Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 9.4% cheaper than Quito.

Restaurants
pay 11.6% less in Santiago
Groceries
pay 5.0% more in Santiago
Transportation
pay 27.6% more in Santiago
Housing
pay 11.3% more in Santiago
Childcare
pay 47.0% less in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 29.2% less in Santiago
Clothing
pay 21.8% less in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Quito Cost Breakdown

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

pay 11.6% less for restaurants

 
Quito
Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.00
 
$5.25
DOP335.04
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.38
 
$5.65
DOP360.82
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.13
 
$0.98
DOP62.28

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pay 5.0% more for groceries

 
Quito
Santiago
Bread
1 loaf
$1.62
 
$1.50
DOP95.80
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.18
 
$3.11
DOP198.73
Milk (1 gallon) $4.06
 
$4.07
DOP260.16

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pay 27.6% more for transportation

 
Quito
Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.63
 
$4.65
DOP297.13
Monthly public transit pass $27.00
 
$29.48
DOP1,882.52
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,000.00
 
$15,338.47
DOP979,361.01

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pay 11.3% more for housing

 
Quito
Santiago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.44
 
$34.99
DOP2,234.09
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $448.12
 
$371.35
DOP23,710.85
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $317.19
 
$242.19
DOP15,463.59

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pay 47.0% less for childcare

 
Quito
Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $283.25
 
$213.93
DOP13,659.51
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,360.00
 
$2,841.65
DOP181,439.51

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pay 29.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Quito
Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.38
 
$2.42
DOP154.64
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.96
 
$1.82
DOP115.98
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.00
 
$3.23
DOP206.18

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pay 21.8% less for clothing

 
Quito
Santiago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.15
 
$49.65
DOP3,170.04
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.83
 
$43.06
DOP2,749.08
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.42
 
$72.66
DOP4,639.08

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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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