Quito vs Cali
In short
Calculated from the figures below, with no overall “who wins” score.
Rent
✓in Quito cheaper — −31%
Family budget
✓in Quito cheaper — −41%
Internet
✓in Cali cheaper — −39%
In numbers
Exchange rate as of the date each figure was checked.
House or apartment rent
per month✓Quito$460–1,200$460–1,200cheaper by 31%Cali≈ $434–1,980COP 1,425k – 6.5MFamily groceries
per monthQuito$372$372✓Cali≈ $301COP 989,488cheaper by 19%Family budget
per month✓Quito$369.6$369.6cheaper by 41%Cali≈ $623COP 2,046,552Internet
per monthQuito$33.93$33.93✓Cali≈ $19–23COP 60,900–75,900cheaper by 39%Winter
averageQuito10–22 °C10–22 °CCali19–29 °C19–29 °CPrecipitation
per yearQuito1,098 mm1,098 mmCali1,485 mm1,485 mmReady-made house
purchase✓Quito$85–230k$85–230kcheaper by 16%Cali≈ $131–243kCOP 430–800M
By topic
A quick look at each city. Details and sources are on the city page.
Housing
Quito
An apartment with three or more bedrooms on RE/MAX listings is mostly 460-1200 dollars a month, median 690. In the north by La Carolina park and Quito Tenis the median is 1200.
SpecialistRE/MAX Ecuador: all active listings of apartments for rent (the site's open data) · checked 6 Oct 2026
A house with three or more bedrooms in the canton of Quito on RE/MAX listings is mostly 85-230k dollars, median 138k. An apartment with three or more bedrooms: median 112k.
SpecialistRE/MAX Ecuador: all active listings of houses for sale (the site's open data) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
A three-bedroom by listings: in stratum 4 in the south the median is 1.4 million pesos a month (about 430 dollars, 65 m²), in stratum 6 it is 6.5 million (about 1,940 dollars, 210 m²).
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for rent in Cali · checked 6 Oct 2026
A resale three-bedroom by listings: from 155 million to 1.5 billion pesos, half within 430-800 million. New three-bedroom units sell from 220 million to 1.6 billion.
SpecialistFincaraíz: three-bedroom apartments for sale in Cali · checked 6 Oct 2026
Money and prices
Quito
In INEC's official basket for a family of four in Quito, food and drinks cost 372 dollars a month (August 2026), of which 48 is eating out.
OfficialINEC: basic family consumption basket (CFBC) by city, August 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
INEC's poverty line for a family of four is 370 dollars a month. INEC's basic basket for four in Quito is 846, including 175 for rent.
OfficialINEC: bulletin on income poverty, ENEMDU, December 2025 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
The DANE minimum food basket for Cali is 247,372 pesos per person a month, about 989 thousand (296 dollars) for a family of four. Figures for 2025.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
A family of four in Cali counts as poor with income below 2.05 million pesos a month, about 610 dollars (2025). Average income is 1.58 million per person.
OfficialDANE: monetary poverty 2025, presentation of results with poverty lines by city · checked 6 Oct 2026
Healthcare
Quito
The public Eugenio Espejo hospital has 416 beds and 110 specialist consulting rooms. The Baca Ortiz children's hospital has 361 beds, paediatric ICU and neonatal intensive care.
OfficialEcuadorian Ministry of Public Health: Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
Fundación Valle del Lili in Cali is Colombia's best hospital in the Newsweek ranking for the fifth year in a row; 126th in the world list of 2026 out of 2,530 assessed.
SpecialistConsultorSalud: which Colombian hospitals are in the World's Best Hospitals 2026 ranking · checked 6 Oct 2026
Transport
Quito
Mariscal Sucre international airport is in Tababela, 24 km from the city. From December 2026 Air Canada flies direct to Montreal and Toronto.
SpecialistQuiport: about the Quito airport concessionaire · checked 6 Oct 2026
Quito has a metro line with 15 stations. In July 2026 it carried 5.4 million trips, and 154 million since opening.
OfficialMetro de Quito: home page, "Metro en cifras" · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
In 2025 about 6.4 million passengers passed through Cali airport, 1.2 million of them international. Since September 2025 it has been run by the state agency Aerocivil.
OfficialAerocivil, open data: commercial air traffic by origin-destination, 2020-2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Climate
Quito
There is no winter as a season: all year round it is about 10 degrees at night and 21-22 by day. In June-August nights are 9.4-9.8 and days 21-22; this is the dry season.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Quito 1981-2010 · checked 6 Oct 2026
About 1100 mm a year. Dry in June-August, 22-40 mm and 7-10 rainy days a month. The wettest month is April: 171 mm and 20 days with rain.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Quito 1981-2010 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
There is no winter: in the coolest month, November, it averages 19 degrees at night and 28.8 during the day, in August 18.5 and 30.9. The difference between months is about 2 degrees.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cali 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
In the city about 1,485 mm a year and 166 rainy days. Two wet seasons, March-May and October-November; driest in July-August.
OfficialWMO, World Weather Information Service: climate normals of Cali 1971-2000 · checked 6 Oct 2026
Safety
Quito
Guagua Pichincha, 12 km to the west, covered Quito in ash in 1999-2000. Cotopaxi, 45 km away, could send mudflows into the Los Chillos valley.
OfficialIG-EPN: Guagua Pichincha volcano · checked 6 Oct 2026
Pichincha with Quito is on the list of provinces under a state of emergency from 15 Sep 2026. Pickpocketing and muggings are common, especially in the old town and at stations.
OfficialUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: travel advice for Ecuador · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
According to Ministry of Defense open data, Cali had 1,068 homicides in 2025 against 950 in 2024. In January-August 2026 there were 766, 17% more than in the same period of 2025.
OfficialColombian Ministry of Defense, open data: homicides by municipality (HOMICIDIO) · checked 6 Oct 2026
Internet and phone
Quito
Netlife sells 850 Mbit/s fibre for 33.93 dollars a month including tax, 16.96 for the first 9 months. The provider has 16 service points in Quito.
SpecialistNetlife: home fibre-optic internet plans · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
Tigo sells home internet at 200-500 Mbit/s for 60,900-75,900 pesos a month (strata 1-3, VAT included). On cable the upload is only 12-15 Mbit/s, on fibre 100-250.
SpecialistTigo: terms of home plans, internet plan specifications · checked 6 Oct 2026
Services
Quito
Electricity is 0.078-0.105 dollars per kWh by block plus 1.41 a month. 300 kWh comes to about 28 dollars before the street lighting and fire service charges.
OfficialRegistro Oficial No. 380, 9th supplement: resolution ARCONEL-009/2026, electricity tariffs for October-December 2026 · checked 6 Oct 2026
As of 2024, a cubic metre of water in Quito cost 0.31 dollars for use up to 8 m³ and 0.40 at 16-30 m³. We could not open the utility's full tariff schedule.
SpecialistPrimicias: Quito municipality discusses a water tariff increase · checked 6 Oct 2026
Cali
EMCALI has one of the cheapest electricity prices in the country: 868.6 pesos per kWh for stratum 4 as of June 2026. 300 kWh a month is about 261 thousand pesos (78 dollars).
SpecialistValora Analitik: the most expensive electricity tariffs for stratum 4 in Colombia · checked 6 Oct 2026

