Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Chile

Santiago vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 16.8% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 41.7% more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 24.2% less in Santiago
Transportation: pay 5.0% less in Santiago
Housing: pay 39.2% less in Santiago
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.4% less in Santiago
Clothing: pay 3.7% less in Santiago

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

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Santiago vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 41.7% more for restaurants

	Male	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$10.23 CLF0.2600	+70.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$8.70 CLF0.2200	-10.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.71 CLF0.0400	+4.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$1.25 CLF0.0300	+320.0%
Average			+41.7%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.2% less for groceries

	Male	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$1.81 CLF0.0500	+9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$5.64 CLF0.1400	+5.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$4.81 CLF0.1200	-37.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$4.18 CLF0.1100	+117.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$3.11 CLF0.0800	+12.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$0.90 CLF0.0200	-49.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.70 CLF0.0200	-49.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$0.74 CLF0.0200	-60.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.78 CLF0.0200	-35.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.49 CLF0.0100	-47.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$0.68 CLF0.0200	-21.4%
Average			-24.2%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.0% less for transportation

	Male	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$5.77 CLF0.1500	+51.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$40.93 CLF1.0300	+32.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$17,743.12 CLF446.1700	-45.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$7.37 CLF0.1900	-58.0%
Average			-5.0%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.2% less for housing

	Male	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$19.07 CLF0.4800	-73.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$552.81 CLF13.9000	-41.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$376.90 CLF9.4800	-46.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$113.86 CLF2.8600	+25.2%
Average			-39.2%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Male	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$432.52 CLF10.8800	+133.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$10,959.69 CLF275.5900	+264.7%
Average			+192.0%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$4.09 CLF0.1000	-15.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$3.25 CLF0.0800	-8.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$5.22 CLF0.1300	-65.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$33.92 CLF0.8500	-52.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$7.52 CLF0.1900	-22.7%
Average			-33.4%

Male vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7% less for clothing

	Male	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$50.25 CLF1.2600	+27.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$28.71 CLF0.7200	-42.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$66.29 CLF1.6700	-23.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$80.84 CLF2.0300	+53.9%
Average			-3.7%

Male 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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