Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 22.6% more expensive than Quito.

Restaurants
pay 36.9% more in Santiago
Groceries
pay 27.9% more in Santiago
Transportation
pay 30.4% more in Santiago
Housing
pay 42.6% more in Santiago
Childcare
pay 15.6% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.7% less in Santiago
Clothing
pay 35.0% less in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Quito Cost Breakdown

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

pay 36.9% more for restaurants

 
Quito
Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.00
 
$10.23
CLF0.2600
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.67
 
$8.70
CLF0.2200
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.40
 
$1.71
CLF0.0400

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pay 27.9% more for groceries

 
Quito
Santiago
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
 
$1.81
CLF0.0500
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.21
 
$5.64
CLF0.1400
Milk (1 gallon) $4.29
 
$4.81
CLF0.1200

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pay 30.4% more for transportation

 
Quito
Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.17
 
$5.77
CLF0.1400
Monthly public transit pass $21.00
 
$40.93
CLF1.0200
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,000.00
 
$17,743.12
CLF443.5100

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pay 42.6% more for housing

 
Quito
Santiago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.45
 
$19.07
CLF0.4800
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $482.78
 
$552.81
CLF13.8200
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $313.44
 
$376.90
CLF9.4200

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pay 15.6% less for childcare

 
Quito
Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $743.00
 
$432.52
CLF10.8100
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,951.43
 
$10,959.69
CLF273.9500

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pay 2.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Quito
Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.50
 
$4.09
CLF0.1000
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.38
 
$3.25
CLF0.0800
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.00
 
$5.22
CLF0.1300

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pay 35.0% less for clothing

 
Quito
Santiago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$70.10
 
$50.25
CLF1.2600
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$49.62
 
$28.71
CLF0.7200
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$115.66
 
$66.29
CLF1.6600

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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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