Cost of living comparison

compared to

China vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

China is 12.3% cheaper than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 66.5% less in China
Groceries: pay 22.5% less in China
Transportation: pay 31.0% less in China
Housing: pay 48.6% less in China
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.2% less in China
Clothing: pay 4.0% less in China

Expenses including restaurants, housing, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in China. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in China.

China vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 66.5% less for restaurants

	Santiago	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.36 CLF0.3000	$2.85 CN¥20.58	-76.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.24 CLF0.2000	$5.07 CN¥36.52	-38.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.78 CLF0.0400	$0.49 CN¥3.53	-72.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.37 CLF0.0300	$0.30 CN¥2.16	-78.0%
Average			-66.5%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.5% less for groceries

	Santiago	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.48 CLF0.0400	$1.59 CN¥11.47	+7.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.49 CLF0.1400	$5.85 CN¥42.18	+6.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.59 CLF0.1100	$6.86 CN¥49.45	+49.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.97 CLF0.1000	$1.60 CN¥11.51	-59.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.88 CLF0.0700	$1.54 CN¥11.11	-46.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.96 CLF0.0200	$0.76 CN¥5.50	-20.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CLF0.0200	$0.57 CN¥4.13	-19.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 CLF0.0200	$0.65 CN¥4.71	-27.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 CLF0.0200	$0.52 CN¥3.78	-37.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 CLF0.0200	$0.32 CN¥2.31	-60.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 CLF0.0200	$0.40 CN¥2.89	-39.0%
Average			-22.5%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.0% less for transportation

	Santiago	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 CLF0.1300	$4.44 CN¥32.04	-13.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.20 CLF1.0100	$22.47 CN¥161.99	-45.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,540.00 CLF456.5300	$19,071.53 CN¥137,490.50	+2.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.41 CLF0.3100	$3.97 CN¥28.65	-68.0%
Average			-31.0%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.6% less for housing

	Santiago	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.87 CLF0.5100	$11.70 CN¥84.31	-44.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$513.58 CLF12.6500	$328.33 CN¥2,367.00	-36.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$439.93 CLF10.8300	$205.78 CN¥1,483.51	-53.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$104.66 CLF2.5800	$40.46 CN¥291.67	-61.3%
Average			-48.6%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Santiago	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$387.71 CLF9.5500	$459.70 CN¥3,314.06	+18.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,421.89 CLF158.1300	$18,318.08 CN¥132,058.70	+185.2%
Average			+101.9%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.83 CLF0.0700	$1.09 CN¥7.86	-61.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.09 CLF0.0800	$3.07 CN¥22.11	-0.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CLF0.1300	$3.23 CN¥23.31	-37.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.85 CLF0.8300	$41.41 CN¥298.52	+22.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.87 CLF0.1400	$5.93 CN¥42.72	+0.9%
Average			-15.2%

Santiago vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.0% less for clothing

	Santiago	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.80 CLF1.3000	$48.23 CN¥347.66	-8.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.11 CLF0.7700	$31.67 CN¥228.32	+1.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.37 CLF1.8100	$72.53 CN¥522.86	-1.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.04 CLF2.0200	$75.53 CN¥544.55	-7.9%
Average			-4.0%

Santiago vs. China - 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: May 2025

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