Cost of living comparison

compared to

La Serena vs. Chile Cost of Living Summary

La Serena is 11.5% more expensive than Chile overall.

Restaurants: pay 12.9% less in La Serena
Groceries: pay 2.8% more in La Serena
Transportation: pay 16.7% more in La Serena
Housing: pay 10.8% less in La Serena
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.4% more in La Serena
Clothing: pay 51.1% more in La Serena

The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in La Serena are more expensive than in Chile. Expenses including restaurants and housing are lower in La Serena.

La Serena vs. Chile Cost Breakdown

If you lived in La Serena instead of Chile, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.9% less for restaurants

	Chile	La Serena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.18 CLF0.1900	$7.82 CLF0.1800	-4.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 CLF0.1700	$8.44 CLF0.2000	+15.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.38 CLF0.0300	$1.09 CLF0.0300	-21.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 CLF0.0300	$0.68 CLF0.0200	-41.6%
Average			-12.9%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8% more for groceries

	Chile	La Serena
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 CLF0.0400	$2.42 CLF0.0600	+53.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.12 CLF0.1200	$6.29 CLF0.1500	+22.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.40 CLF0.1000	$4.64 CLF0.1100	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.45 CLF0.0800	$3.86 CLF0.0900	+11.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 CLF0.0700	$2.69 CLF0.0600	-2.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.82 CLF0.0200	$0.85 CLF0.0200	+3.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CLF0.0200	$0.80 CLF0.0200	+4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 CLF0.0200	$0.60 CLF0.0100	-26.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 CLF0.0200	$0.66 CLF0.0200	-13.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CLF0.0100	$0.54 CLF0.0100	-11.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 CLF0.0200	$0.57 CLF0.0100	-16.1%
Average			+2.8%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.7% more for transportation

	Chile	La Serena
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.21 CLF0.1200	$5.33 CLF0.1300	+2.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.81 CLF0.7900	$36.47 CLF0.8600	+7.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,755.00 CLF393.5200	$20,205.70 CLF474.5700	+20.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.79 CLF0.3000	$17.40 CLF0.4100	+36.1%
Average			+16.7%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.8% less for housing

	Chile	La Serena
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.87 CLF0.5400	$21.50 CLF0.5100	-6.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$464.44 CLF10.9100	$434.20 CLF10.2000	-6.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$367.42 CLF8.6300	$323.04 CLF7.5900	-12.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.36 CLF1.9600	$68.04 CLF1.6000	-18.4%
Average			-10.8%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Chile	La Serena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$328.13 CLF7.7100	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,378.73 CLF126.3300	??

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Chile	La Serena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.03 CLF0.0700	$2.08 CLF0.0500	-31.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.86 CLF0.0700	$2.92 CLF0.0700	+1.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.14 CLF0.1200	$5.21 CLF0.1200	+1.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.02 CLF0.9600	$86.84 CLF2.0400	+111.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.50 CLF0.1500	$8.34 CLF0.2000	+28.3%
Average			+22.4%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.1% more for clothing

	Chile	La Serena
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.48 CLF1.0400	$44.29 CLF1.0400	-0.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.40 CLF0.6700	$62.52 CLF1.4700	+120.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$63.99 CLF1.5000	$93.79 CLF2.2000	+46.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$76.71 CLF1.8000	$105.94 CLF2.4900	+38.1%
Average			+51.1%

Chile vs. La Serena - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

More cost comparisons

Chile vs.

Nairobi

Chile vs.

Paris

Chile vs.

Hanoi

Chile vs.

Moscow

Chile vs.

Lima

Chile vs.

Phnom Penh

Chile vs.

Kiev

Chile vs.

Reykjavik

Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Chile

Add prices for La Serena

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about La Serena or Chile. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.