Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Chile

Santiago vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 2.7 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 64.8% more in Santiago
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Santiago
Housing: pay 4.0 times more in Santiago
Childcare: pay 13.6 times more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.0% more in Santiago
Clothing: pay 60.3% more in Santiago

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Santiago are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Santiago.

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Santiago vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$10.23 CLF0.2600	+295.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$8.70 CLF0.2200	+77.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$1.71 CLF0.0400	+241.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$1.25 CLF0.0300	+589.5%
Average			+211.1%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.8% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$1.81 CLF0.0500	+69.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$5.64 CLF0.1400	+200.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$4.81 CLF0.1200	+58.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$4.18 CLF0.1000	+122.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$3.11 CLF0.0800	+73.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$0.90 CLF0.0200	-21.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.70 CLF0.0200	+0.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.74 CLF0.0200	+1.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.78 CLF0.0200	+134.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.49 CLF0.0100	+91.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.68 CLF0.0200	+117.8%
Average			+64.8%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.77 CLF0.1400	+107.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$40.93 CLF1.0200	+691.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	+6.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$7.37 CLF0.1800	-44.1%
Average			+108.3%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$19.07 CLF0.4800	-21.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$552.81 CLF13.8200	+335.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$376.90 CLF9.4200	+338.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$113.86 CLF2.8500	+341.2%
Average			+301.5%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 13.6 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$432.52 CLF10.8100	+861.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	+1827.2%
Average			+1261.4%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$4.09 CLF0.1000	+58.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$3.25 CLF0.0800	+154.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$5.22 CLF0.1300	+34.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$33.92 CLF0.8500	-27.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$7.52 CLF0.1900	+142.5%
Average			+57.0%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.3% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$50.25 CLF1.2600	+0.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$28.71 CLF0.7200	+14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$66.29 CLF1.6600	-1.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$80.84 CLF2.0200	+479.1%
Average			+60.3%

Thimphu vs. Santiago - 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

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