Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Markham and Santiago

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,190 a month against $2,416 in Markham, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Markham
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Markham Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

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Markham

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,416

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Markham 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 Markham and in Santiago actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,416 in Markham versus $1,190 in Santiago.

Markham $2,416
Santiago $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,465 in Markham versus $1,892 in Santiago.

Markham $3,465
Santiago $1,892

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,514 in Markham versus $2,595 in Santiago.

Markham $4,514
Santiago $2,595

Living in Markham is roughly 103% more expensive than in Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Markham is 79% above, Santiago is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.37 CA$24.70

$10.37 CLP 10.2K

67.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 CA$76.0

$51.7 CLP 50.8K

3.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 CA$14.89

$8.94 CLP 8,795

17.11%

Cappuccino

$3.81 CA$5.42

$3.26 CLP 3,207

16.87%

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

$1.70 CA$2.42

$1.67 CLP 1,638

1.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 CA$1.67

$1.23 CLP 1,211

-4.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.59 CA$5.10

$3.98 CLP 3,909

-9.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 CA$7.99

$4.54 CLP 4,459

23.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 CA$2.76

$1.28 CLP 1,261

51.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$1.85 CLP 1,815

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.70

$1.59 CLP 1,565

19.50%

Eggs

$2.99 CA$4.25

$4.10 CLP 4,026

-27.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.41 CLP 11.2K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.70 CA$16.64

$6.69 CLP 6,578

74.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.81 CA$9.68

$10.81 CLP 10.6K

-37.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 CA$5.25

$1.94 CLP 1,903

90.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 CA$1.80

$1.52 CLP 1,495

-17.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 CA$3.31

$1.60 CLP 1,575

45.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.63

$1.69 CLP 1,666

92.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 CA$2.92

$1.10 CLP 1,083

86.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 CA$2.79

$1.52 CLP 1,498

28.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 CA$4.08

$1.18 CLP 1,163

143.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$1.08 CLP 1,060

37.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.44 CA$19.11

$5.07 CLP 4,989

165.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.53 CA$20.66

$5.95 CLP 5,851

144.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 CA$3.41

$1.49 CLP 1,469

61.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 CA$4.54

$2.38 CLP 2,339

34.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.04 CA$4.32

$0.83 CLP 820

266.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.3 CA$127

$40.14 CLP 39.5K

122.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.31 CA$4.71

$0.40 CLP 392

727.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 CLP 895

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.60 CA$26.44

$11.63 CLP 11.4K

59.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 CA$1.61

$1.51 CLP 1,484

-25.17%

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

$28.1K CA$40.0K

$17.6K CLP 17.3M

59.97%

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

$18.1K CA$25.8K

$22.0K CLP 21.6M

-17.56%

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

$125 CA$178

$151 CLP 148.9K

-17.18%

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

$26.20 CA$37.26

$12.34 CLP 12.1K

112.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.69 CA$65.0

$18.73 CLP 18.4K

143.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.62 CA$60.6

$33.71 CLP 33.1K

26.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.28 CA$30.26

$11.80 CLP 11.6K

80.34%

Cinema Ticket

$10.19 CA$14.49

$7.45 CLP 7,325

36.78%

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

$870 CA$1,237

$430 CLP 423.2K

102.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.5K CA$39.0K

$10.8K CLP 10.6M

154.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.21 CA$61.4

$49.65 CLP 48.8K

-12.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.22 CA$52.9

$28.94 CLP 28.5K

28.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.1 CA$130

$65.7 CLP 64.6K

38.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 CA$149

$80.7 CLP 79.3K

30.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,554 CA$2,210

$559 CLP 549.7K

178.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 CA$1,978

$384 CLP 377.3K

262.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,699 CA$3,838

$1,004 CLP 987.2K

168.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,236 CA$3,179

$780 CLP 766.9K

186.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,896 CA$8,382

$2,640 CLP 2.6M

123.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,309 CA$7,549

$2,546 CLP 2.5M

108.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,132 CA$4,453

$804 CLP 790.0K

289.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.56

5.39

-15.40%

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

Last update for Markham: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santiago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Markham

$1.4K 57.6%

Santiago

$384 32.3% 72.4% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Markham

$279 * 11.5%

Santiago

$236 19.8% 15.3% $43

Eating Out

Markham

$257 10.6%

Santiago

$189 15.9% 26.2% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Markham

$197 8.2%

Santiago

$182 15.3% 7.5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Markham

$124 5.2%

Santiago

$101 8.5% 18.6% $23

Getting Around

Markham

$105 * 4.3%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 53.8% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Markham

$63 2.6%

Santiago

$49 4.1% 22.8% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,554 in Markham and $559 in Santiago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Markham pays 290% 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: $53.0 in Markham vs $52.0 in Santiago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $236 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Markham

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

17:51 5:51 PM

18:51 6:51 PM

1 h ahead of Markham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

338,503

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.17 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 983 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,101 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.08 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Markham Santiago 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Markham
Santiago

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

Markham vs Santiago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago wins on cost – living expenses run 103% lower than in Markham. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Santiago the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 290% higher in Markham, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,554 in Markham versus $559 in Santiago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $870 in Markham versus $430 in Santiago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Markham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,190 in Santiago versus $2,416 in Markham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Markham. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago 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, Markham 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 Santiago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 103% less than in Markham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.