Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Chile

Santiago vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 6.4% cheaper than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 6.4% more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 1.1% more in Santiago
Transportation: pay 33.9% less in Santiago
Housing: pay 9.8% less in Santiago
Childcare: pay 89.0% more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.4% more in Santiago
Clothing: pay 28.9% less in Santiago

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

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Santiago vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.4% more for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR198.53	$10.23 CLF0.2500	-14.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR119.12	$8.70 CLF0.2200	+20.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.78	$1.71 CLF0.0400	+42.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.72	$1.25 CLF0.0300	+40.0%
Average			+6.4%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.1% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.60	$1.81 CLF0.0400	+45.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.21	$5.64 CLF0.1400	+30.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.66	$4.81 CLF0.1200	-3.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.17	$4.18 CLF0.1000	+56.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.31	$3.11 CLF0.0800	+24.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.41	$0.90 CLF0.0200	-3.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.73	$0.70 CLF0.0200	-16.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.65	$0.74 CLF0.0200	-10.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.52	$0.78 CLF0.0200	-16.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.59	$0.49 CLF0.0100	-35.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.83	$0.68 CLF0.0200	-19.1%
Average			+1.1%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.9% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.33	$5.77 CLF0.1400
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,488.99	$40.93 CLF1.0100	-54.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	$17,743.12 CLF439.1400	-49.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR133.02	$7.37 CLF0.1800	-8.5%
Average			-33.9%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.8% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR593.03	$19.07 CLF0.4700	-46.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,240.91	$552.81 CLF13.6800	+10.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,028.03	$376.90 CLF9.3300	-11.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,890.63	$113.86 CLF2.8200	-34.9%
Average			-9.8%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 89.0% more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,010.09	$432.52 CLF10.7000	+78.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,334.24	$10,959.69 CLF271.2500	+100.4%
Average			+89.0%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.22	$4.09 CLF0.1000	+81.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.34	$3.25 CLF0.0800	+33.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.60	$5.22 CLF0.1300	+57.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR604.68	$33.92 CLF0.8400	-7.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR129.05	$7.52 CLF0.1900	-3.7%
Average			+21.4%

Johannesburg vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.9% less for clothing

	Johannesburg	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR952.05	$50.25 CLF1.2400	-12.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR756.18	$28.71 CLF0.7100	-37.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,791.55	$66.29 CLF1.6400	-38.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,748.89	$80.84 CLF2.0000	-23.6%
Average			-28.9%

Johannesburg 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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Size Comparison · See true size

Johannesburg is about 1.2 times smaller than Santiago.

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