Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 4.2% more expensive than Mexico City.

Restaurants: pay 7.2% less in Santiago
Groceries: pay 12.6% less in Santiago
Transportation: pay 75.8% more in Santiago
Housing: pay 16.8% more in Santiago
Childcare: pay 9.0% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.4% less in Santiago
Clothing: pay 26.2% less in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santiago instead of Mexico City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.2% less for restaurants

	Mexico City	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.86 MX$195.57	$10.50 CLF0.2400	-3.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.82 MX$158.90	$8.10 CLF0.1900	-8.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 MX$31.20	$1.61 CLF0.0400	-6.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 MX$23.49	$1.16 CLF0.0300	-10.7%
Average			-7.2%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.6% less for groceries

	Mexico City	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$2.63 MX$47.29	$1.55 CLF0.0400	-40.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.04 MX$90.79	$5.13 CLF0.1200	+1.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 MX$117.78	$4.52 CLF0.1100	-30.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.61 MX$46.96	$4.01 CLF0.0900	+54.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.80 MX$68.54	$3.00 CLF0.0700	-21.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 MX$24.66	$0.91 CLF0.0200	-33.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.80 MX$14.41	$0.70 CLF0.0200	-12.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 MX$17.53	$0.92 CLF0.0200	-5.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 MX$16.32	$0.84 CLF0.0200	-7.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 MX$17.27	$0.79 CLF0.0200	-17.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 MX$17.91	$0.74 CLF0.0200	-25.2%
Average			-12.6%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.8% more for transportation

	Mexico City	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 MX$92.54	$5.23 CLF0.1200	+1.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$19.54 MX$352.03	$41.99 CLF0.9800	+114.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,030.45 MX$360,826.57	$19,201.90 CLF446.5000	-4.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.42 MX$79.70	$12.86 CLF0.3000	+190.7%
Average			+75.8%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.8% more for housing

	Mexico City	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.93 MX$557.23	$21.76 CLF0.5100	-29.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,079.15 MX$19,439.65	$502.56 CLF11.6900	-53.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$677.25 MX$12,199.84	$424.00 CLF9.8600	-37.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$37.36 MX$673.03	$107.40 CLF2.5000	+187.5%
Average			+16.8%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 9.0% less for childcare

	Mexico City	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$430.39 MX$7,752.95	$431.25 CLF10.0300	+0.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,897.53 MX$196,307.02	$8,923.79 CLF207.5000	-18.1%
Average			-9.0%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Mexico City	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.26 MX$58.67	$3.15 CLF0.0700	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.81 MX$68.70	$3.09 CLF0.0700	-18.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.34 MX$78.23	$5.56 CLF0.1300	+28.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.44 MX$1,052.82	$32.24 CLF0.7500	-44.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.51 MX$117.34	$6.30 CLF0.1500	-3.3%
Average			-8.4%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.2% less for clothing

	Mexico City	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.95 MX$1,097.86	$53.82 CLF1.2500	-11.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.08 MX$866.05	$30.77 CLF0.7200	-36.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.72 MX$1,904.43	$73.54 CLF1.7100	-30.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.91 MX$1,997.92	$81.13 CLF1.8900	-26.9%
Average			-26.2%

Mexico City vs. Santiago - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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