Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Chile

Santiago vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 46.1% cheaper than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 8.1% less in Santiago
Groceries: pay 4.5% less in Santiago
Transportation: pay 12.9% less in Santiago
Housing: pay 72.7% less in Santiago
Childcare: pay 44.5% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.8% less in Santiago
Clothing: pay 33.5% less in Santiago

Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Santiago.

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Santiago vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santiago instead of Dubai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.1% less for restaurants

	Dubai	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.80 AED47.00	$10.23 CLF0.2600	-20.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$8.70 CLF0.2200	-8.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 AED6.12	$1.71 CLF0.0400	+2.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 AED2.89	$1.25 CLF0.0300	+58.3%
Average			-8.1%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.5% less for groceries

	Dubai	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.54 AED5.66	$1.81 CLF0.0500	+17.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.21 AED22.81	$5.64 CLF0.1400	-9.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.92 AED25.41	$4.81 CLF0.1200	-30.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.34 AED12.26	$4.18 CLF0.1100	+25.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.36 AED16.00	$3.11 CLF0.0800	-28.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 AED4.39	$0.90 CLF0.0200	-24.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 AED3.24	$0.70 CLF0.0200	-20.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 AED3.12	$0.74 CLF0.0200	-13.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 AED2.34	$0.78 CLF0.0200	+23.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 AED1.89	$0.49 CLF0.0100	-4.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.67	$0.68 CLF0.0200	+49.1%
Average			-4.5%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.9% less for transportation

	Dubai	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66 AED13.44	$5.77 CLF0.1500	+57.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.87 AED275.01	$40.93 CLF1.0300	-45.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,226.44 AED100K	$17,743.12 CLF448.6700	-34.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.86 AED32.56	$7.37 CLF0.1900	-16.9%
Average			-12.9%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.7% less for housing

	Dubai	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$92.93 AED341.33	$19.07 CLF0.4800	-79.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,407.39 AED8,842.35	$552.81 CLF13.9800	-77.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,513.73 AED5,559.92	$376.90 CLF9.5300	-75.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.87 AED690.05	$113.86 CLF2.8800	-39.4%
Average			-72.7%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 44.5% less for childcare

	Dubai	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$859.15 AED3,155.64	$432.52 CLF10.9400	-49.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,941.05 AED65,897.48	$10,959.69 CLF277.1400	-38.9%
Average			-44.5%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$4.09 CLF0.1000	-69.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.89	$3.25 CLF0.0800	-45.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.99 AED22.00	$5.22 CLF0.1300	-12.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.96 AED367.15	$33.92 CLF0.8600	-66.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.34 AED60.00	$7.52 CLF0.1900	-54.0%
Average			-56.8%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.5% less for clothing

	Dubai	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.92 AED249.49	$50.25 CLF1.2700	-26.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.98 AED209.27	$28.71 CLF0.7300	-49.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.70 AED377.23	$66.29 CLF1.6800	-35.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.57 AED365.72	$80.84 CLF2.0400	-18.8%
Average			-33.5%

Dubai vs. Santiago - Cost of clothing

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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