Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Aguilares

For one person, living is cheaper in Aguilares: $806 a month against $1,206 in Santiago, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santiago outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

58

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Aguilares
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Aguilares Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Aguilares

🇸🇻 El Salvador

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Aguilares

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Santiago versus $806 in Aguilares.

Santiago $1,206
Aguilares $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Santiago versus $1,292 in Aguilares.

Santiago $1,885
Aguilares $1,292

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,564 in Santiago versus $1,777 in Aguilares.

Santiago $2,564
Aguilares $1,777

Living in Santiago is roughly 50% more expensive than in Aguilares, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santiago 10% lower, Aguilares 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,931

$6.90 $6.90

47.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 50.9K

$44.21 $44.21

18.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,323

$6.90 $6.90

23.77%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,115

$3.70 $3.70

-13.78%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,637

$1.15 $1.15

46.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,191

$0.79 $0.79

54.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,101

$1.96 $1.96

114.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,539

$3.58 $3.58

30.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,283

$1.85 $1.85

-28.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,756

$2.77 $2.77

-35.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,543

$1.37 $1.37

15.33%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,141

$3.12 $3.12

36.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$7.51 $7.51

49.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,580

$6.78 $6.78

-0.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

$10.37 $10.37

2.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,991

$5.11 $5.11

-60.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,497

$1.47 $1.47

4.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,549

$2.94 $2.94

-45.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,708

$3.52 $3.52

-50.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,051

$2.96 $2.96

-63.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,476

$3.34 $3.34

-54.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,145

$0.97 $0.97

20.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,041

$0.96 $0.96

11.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,015

$3.96 $3.96

29.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,732

$11.79 $11.79

-50.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,513

$2.27 $2.27

-31.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,218

$2.89 $2.89

-21.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 829

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.50 CLP 40.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 CLP 383

$5.90 $5.90

-93.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 CLP 820

$2.96 $2.96

-71.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.94 CLP 11.6K

$19.87 $19.87

-39.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 CLP 1,467

$1.20 $1.20

25.00%

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

$18.1K CLP 17.7M

$25.2K $25.2K

-28.17%

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

$21.6K CLP 21.1M

$26.9K $26.9K

-19.54%

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

$151 CLP 147.3K

$128 $128

17.69%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.7K

$21.01 $21.01

-42.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$41.77 $41.77

-54.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.81 CLP 33.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.72 CLP 11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 CLP 7,185

$5.10 $5.10

44.51%

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

$434 CLP 423.3K

$160 $160

170.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$4,767 $4,767

130.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.6K

$66.4 $66.4

-23.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.4K

$46.24 $46.24

-36.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.7K

$116 $116

-42.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.2K

$117 $117

-31.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 540.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 363.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 984.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 759.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 CLP 2.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 CLP 2.6M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$791 CLP 771.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

8.5

-36.59%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Aguilares: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Aguilares

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Aguilares

$287 35.5% 21.6% $51

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Aguilares

$145 17.9% 22.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Aguilares

$191 23.6% 5% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Aguilares

$156 19.2% 52% $53

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Aguilares

$21 * 2.6% 58.2% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Aguilares

$10 * 1.3% 79% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $52.0 in Santiago vs $44.00 in Aguilares. Groceries flip the comparison at $236 vs $287, with Santiago cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇸🇻 Aguilares

🕒 Local time

02:54 2:54 AM

23:54 11:54 PM

3 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

21,445

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.26 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.14 EUR

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 975 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 1,094 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.14 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.892 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

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Between locations

Santiago Aguilares 5,620 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Santiago
Aguilares

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

Santiago vs Aguilares: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aguilares wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Santiago. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Aguilares the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,809 in Santiago and $1,209 in Aguilares to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $434 in Santiago versus $160 in Aguilares. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Aguilares – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $52.0 in Santiago. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $806 in Aguilares versus $1,206 in Santiago, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Aguilares but tight or insufficient in Santiago. The gap between the two cities makes Aguilares 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.

Expats usually find Aguilares gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Santiago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.