Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colima and Santiago

For one person, living is cheaper in Colima: $952 a month against $1,190 in Santiago, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Colima
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Colima Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

Jump to prices

Colima

🇲🇽 Mexico

$952

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colima and in Santiago

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Colima and in Santiago actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $952 in Colima versus $1,190 in Santiago.

Colima $952
Santiago $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,562 in Colima versus $1,892 in Santiago.

Colima $1,562
Santiago $1,892

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,173 in Colima versus $2,595 in Santiago.

Colima $2,173
Santiago $2,595

Living in Colima costs roughly 20% less than in Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colima 29% lower, Santiago 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.58 MX$140

$10.37 CLP 10.2K

-26.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.52 MX$619

$51.7 CLP 50.9K

-35.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.16 MX$132

$8.94 CLP 8,805

-19.91%

Cappuccino

$2.24 MX$41.33

$3.26 CLP 3,211

-31.29%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 MX$18.48

$1.67 CLP 1,640

-40.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 MX$15.45

$1.23 CLP 1,212

-31.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 MX$41.16

$3.98 CLP 3,914

-43.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 MX$45.24

$4.54 CLP 4,465

-46.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 MX$28.57

$1.28 CLP 1,263

21.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 MX$48.76

$1.85 CLP 1,817

42.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 MX$22.40

$1.59 CLP 1,567

-23.90%

Eggs

$2.76 MX$51.0

$4.10 CLP 4,031

-32.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.01 MX$148

$11.41 CLP 11.2K

-29.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.35 MX$154

$6.69 CLP 6,586

24.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.86 MX$182

$10.81 CLP 10.6K

-8.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 MX$52.7

$1.94 CLP 1,905

46.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$26.63

$1.52 CLP 1,497

-5.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 MX$32.82

$1.60 CLP 1,577

11.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.26 MX$41.70

$1.69 CLP 1,668

33.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.50

$1.10 CLP 1,084

109.09%

Onion (1kg)

$2.30 MX$42.58

$1.52 CLP 1,500

51.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.36

$1.18 CLP 1,164

21.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.09

$1.08 CLP 1,061

0.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.61 MX$66.8

$5.07 CLP 4,995

-28.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 MX$125

$5.95 CLP 5,858

13.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 MX$28.83

$1.49 CLP 1,470

4.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 MX$32.64

$2.38 CLP 2,342

-25.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 MX$11.73

$0.83 CLP 821

-24.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.51 MX$361

$40.14 CLP 39.5K

-51.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.40 MX$44.35

$0.40 CLP 393

500.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.82 MX$52.1

$0.91 CLP 897

209.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.41 MX$174

$11.63 CLP 11.5K

-19.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 MX$26.45

$1.51 CLP 1,486

-5.30%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$20.9K MX$386.3K

$17.6K CLP 17.3M

18.94%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.7K MX$419.1K

$22.0K CLP 21.6M

3.16%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$64.9 MX$1,198

$151 CLP 149.0K

-57.16%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$20.24 MX$374

$12.34 CLP 12.1K

64.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.71 MX$549

$18.73 CLP 18.4K

58.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.28 MX$652

$33.71 CLP 33.2K

4.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.72 MX$401

$11.80 CLP 11.6K

84.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.63 MX$85.6

$7.45 CLP 7,334

-37.85%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$147 MX$2,712

$430 CLP 423.7K

-65.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,496 MX$46.1K

$10.8K CLP 10.6M

-76.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.09 MX$833

$49.65 CLP 48.9K

-9.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.11 MX$464

$28.94 CLP 28.5K

-13.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.1 MX$1,369

$65.7 CLP 64.6K

12.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 MX$1,884

$80.7 CLP 79.4K

26.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 MX$4,849

$559 CLP 550.4K

-53.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$261 MX$4,831

$384 CLP 377.8K

-31.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$369 MX$6,826

$1,004 CLP 988.4K

-63.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 MX$10.9K

$780 CLP 767.9K

-24.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,640 CLP 2.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,546 CLP 2.5M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$287 MX$5,301

$804 CLP 791.0K

-64.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.39

109.65%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Colima: October 12, 2026

Last update for Santiago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Colima

$261 27.5%

Santiago

$384 32.3% 46.8% $122

Groceries & Markets

Colima

$250 26.2%

Santiago

$236 19.8% 5.4% $14

Eating Out

Colima

$132 13.9%

Santiago

$189 15.9% 43.1% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colima

$115 12.1%

Santiago

$182 15.3% 59% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Colima

$111 11.6%

Santiago

$101 8.5% 8.7% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Colima

$45 4.7%

Santiago

$49 4.1% 9.1% $4.1

Getting Around

Colima

$39 4.1%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 25.6% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Colima and $559 in Santiago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santiago pays 180% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $34.00 in Colima vs $52.0 in Santiago. Groceries flip the comparison at $250 vs $236, with Santiago cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Colima

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

00:24 12:24 AM

3 h ahead of Colima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

146,965

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Colima Santiago 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Colima
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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Colima vs Santiago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colima and Santiago differ by about 25% in total monthly costs ($952 vs $1,190 including rent). Colima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 180% lower in Santiago. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $262 in Colima versus $559 in Santiago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Colima runs roughly 106% less than in Santiago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $147 in Colima versus $430 in Santiago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $952 in Colima versus $1,190 in Santiago, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Colima but tight or insufficient in Santiago. The gap between the two cities makes Colima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Colima and Santiago are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Colima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Santiago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.