City comparison
Cost of living in Istanbul vs Medellín
One person needs about €963 a month in Istanbul and €968 in Medellín, rent included — Istanbul is 1% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Medellín the way you live in Istanbul on €3,000, you need
€3,016/ month net
1% more than today (+€16)
- Istanbul today
- Basket €963 · left over €2,037 (68%)
- Medellín at the matched salary
- Basket €968 · left over €2,048 (68%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 134% over in Medellín (adequate) vs 166% in Istanbul. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇹🇷 Istanbul
Enormous, cheap in euro terms, but inflation reprices everything every few months.
Monthly budget: €963
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇨🇴 Medellín
Spring weather year-round and the cheapest nomad hub in the Americas.
Monthly budget: €968
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Istanbul or Medellín?
On salary, Istanbul pays more for tech roles (€1,600 versus €1,300 a month), so the money left over after costs is €637 in Istanbul at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €550 in Istanbul against €600 in Medellín. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Istanbul at 70 and Medellín at 76 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.