Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Santo Domingo is 19.3% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 17.2% more in Santo Domingo
Groceries: pay 23.7% less in Santo Domingo
Transportation: pay 8.8% less in Santo Domingo
Housing: pay 36.8% less in Santo Domingo
Childcare: pay 83.3% more in Santo Domingo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.7% less in Santo Domingo
Clothing: pay 26.7% more in Santo Domingo

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

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Santo Domingo vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.2% more for restaurants

	Male	Santo Domingo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$9.95 DOP603.08	+65.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$7.54 DOP457.33	-22.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.04 DOP63.10	-36.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.57 DOP34.55	+91.9%
Average			+17.2%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.7% less for groceries

	Male	Santo Domingo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$1.51 DOP91.80	-8.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$3.62 DOP219.56	-32.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$5.19 DOP314.37	-32.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$2.34 DOP141.81	+21.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$2.53 DOP153.27	-8.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$1.45 DOP87.78	-19.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.37 DOP22.23	-73.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$1.24 DOP74.89	-33.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.83 DOP50.42	-31.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.91 DOP55.40	-2.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$1.00 DOP60.64	+16.2%
Average			-23.7%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.8% less for transportation

	Male	Santo Domingo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$5.38 DOP325.94	+41.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$18.24 DOP1,105.64	-40.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$23,212.79 DOP1M	-28.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$21.22 DOP1,286.56	+21.1%
Average			-8.8%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.8% less for housing

	Male	Santo Domingo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$36.30 DOP2,200.55	-50.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$721.96 DOP43,765.81	-24.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$350.20 DOP21,229.32	-50.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$70.91 DOP4,298.83	-22.1%
Average			-36.8%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of housing

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pay 83.3% more for childcare

	Male	Santo Domingo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$252.26 DOP15,292.26	+36.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$7,399.96 DOP449K	+146.3%
Average			+83.3%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Santo Domingo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$2.49 DOP150.77	-48.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$2.27 DOP137.79	-36.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$5.32 DOP322.65	-64.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$29.64 DOP1,796.66	-58.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$7.46 DOP452.31	-23.3%
Average			-45.7%

Male vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.7% more for clothing

	Male	Santo Domingo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$45.80 DOP2,776.69	+15.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$46.66 DOP2,828.71	-6.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$87.04 DOP5,276.28	-0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$124.34 DOP7,537.60	+136.8%
Average			+26.7%

Male 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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