Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. HsinChu Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 19.5% cheaper than HsinChu.

Restaurants
pay 14.0% more in Santiago
Groceries
pay 48.4% less in Santiago
Transportation
pay 43.0% more in Santiago
Housing
pay 9.2% less in Santiago
Childcare
pay 75.5% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 36.8% less in Santiago
Clothing
pay 23.9% less in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. HsinChu Cost Breakdown

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

pay 14.0% more for restaurants

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.93
NT$126.29
$5.25
DOP308.46
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.24
NT$168.38
$5.65
DOP332.19
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.85
NT$27.36
$0.98
DOP57.34

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pay 48.4% less for groceries

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Bread
1 loaf
$1.81
NT$58.14
$1.50
DOP88.20
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.76
NT$217.05
$3.11
DOP182.96
Milk (1 gallon) $11.62
NT$373.14
$4.07
DOP239.52

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pay 43.0% more for transportation

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.82
NT$122.52
$4.65
DOP273.56
Monthly public transit pass $39.32
NT$1,262.86
$29.48
DOP1,733.16
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $40,144.19
NT$1M
$15,338.47
DOP902K

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pay 9.2% less for housing

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$22.93
NT$736.32
$34.99
DOP2,056.83
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $550.55
NT$17,680.05
$371.35
DOP21,829.53
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $340.82
NT$10,944.79
$242.19
DOP14,236.65

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pay 75.5% less for childcare

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $710.03
NT$22,801.65
$213.93
DOP12,575.71
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,992.63
NT$481K
$2,841.65
DOP167K

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pay 36.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.29
NT$73.67
$2.42
DOP142.37
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.36
NT$107.87
$1.82
DOP106.77
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.92
NT$157.86
$3.23
DOP189.82

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pay 23.9% less for clothing

 
HsinChu
Santiago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.38
NT$2,709.89
$49.65
DOP2,918.51
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.28
NT$1,197.09
$43.06
DOP2,530.96
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$95.04
NT$3,051.91
$72.66
DOP4,270.99

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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: July 2026
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