City comparison
Cost of living in Medellín vs Istanbul
One person needs about €968 a month in Medellín and €963 in Istanbul, 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 Istanbul the way you live in Medellín on €3,000, you need
€2,985/ month net
1% less than today (-€15)
- Medellín today
- Basket €968 · left over €2,032 (68%)
- Istanbul at the matched salary
- Basket €963 · left over €2,022 (68%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 166% over in Istanbul (comfortable) vs 134% in Medellín. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇨🇴 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
🇹🇷 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
Should you move to Medellín or Istanbul?
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: €600 in Medellín against €550 in Istanbul. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Medellín at 76 and Istanbul at 70 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.