Cost of living comparison

Cuba

compared to

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo vs. Havana Cost of Living Summary

Santo Domingo is 37.5% more expensive than Havana.

Restaurants: pay 62.1% more in Santo Domingo
Groceries: pay 27.4% less in Santo Domingo
Transportation: pay 16.2% less in Santo Domingo
Housing: pay 95.3% more in Santo Domingo
Childcare: pay 54.3% more in Santo Domingo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.7 times more in Santo Domingo
Clothing: pay 44.8% more in Santo Domingo

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, childcare, and clothing in Santo Domingo are more expensive than in Havana. Expenses including groceries and transportation are lower in Santo Domingo. Notably, entertainment and sports and housing are significantly more expensive in Santo Domingo.

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Santo Domingo vs. Havana Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santo Domingo instead of Havana, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 62.1% more for restaurants

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.71 CUC3.71	$9.95 DOP611.16	+168.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 CUC5.00	$7.54 DOP463.46	+50.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 CUC1.70	$1.04 DOP63.95	-38.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 CUC1.00	$0.57 DOP35.01	-43.0%
Average			+62.1%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.4% less for groceries

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 CUC1.49	$1.51 DOP93.03	+1.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.22 CUC2.22	$3.62 DOP222.50	+63.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$14.20 CUC14.20	$5.19 DOP318.59	-63.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.71 CUC3.71	$2.34 DOP143.71	-37.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 CUC2.07	$2.53 DOP155.32	+22.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.75 CUC2.75	$1.45 DOP88.96	-47.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 CUC0.48	$0.37 DOP22.53	-24.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.79 CUC1.79	$1.24 DOP75.89	-30.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 CUC1.04	$0.83 DOP51.09	-20.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CUC1.73	$0.91 DOP56.14	-47.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.85 CUC1.85	$1.00 DOP61.45	-45.9%
Average			-27.4%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% less for transportation

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 CUC4.83	$5.38 DOP330.30	+11.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 CUC22.50	$18.24 DOP1,120.45	-18.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	$23,212.79 DOP1M	-61.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.20 CUC6.20	$21.22 DOP1,303.80	+242.3%
Average			-16.2%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of transportation

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pay 95.3% more for housing

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.21 CUC90.21	$36.30 DOP2,230.04	-59.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.03 CUC254.03	$721.96 DOP44,352.33	+184.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$214.40 CUC214.40	$350.20 DOP21,513.82	+63.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.20 CUC36.20	$70.91 DOP4,356.44	+95.9%
Average			+95.3%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of housing

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pay 54.3% more for childcare

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.00 CUC112.00	$252.26 DOP15,497.20	+125.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,000.00 CUC7,000.00	$7,399.96 DOP455K	+5.7%
Average			+54.3%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.60 CUC1.60	$2.49 DOP152.79	+55.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.11 CUC1.11	$2.27 DOP139.64	+104.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 CUC2.00	$5.32 DOP326.97	+166.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.00 CUC19.00	$29.64 DOP1,820.74	+56.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$0.85 CUC0.85	$7.46 DOP458.37	+777.8%
Average			+167.4%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% more for clothing

	Havana	Santo Domingo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.00 CUC37.00	$45.80 DOP2,813.91	+23.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.00 CUC37.00	$46.66 DOP2,866.62	+26.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.67 CUC68.67	$87.04 DOP5,346.99	+26.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.00 CUC56.00	$124.34 DOP7,638.61	+122.0%
Average			+44.8%

Havana vs. Santo Domingo - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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