Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Rafael and Santiago

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,190 a month against $1,732 in San Rafael, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

84

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

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San Rafael

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,732

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,732 per month in San Rafael vs $1,190 in Santiago, rent included.

San Rafael $1,732
Santiago $1,190

A couple spends around $2,736 per month in San Rafael vs $1,892 in Santiago, rent included.

San Rafael $2,736
Santiago $1,892

A family of three spends $3,739 per month in San Rafael vs $2,595 in Santiago, rent included.

San Rafael $3,739
Santiago $2,595

San Rafael costs about 46% more than Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Rafael sits 28% above the global median, while Santiago is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.25 ₡5,496

$10.37 CLP 10.2K

18.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 ₡27.7K

$51.7 CLP 50.9K

19.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.42 ₡5,119

$8.94 CLP 8,805

27.74%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₡1,973

$3.26 CLP 3,211

34.97%

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

$2.73 ₡1,225

$1.67 CLP 1,640

63.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ₡841

$1.23 CLP 1,212

52.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 ₡1,510

$3.98 CLP 3,914

-15.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ₡2,038

$4.54 CLP 4,465

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 ₡1,044

$1.28 CLP 1,263

82.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,352

$1.85 CLP 1,817

63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,084

$1.59 CLP 1,567

52.20%

Eggs

$3.52 ₡1,580

$4.10 CLP 4,031

-14.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 ₡4,712

$11.41 CLP 11.2K

-7.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.25 ₡4,597

$6.69 CLP 6,586

53.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.22 ₡6,378

$10.81 CLP 10.6K

31.54%

Apples (1kg)

$5.09 ₡2,282

$1.94 CLP 1,905

162.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 ₡704

$1.52 CLP 1,497

3.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.68 ₡2,098

$1.60 CLP 1,577

192.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.86 ₡1,730

$1.69 CLP 1,668

128.40%

Potato (1kg)

$3.88 ₡1,741

$1.10 CLP 1,084

252.73%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,653

$1.52 CLP 1,500

142.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$1.18 CLP 1,164

-7.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₡1,403

$1.08 CLP 1,061

189.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.11 ₡2,739

$5.07 CLP 4,995

20.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.14 ₡9,031

$5.95 CLP 5,858

238.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,254

$1.49 CLP 1,470

87.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.58 ₡1,606

$2.38 CLP 2,342

50.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 ₡527

$0.83 CLP 821

42.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.14 CLP 39.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 ₡1,124

$0.40 CLP 393

527.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.91 CLP 897

72.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.48 ₡3,803

$11.63 CLP 11.5K

-27.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 ₡692

$1.51 CLP 1,486

1.99%

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

$22.3K ₡10.0M

$17.6K CLP 17.3M

27.01%

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

$35.5K ₡15.9M

$22.0K CLP 21.6M

61.63%

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

$93.5 ₡41.9K

$151 CLP 149.0K

-38.26%

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

$36.26 ₡16.3K

$12.34 CLP 12.1K

193.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.4 ₡26.2K

$18.73 CLP 18.4K

212.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.0 ₡28.3K

$33.71 CLP 33.2K

86.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.80 CLP 11.6K

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ₡3,362

$7.45 CLP 7,334

0.67%

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

$991 ₡444.6K

$430 CLP 423.7K

130.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K ₡7.5M

$10.8K CLP 10.6M

55.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 ₡31.6K

$49.65 CLP 48.9K

41.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.6 ₡25.0K

$28.94 CLP 28.5K

92.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡58.0K

$65.7 CLP 64.6K

96.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡59.5K

$80.7 CLP 79.4K

64.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$740 ₡332.0K

$559 CLP 550.4K

32.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$649 ₡291.2K

$384 CLP 377.8K

69.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,069 ₡927.9K

$1,004 CLP 988.4K

106.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,274 ₡571.5K

$780 CLP 767.9K

63.38%

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)

$804 CLP 791.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.39

59.93%

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

Last update for San Rafael: 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

San Rafael

$649 37.5%

Santiago

$384 32.3% 40.9% $266

Groceries & Markets

San Rafael

$398 23%

Santiago

$236 19.8% 40.7% $162

Eating Out

San Rafael

$229 13.2%

Santiago

$189 15.9% 17.4% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Rafael

$188 10.9%

Santiago

$182 15.3% 3% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

San Rafael

$175 10.1%

Santiago

$101 8.5% 42% $73

Sport & Entertainment

San Rafael

$78 4.5%

Santiago

$49 4.1% 37.7% $29

Getting Around

San Rafael

$15 * 0.9%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 222% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $740 in San Rafael versus $559 in Santiago. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in San Rafael versus $52.0 in Santiago. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $398 vs $236 – making Santiago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Rafael

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

11:02 11:02 AM

3 h ahead of San Rafael

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,000

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Rafael Santiago 5,030 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Rafael
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

San Rafael vs Santiago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,732 in San Rafael, $1,190 in Santiago – roughly 46% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,599 per month in San Rafael and $1,785 in Santiago. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Santiago, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in San Rafael and $52.0 in Santiago. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 69% more in San Rafael, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Santiago, where all-in costs run around $1,190, than in San Rafael at $1,732. In Santiago it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Rafael it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Santiago – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Santiago. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, San Rafael makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.