Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Salvador vs. Dili Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 0.6% more expensive than Dili.

Restaurants
pay 6.9% less in San Salvador
Groceries
pay 38.0% more in San Salvador
Transportation
pay 11.1% more in San Salvador
Housing
pay 2.1% more in San Salvador
Childcare
pay 82.1% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.7% less in San Salvador
Clothing
pay 50.0% more in San Salvador

The cost of clothing, groceries, transportation, and housing in San Salvador are more expensive than in Dili. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in San Salvador.

San Salvador vs. Dili Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Salvador instead of Dili, you would:

pay 6.9% less for restaurants

 
Dili
San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.00
 
$6.75
SVC59.06
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
 
$7.00
SVC61.25
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.67
 
$1.14
SVC10.01

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pay 38.0% more for groceries

 
Dili
San Salvador
Bread
1 loaf
$2.48
 
$2.85
SVC24.94
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.00
 
$3.85
SVC33.72
Milk (1 gallon) $8.80
 
$6.95
SVC60.81

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pay 11.1% more for transportation

 
Dili
San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.34
 
$4.75
SVC41.60
Monthly public transit pass $30.00
 
$37.50
SVC328.13
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,000.00
 
$25,000.00
SVC219K

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pay 2.1% more for housing

 
Dili
San Salvador
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $42.50
SVC371.88
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $828.75
 
$898.99
SVC7,866.27
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $753.75
 
$770.00
SVC6,737.58

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pay 82.1% less for childcare

 
Dili
San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,500.00
 
$162.67
SVC1,423.35
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,000.00
 
$4,720.00
SVC41,300.50

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pay 18.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Dili
San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.50
 
$2.00
SVC17.50
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.12
 
$3.55
SVC31.02
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.00
 
$4.00
SVC35.00

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pay 50.0% more for clothing

 
Dili
San Salvador
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.00
 
$67.15
SVC587.57
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.00
 
$47.00
SVC411.25
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.00
 
$118.33
SVC1,035.43

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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