Cost of living comparison

Chile

compared to

New Zealand

Wellington vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

Wellington is 74.6% more expensive than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 23.5% more in Wellington
Groceries: pay 49.4% more in Wellington
Transportation: pay 61.6% more in Wellington
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Wellington
Childcare: pay 69.5% more in Wellington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.0% more in Wellington
Clothing: pay 44.8% more in Wellington

The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in Wellington are more expensive than in Santiago. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Wellington.

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Wellington vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.5% more for restaurants

	Santiago	Wellington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.23 CLF0.2600	$13.73 NZ$24.27	+34.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 CLF0.2200	$9.02 NZ$15.95	+3.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 CLF0.0400	$2.42 NZ$4.28	+41.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CLF0.0300	$1.71 NZ$3.02	+37.0%
Average			+23.5%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.4% more for groceries

	Santiago	Wellington
Bread 1 loaf	$1.81 CLF0.0500	$2.16 NZ$3.82	+19.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.64 CLF0.1400	$4.62 NZ$8.18	-18.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.81 CLF0.1200	$7.12 NZ$12.59	+48.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.18 CLF0.1000	$6.89 NZ$12.19	+65.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.11 CLF0.0800	$4.37 NZ$7.73	+40.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 CLF0.0200	$1.40 NZ$2.47	+54.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$0.99 NZ$1.75	+41.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$1.37 NZ$2.42	+85.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 CLF0.0200	$2.93 NZ$5.18	+274.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 CLF0.0100	$0.95 NZ$1.69	+93.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 CLF0.0200	$0.57 NZ$1.01	-15.9%
Average			+49.4%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of groceries

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pay 61.6% more for transportation

	Santiago	Wellington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 CLF0.1400	$7.03 NZ$12.44	+21.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.93 CLF1.0200	$101.23 NZ$179.01	+147.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	$25,203.61 NZ$44,568.72	+42.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.37 CLF0.1800	$16.19 NZ$28.63	+119.8%
Average			+61.6%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Santiago	Wellington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.07 CLF0.4800	$53.32 NZ$94.29	+179.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$552.81 CLF13.8200	$1,215.08 NZ$2,148.69	+119.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$376.90 CLF9.4200	$1,141.32 NZ$2,018.26	+202.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.86 CLF2.8500	$149.83 NZ$264.95	+31.6%
Average			+134.2%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of housing

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pay 69.5% more for childcare

	Santiago	Wellington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$432.52 CLF10.8100	$1,055.30 NZ$1,866.14	+144.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	+17.7%
Average			+69.5%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	Wellington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 CLF0.1000	$7.28 NZ$12.88	+77.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CLF0.0800	$3.34 NZ$5.91	+2.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.22 CLF0.1300	$25.18 NZ$44.53	+382.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 CLF0.8500	$38.09 NZ$67.36	+12.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.52 CLF0.1900	$12.04 NZ$21.30	+60.1%
Average			+53.0%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% more for clothing

	Santiago	Wellington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.25 CLF1.2600	$77.76 NZ$137.50	+54.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.71 CLF0.7200	$28.15 NZ$49.78	-2.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.29 CLF1.6600	$101.77 NZ$179.97	+53.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.84 CLF2.0200	$152.66 NZ$269.95	+88.8%
Average			+44.8%

Santiago vs. Wellington - Cost of clothing

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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. Wellington

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Size Comparison · See true size

Santiago is about 4.6 times bigger than Wellington.

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