Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Arequipa

For one person, living is cheaper in Arequipa: $719 a month against $1,206 in Santiago, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Arequipa
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Arequipa Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Arequipa

🇵🇪 Peru

$719

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Arequipa

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 Arequipa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,206 per month in Santiago vs $719 in Arequipa, rent included.

Santiago $1,206
Arequipa $719

A couple spends around $1,885 per month in Santiago vs $1,114 in Arequipa, rent included.

Santiago $1,885
Arequipa $1,114

A family of three spends $2,564 per month in Santiago vs $1,510 in Arequipa, rent included.

Santiago $2,564
Arequipa $1,510

Santiago costs about 68% more than Arequipa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Santiago and Arequipa are more affordable than the global median – Santiago 10% lower, Arequipa 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,931

$3.41 PEN 11.69

198.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 50.9K

$27.27 PEN 93.5

91.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,323

$5.68 PEN 19.46

50.35%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,115

$2.47 PEN 8.45

29.15%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,637

$0.82 PEN 2.82

104.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,191

$0.38 PEN 1.31

221.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,101

$2.07 PEN 7.10

103.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,539

$4.40 PEN 15.08

5.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,283

$1.33 PEN 4.57

-0.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,756

$1.36 PEN 4.68

32.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,543

$1.52 PEN 5.20

3.95%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,141

$2.25 PEN 7.73

88.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$6.39 PEN 21.89

75.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,580

$4.37 PEN 14.98

54.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

$7.48 PEN 25.65

42.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,991

$1.77 PEN 6.07

15.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,497

$1.22 PEN 4.19

25.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,549

$1.13 PEN 3.89

40.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,708

$1.03 PEN 3.52

69.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,051

$0.64 PEN 2.19

68.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,476

$0.67 PEN 2.30

125.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,145

$0.54 PEN 1.86

116.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,041

$0.76 PEN 2.60

40.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,015

$5.18 PEN 17.76

-0.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,732

$5.04 PEN 17.26

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,513

$2.72 PEN 9.34

-43.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,218

$2.20 PEN 7.55

3.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 829

$0.28 PEN 0.95

203.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.50 CLP 40.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 CLP 383

$2.01 PEN 6.88

-80.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 CLP 820

$1.97 PEN 6.76

-57.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.94 CLP 11.6K

$13.00 PEN 44.55

-8.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 CLP 1,467

$1.53 PEN 5.26

-1.96%

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

$18.1K CLP 17.7M

$19.2K PEN 65.7K

-5.57%

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

$21.6K CLP 21.1M

$25.0K PEN 85.8K

-13.70%

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

$151 CLP 147.3K

$24.05 PEN 82.5

528.23%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.7K

$10.15 PEN 34.80

18.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$23.01 PEN 78.9

-17.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.81 CLP 33.0K

$25.05 PEN 85.9

34.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.72 CLP 11.4K

$8.13 PEN 27.88

44.16%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 CLP 7,185

$7.41 PEN 25.39

-0.54%

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

$434 CLP 423.3K

$74.8 PEN 256

480.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$6,596 PEN 22.6K

66.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.6K

$48.85 PEN 167

4.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.4K

$26.46 PEN 90.7

10.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.7K

$68.0 PEN 233

-0.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.2K

$57.3 PEN 196

40.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 540.8K

$354 PEN 1,213

56.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 363.2K

$236 PEN 809

57.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 984.3K

$714 PEN 2,449

41.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 759.1K

$418 PEN 1,431

86.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 CLP 2.6M

$1,991 PEN 6,824

34.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 CLP 2.6M

$974 PEN 3,340

169.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$791 CLP 771.7K

$617 PEN 2,115

28.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

-64.07%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Arequipa: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Arequipa

$236 33.3% 36.6% $136

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Arequipa

$174 24.6% 26.3% $62

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Arequipa

$98 13.8% 47.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Arequipa

$57 8.1% 68.6% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Arequipa

$90 12.7% 11.9% $12

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Arequipa

$13 * 1.8% 73.8% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Arequipa

$40 5.6% 17.9% $8.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $555 in Santiago versus $354 in Arequipa. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 28% higher in Santiago, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52.0 in Santiago versus $27.00 in Arequipa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $236 vs $174 – making Arequipa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇵🇪 Arequipa

🕒 Local time

08:28 8:28 AM

06:28 6:28 AM

2 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

17,062

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.26 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR

1 PEN = 0.292 USD

1 PEN = 0.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PEN, 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 = 1,093 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR).

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.292 USD). 1 EUR = 3.84 PEN (1 PEN = 0.26 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago Arequipa 1,900 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Arequipa

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 Arequipa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago costs about 68% more than Arequipa, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,809 per month in Santiago and $1,078 in Arequipa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arequipa, 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 $52.0 in Santiago and $27.00 in Arequipa. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Santiago, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arequipa, where all-in costs run around $719, than in Santiago at $1,206. In Arequipa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santiago it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arequipa costs $719 versus $1,206 in Santiago. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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