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Bogotá vs Cartagena cost of living 2026
Which is cheaper, what exactly is cheaper, and how it feels on your money · Updated October 2026
🇨🇴 Bogotá
🇨🇴 Cartagena
At a glance
- Where Cartagena is clearly cheaper: Street food (43%↓), Tuk-tuk / moto taxi (29%↓)
- Where Bogotá is clearly cheaper: Hotel night (37%↓), Restaurant dinner (27%↓), Local meal (20%↓)
By category
Salary equivalence
Travel difficulty
Both cities are about equally easy to travel. Biggest gap: rip-offs & haggling — Bogotá 3 vs Cartagena 4. Closer to 1 is easier. Difficulty ranking ›
Item by item
| Item | Bogotá | Cartagena | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local mealper person | COL$ 16,000$3.9 | COL$ 20,000$4.88 | Bogotá −20% |
| Street food1 item | COL$ 7,000$1.71 | COL$ 4,000$0.98 | Cartagena −43% |
| Restaurant dinnerper person | COL$ 55,000$13.4 | COL$ 75,000$18.3 | Bogotá −27% |
| Coffeeone cup | COL$ 7,500$1.83 | COL$ 9,000$2.2 | Bogotá −17% |
| Beerone bottle | COL$ 8,000$1.95 | COL$ 8,000$1.95 | similar |
| Cocktail & wineone cup | COL$ 30,000$7.32 | COL$ 30,000$7.32 | similar |
| Bottled water | COL$ 2,500$0.61 | COL$ 2,500$0.61 | similar |
| Convenience store1 snack or drink | COL$ 3,500$0.85 | COL$ 4,000$0.98 | Bogotá −12% |
| Taxi5 km in town | COL$ 14,000$3.41 | COL$ 15,000$3.66 | Bogotá −7% |
| Tuk-tuk / moto taxishort hop | COL$ 8,500$2.07 | COL$ 6,000$1.46 | Cartagena −29% |
| Transitone ride | COL$ 3,550$0.87 | COL$ 3,900$0.95 | Bogotá −9% |
| Scooter rentalper day | COL$ 45,000$11 | COL$ 40,000$9.76 | Cartagena −11% |
| Hotel night3-star | COL$ 220,000$53.7 | COL$ 350,000$85.4 | Bogotá −37% |
| Studio rent (month) | COL$ 2,000,000$488 | COL$ 2,200,000$537 | Bogotá −9% |
| Laundry | COL$ 7,000$1.71 | COL$ 8,000$1.95 | Bogotá −12% |
| SIM card1 week data | COL$ 25,000$6.1 | COL$ 30,000$7.32 | Bogotá −17% |
| Haircutcut | COL$ 22,000$5.37 | COL$ 20,000$4.88 | Cartagena −9% |
| Massage1 hour | COL$ 80,000$19.5 | COL$ 100,000$24.4 | Bogotá −20% |
| Half-day tourper person | COL$ 100,000$24.4 | COL$ 120,000$29.3 | Bogotá −17% |
| Entry ticketTourist town | COL$ 30,000$7.32 | COL$ 30,000$7.32 | similar |
Reference prices start as estimates from published price levels; items with 3+ traveler reports use the median of real reports. Hostels and local eateries cut both by 30%+.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Bogotá or Cartagena?
Bogotá is 27% cheaper than Cartagena. Daily budget $93.7 vs $136; a month $1,685 vs $2,150.
Which is easier to travel, Bogotá or Cartagena?
About the same: Bogotá 3.2/5, Cartagena 3.2/5 (average of rip-offs, language, transport, payments and safety).
How do monthly costs compare between Bogotá and Cartagena?
With a short-term studio and living costs, Bogotá is about $1,685 and Cartagena about $2,150 per month.
Where do the numbers come from?
They start as estimates informed by published price levels; any item with 3+ traveler reports switches to the median of real reports. Live reports are in the app.