Cost of living comparison

Chile

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 1.2% cheaper than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 2.6% less in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 11.8% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 20.3% more in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 26.9% less in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.1% less in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 59.1% more in Chisinau

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

Planning a move to Moldova? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Chisinau vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6% less for restaurants

	Santiago	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.23 CLF0.2600	$11.22 MDL201.58	+9.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 CLF0.2200	$8.70 MDL156.22
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 CLF0.0400	$1.21 MDL21.71	-29.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CLF0.0300	$0.89 MDL16.00	-28.6%
Average			-2.6%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Santiago	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.81 CLF0.0500	$0.71 MDL12.77	-60.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.64 CLF0.1400	$4.89 MDL87.82	-13.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.81 CLF0.1200	$4.73 MDL85.03	-1.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.18 CLF0.1000	$2.79 MDL50.06	-33.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.11 CLF0.0800	$2.36 MDL42.34	-24.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 CLF0.0200	$0.44 MDL7.87	-51.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$0.87 MDL15.68	+25.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$0.94 MDL16.87	+27.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 CLF0.0200	$1.01 MDL18.06	+28.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 CLF0.0100	$0.31 MDL5.61	-36.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 CLF0.0200	$0.25 MDL4.42	-63.7%
Average			-25.6%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.8% less for transportation

	Santiago	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 CLF0.1400	$6.44 MDL115.64	+11.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.93 CLF1.0200	$13.52 MDL242.90	-67.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	$29,507.41 MDL530K	+66.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.37 CLF0.1800	$4.94 MDL88.69	-33.0%
Average			-11.8%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.3% more for housing

	Santiago	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.07 CLF0.4800	$10.59 MDL190.33	-44.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$552.81 CLF13.8200	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	+23.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$376.90 CLF9.4200	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	+15.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.86 CLF2.8500	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	+63.2%
Average			+20.3%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.9% less for childcare

	Santiago	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$432.52 CLF10.8100	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	+0.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	$5,841.67 MDL105K	-46.7%
Average			-26.9%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 CLF0.1000	$2.24 MDL40.32	-45.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CLF0.0800	$2.16 MDL38.87	-33.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.22 CLF0.1300	$3.42 MDL61.48	-34.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 CLF0.8500	$41.67 MDL748.71	+22.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.52 CLF0.1900	$8.41 MDL151.18	+11.9%
Average			-15.1%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.1% more for clothing

	Santiago	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.25 CLF1.2600	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	+58.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.71 CLF0.7200	$47.07 MDL845.61	+63.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.29 CLF1.6600	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	+72.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.84 CLF2.0200	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	+42.9%
Average			+59.1%

Santiago vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Santiago vs. Chisinau

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Chisinau?

More cost comparisons

Santiago vs.

Athens

Santiago vs.

Warsaw

Santiago vs.

Madrid

Santiago vs.

Cairo

Santiago vs.

Quito

Santiago vs.

Rome

Santiago vs.

Dublin

Santiago vs.

Berlin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Chile vs. Moldova. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Chile and Moldova.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Santiago

Add prices for Chisinau

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chisinau or Santiago. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.