a place outside the centre, COL$2,908,189 for something central in Medellín.
- Bogotá rents cheaper. A central one-bed averages COL$2,014,528 against Medellín's COL$2,908,189.
- Eating out stays cheap. A plate at an inexpensive restaurant is about COL$25,000.
Monthly budget
| Item | USD | Local |
|---|---|---|
| Rent, 1-bedMedellín, outside centre to central | $615–$847 | COL$2,112,844–2,908,189 |
| Utilitieselectricity, water, garbage, one person | $95 | COL$327,160 |
| Foodmostly-local diet plus some groceries | $233–$349 | COL$800,000–1,200,000 |
| Mobile dataplan with calls and 10GB+ | $12 | COL$42,808 |
| Local transport | varies | metro and ride apps, both cheap, rarely a big line |
| Coworking desk | varies | optional hot desk on top of the total |
| Typical totalsolo, lean to comfortable, excl. flights, visa, insurance | $955–$1,305 | COL$3,280,000–4,480,000 |
What different budgets get you
Lean, solo
~$955
A one-bed outside the centre, set lunches and home cooking, metro and the odd Uber, no paid desk.
Comfortable, solo
~$1,305
A central El Poblado or Laureles flat, eating out more often, plus a coworking desk on top.
Couple
~$1,480
A shared central one-bed, food and transport for two, plus a desk.
Rent
In Medellín a one-bed outside the centre runs around COL$2,112,844 a month, or COL$2,908,189 for something central and set up for remote work. Bogotá goes the other way, roughly COL$1,485,709 on the edges and COL$2,014,528 in the middle, so the capital is the cheaper of the two on rent alone. What pushes Medellín up is El Poblado: furnished, short-lease, nomad-targeted flats sit well above the city average. Sign a longer lease and skip the furnished markup and the price drops hard.
Food
You can eat out here most nights without watching the bill. A plate at an inexpensive restaurant is about COL$25,000, much the same in both cities, and the menú del día at lunch is cheaper again. Cook some of the time and a mostly-local month lands around COL$800,000–1,200,000 for one person, call it 30 to 50 cheap restaurant meals with groceries filling the gaps. Stick to the set lunches and the corner fruterías and you sit at the bottom of that range.
Coworking
Medellín's coworking is clustered in El Poblado and Laureles, hot desks with fast fibre and a room full of other remote workers. A lot of nomads skip the paid desk and just work from cafés, of which there are plenty with decent wifi, so treat it as an optional line rather than a fixed cost. Whatever you pay sits on top of the budget below.
Transport
Both cities are cheap to get around. Medellín has the only metro in the country, clean and quick, plus the cable cars up the hillsides, and a single fare costs very little. Bogotá leans on the TransMilenio bus network instead, slower but it covers the city. Most people top either up with Uber or a local ride app after dark, both cheap by Western standards, so transport rarely moves the monthly number much.
Connectivity
Data is fast and close to free. A mobile plan with calls and 10GB or more is about COL$42,808 a month in Medellín and COL$47,059 in Bogotá. Add apartment fibre, which is easy to find in both cities, and you can take video calls all day with the SIM as a backup for travel days. Speeds in the main neighbourhoods hold up fine for remote work.
Medellín vs Bogotá
Medellín is the nomad default: the metro, the spring-like weather, a tight remote-work scene, and El Poblado and Laureles walkable end to end. Bogotá is bigger, higher and colder, with the country's main international airport and the widest choice of private hospitals, and its rent undercuts Medellín. Roughly, Medellín charges a premium on central rent, Bogotá runs a touch higher on utilities and data, and food costs about the same in both. Pick Medellín for the scene and the climate, Bogotá to stretch the rent budget.
Rent by neighbourhood
Medellín
| Sabaneta | $435–$640 | COL$1,500,000–2,200,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Envigado | $495–$730 | COL$1,700,000–2,500,000 |
| Conquistadores | ~$580 | COL$2,000,000 |
| Ciudad del Río | ~$700 | COL$2,400,000 |
| Laureles / Estadio | $640–$875 | COL$2,200,000–3,000,000 |
| El Poblado | $1,020–$1,455 | COL$3,500,000–5,000,000 |
Bogotá
| One-bed, outside centre | ~$433 | COL$1,485,709 |
|---|---|---|
| One-bed, central | ~$587 | COL$2,014,528 |
How it compares
| Hub | 1-bed, centre |
|---|---|
| Bali (Denpasar) | $380 |
| Chiang Mai | $500 |
| Bangkok | $665 |
| Medellín | $847 |
| Lisbon | $1,625 |
Central one-bed monthly rent, US$. Bali here is Denpasar; Canggu and Ubud cost more.
FAQ
About $955 to $1,305 a month (COL$3,280,000–4,480,000) for one person, covering rent, utilities, food and mobile data. That leaves out flights, visa costs and insurance. The low end means a place outside the centre and mostly local food; the high end is a central El Poblado or Laureles flat with more eating out.
On rent, Bogotá. A central one-bed averages COL$2,014,528 ($587) in Bogotá against COL$2,908,189 ($847) in Medellín, and the edges are cheaper too. Food costs the same in both, and utilities and data run a touch higher in Bogotá. Most nomads still pick Medellín for the metro, the weather and the scene, and pay the rent premium for it.
In Medellín, yes, on the lean-to-middle end of these ranges, especially if you take a place outside El Poblado. In Bogotá it's easier still given the lower rent. A thousand dollars covers a solo nomad's rent, utilities, food and data, but not insurance, visa costs or flights.
In Medellín, roughly COL$2,112,844 ($615) a month for a one-bed outside the centre and COL$2,908,189 ($847) central, with El Poblado asking COL$3,500,000–5,000,000 for furnished units. Bogotá runs lower, about COL$1,485,709 ($433) on the edges to COL$2,014,528 ($587) central. Furnished, short-lease units cost noticeably more and usually leave out the building administration fee.
Both. A mobile plan with calls and 10GB or more is about COL$42,808 ($12) a month in Medellín and COL$47,059 ($14) in Bogotá, and apartment fibre is easy to find in the main neighbourhoods. For most work the plan plus fibre is plenty.
Eating mostly local runs about COL$800,000–1,200,000 ($233–$349) a month for one. A plate at an inexpensive restaurant is around COL$25,000 ($7.30) in both cities, the menú del día is cheaper, and cooking with market groceries pulls it down further.
Related reading
- Colombia insurance & visa guide for nomads
the visa classes, the healthcare system and what insurance you actually need for a long stay