Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Salvador vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

San Salvador is 8.4% more expensive than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 24.6% less in San Salvador
Groceries: pay 23.0% more in San Salvador
Transportation: pay 18.6% more in San Salvador
Housing: pay 58.4% more in San Salvador
Childcare: pay 45.2% less in San Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.2% less in San Salvador
Clothing: pay 44.8% more in San Salvador

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

San Salvador vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.6% less for restaurants

	Santiago	San Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.50 CLF0.2500	$7.00 SVC61.08	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.10 CLF0.1900	$7.00 SVC61.08	-13.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.61 CLF0.0400	$1.14 SVC9.90	-29.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.16 CLF0.0300	$0.91 SVC7.95	-21.7%
Average			-24.6%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.0% more for groceries

	Santiago	San Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 CLF0.0400	$1.95 SVC17.01	+25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.13 CLF0.1200	$3.77 SVC32.86	-26.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.52 CLF0.1100	$6.84 SVC59.68	+51.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.01 CLF0.0900	$3.01 SVC26.26	-25.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.00 CLF0.0700	$2.99 SVC26.05	-0.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 CLF0.0200	$1.77 SVC15.46	+95.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$0.76 SVC6.60	+8.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 CLF0.0200	$1.17 SVC10.17	+26.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 CLF0.0200	$1.22 SVC10.61	+44.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 CLF0.0200	$0.97 SVC8.44	+22.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$0.98 SVC8.51	+31.2%
Average			+23.0%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.6% more for transportation

	Santiago	San Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.23 CLF0.1200	$3.82 SVC33.34	-26.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.99 CLF0.9900	$15.00 SVC130.88	-64.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,201.90 CLF454.2600	$25,500.00 SVC222,494.28	+32.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.86 CLF0.3000	$29.93 SVC261.12	+132.7%
Average			+18.6%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.4% more for housing

	Santiago	San Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.76 CLF0.5100	$43.33 SVC378.09	+99.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$502.56 CLF11.8900	$900.00 SVC7,852.74	+79.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$424.00 CLF10.0300	$758.33 SVC6,616.66	+78.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$107.40 CLF2.5400	$82.16 SVC716.84	-23.5%
Average			+58.4%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 45.2% less for childcare

	Santiago	San Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$431.25 CLF10.2000	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-62.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,923.79 CLF211.1100	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	-28.1%
Average			-45.2%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	San Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.15 CLF0.0700	$2.00 SVC17.45	-36.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.09 CLF0.0700	$3.25 SVC28.35	+5.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.56 CLF0.1300	$4.00 SVC34.90	-28.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.24 CLF0.7600	$30.80 SVC268.74	-4.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.30 CLF0.1500	$5.25 SVC45.81	-16.7%
Average			-16.2%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% more for clothing

	Santiago	San Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.82 CLF1.2700	$62.60 SVC546.20	+16.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.77 CLF0.7300	$45.83 SVC399.91	+49.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$73.54 CLF1.7400	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+79.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.13 CLF1.9200	$109.17 SVC952.51	+34.6%
Average			+44.8%

Santiago vs. San Salvador - 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: December 2025

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