Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 3.2% more expensive than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 4.0% less in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 30.7% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 7.1% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 19.3% less in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 76.8% more in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.2% more in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 5.8% more in Chisinau

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

Chisinau vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chisinau instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.0% less for restaurants

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.00 SVC61.26	$8.95 MDL154.46	+27.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.26	$7.76 MDL133.87	+10.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC9.93	$0.87 MDL15.07	-23.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 SVC7.98	$0.62 MDL10.75	-31.6%
Average			-4.0%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.7% less for groceries

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.95 SVC17.06	$0.58 MDL10.00	-70.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.77 SVC32.95	$5.29 MDL91.17	+40.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.84 SVC59.86	$4.69 MDL80.96	-31.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.01 SVC26.34	$2.64 MDL45.50	-12.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.99 SVC26.13	$2.55 MDL43.94	-14.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 SVC15.50	$0.40 MDL6.96	-77.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 SVC6.62	$0.85 MDL14.62	+12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 SVC10.20	$0.85 MDL14.72	-26.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 SVC10.64	$0.95 MDL16.39	-21.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.97 SVC8.47	$0.36 MDL6.18	-62.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.98 SVC8.54	$0.26 MDL4.54	-73.0%
Average			-30.7%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.1% less for transportation

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.82 SVC33.44	$5.36 MDL92.51	+40.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.00 SVC131.27	$13.97 MDL240.96	-6.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,500.00 SVC223K	$31,402.03 MDL542K	+23.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.93 SVC261.90	$4.48 MDL77.23	-85.0%
Average			-7.1%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.3% less for housing

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$43.33 SVC379.21	$10.50 MDL181.18	-75.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$900.00 SVC7,875.97	$675.28 MDL11,647.85	-25.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.33 SVC6,636.23	$492.96 MDL8,503.05	-35.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.16 SVC718.96	$130.19 MDL2,245.68	+58.5%
Average			-19.3%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 76.8% more for childcare

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.51	$407.06 MDL7,021.31	+150.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,420.00 SVC56,181.90	$6,644.14 MDL115K	+3.5%
Average			+76.8%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.2% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$1.79 MDL30.89	-10.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 SVC28.43	$1.85 MDL31.84	-43.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$3.34 MDL57.67	-16.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.80 SVC269.53	$39.44 MDL680.35	+28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.25 SVC45.94	$7.76 MDL133.87	+47.8%
Average			+1.2%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.8% more for clothing

	San Salvador	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.60 SVC547.82	$66.56 MDL1,148.09	+6.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.83 SVC401.09	$53.80 MDL928.03	+17.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$131.80 SVC1,153.39	$115.49 MDL1,992.11	-12.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$109.17 SVC955.33	$122.07 MDL2,105.50	+11.8%
Average			+5.8%

San Salvador vs. Chisinau - 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: June 2026

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