Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Aruba

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,206 a month against $2,376 in Aruba, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in Aruba
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Aruba Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Aruba

🇦🇼 Aruba

$2,376

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Aruba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Santiago versus $2,376 in Aruba.

Santiago $1,206
Aruba $2,376

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Santiago versus $4,248 in Aruba.

Santiago $1,885
Aruba $4,248

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,564 in Santiago versus $6,119 in Aruba.

Santiago $2,564
Aruba $6,119

Living in Santiago costs roughly 49% less than in Aruba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santiago is 10% below, Aruba is 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,931

$14.50 AWG 25.95

-29.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 50.9K

$90.9 AWG 163

-42.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,323

$10.62 AWG 19.01

-19.59%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,115

$5.19 AWG 9.29

-38.54%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,637

$2.35 AWG 4.21

-28.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,191

$2.30 AWG 4.11

-46.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,101

$5.24 AWG 9.38

-19.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,539

$6.84 AWG 12.25

-31.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,283

$1.67 AWG 2.98

-20.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,756

$2.88 AWG 5.15

-37.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,543

$3.04 AWG 5.44

-48.03%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,141

$3.80 AWG 6.81

11.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$13.97 AWG 25.00

-19.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,580

$4.22 AWG 7.55

59.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,991

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,497

$1.96 AWG 3.51

-21.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,549

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,708

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,051

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,476

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,145

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,041

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,015

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,732

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,513

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,218

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 829

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-65.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.50 CLP 40.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 CLP 383

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 CLP 820

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.94 CLP 11.6K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 CLP 1,467

$2.38 AWG 4.26

-36.97%

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

$18.1K CLP 17.7M

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

$21.6K CLP 21.1M

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

$151 CLP 147.3K

$233 AWG 418

-35.25%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.7K

$133 AWG 239

-90.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$86.6 AWG 155

-78.15%

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

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

$434 CLP 423.3K

$302 AWG 541

43.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$17.9K AWG 32.0K

-38.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.6K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.4K

$64.9 AWG 116

-55.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.7K

$118 AWG 212

-42.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 540.8K

$652 AWG 1,167

-14.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 363.2K

$1,419 AWG 2,540

-73.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 984.3K

$3,256 AWG 5,828

-69.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 759.1K

$4,034 AWG 7,222

-80.70%

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

$1,886 AWG 3,377

-58.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Aruba: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Aruba

$1.4K 59.6% 281% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Aruba

$148 * 6.2% 37.5% $89

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Aruba

$269 11.3% 43.4% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Aruba

$453 19% 149% $271

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Aruba

$82 * 3.5% 19.6% $20

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Aruba

$10 * 0.4% 79.9% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Aruba

- * 0% 100%

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 $555 in Santiago and $652 in Aruba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aruba pays 138% 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: $52.0 in Santiago vs $91.0 in Aruba. Groceries flip the comparison at $236 vs $148, with Aruba cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇦🇼 Aruba

🕒 Local time

11:19 11:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

1 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

15,236

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.26 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, 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).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santiago Aruba 5,110 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Aruba

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 Aruba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago and Aruba differ by about 97% in total monthly costs ($1,206 vs $2,376 including rent). Santiago is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 138% lower in Aruba. 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: $555 in Santiago versus $652 in Aruba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Aruba pay roughly 60% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,206 per month in Santiago versus $2,376 in Aruba – a 97% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,206 in Santiago versus $2,376 in Aruba, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Aruba. 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, Santiago and Aruba 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 97% less than in Aruba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.