Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Cochrane

For one person, living is cheaper in Cochrane: $1,074 a month against $1,190 in Santiago, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santiago outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
Learn more

Santiago Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Cochrane
Learn more

Cochrane Living Index

Jump to prices

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,190

/mo nomad

Cochrane

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,074

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Cochrane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,190 in Santiago versus $1,074 in Cochrane.

Santiago $1,190
Cochrane $1,074

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,892 in Santiago versus $2,385 in Cochrane.

Santiago $1,892
Cochrane $2,385

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,595 in Santiago versus $3,696 in Cochrane.

Santiago $2,595
Cochrane $3,696

Living in Santiago is roughly 11% more expensive than in Cochrane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santiago 12% lower, Cochrane 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.37 CLP 10.2K

$17.47 CA$24.84

-40.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.7 CLP 50.8K

$70.2 CA$99.9

-26.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.94 CLP 8,795

$9.90 CA$14.08

-9.70%

Cappuccino

$3.26 CLP 3,207

$3.82 CA$5.44

-14.66%

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

$1.67 CLP 1,638

$2.33 CA$3.31

-28.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 CLP 1,211

$1.62 CA$2.30

-24.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.98 CLP 3,909

$5.69 CA$8.09

-30.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 CLP 4,459

$5.72 CA$8.13

-20.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 CLP 1,261

$1.56 CA$2.22

-17.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 CLP 1,815

$2.07 CA$2.95

-10.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,565

$2.98 CA$4.24

-46.64%

Eggs

$4.10 CLP 4,026

$3.22 CA$4.57

27.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.41 CLP 11.2K

$8.58 CA$12.20

32.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.69 CLP 6,578

$8.42 CA$11.97

-20.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.81 CLP 10.6K

$8.57 CA$12.19

26.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 CLP 1,903

$4.29 CA$6.11

-54.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 CLP 1,495

$1.37 CA$1.95

10.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 CLP 1,575

$4.38 CA$6.23

-63.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 CLP 1,666

$1.43 CA$2.04

18.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 CLP 1,083

$1.37 CA$1.95

-19.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 CLP 1,498

$1.77 CA$2.51

-14.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 CLP 1,163

$2.43 CA$3.46

-51.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 CLP 1,060

$1.75 CA$2.49

-38.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.07 CLP 4,989

$13.80 CA$19.62

-63.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.95 CLP 5,851

$8.16 CA$11.61

-27.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 CLP 1,469

$3.08 CA$4.38

-51.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 CLP 2,339

$2.96 CA$4.20

-19.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 CLP 820

$3.46 CA$4.92

-76.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.14 CLP 39.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 CLP 392

$2.92 CA$4.15

-86.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 CLP 895

$1.38 CA$1.96

-34.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.63 CLP 11.4K

$21.32 CA$30.32

-45.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 CLP 1,484

$1.06 CA$1.50

42.45%

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

$17.6K CLP 17.3M

$27.6K CA$39.3K

-36.36%

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

$22.0K CLP 21.6M

$19.5K CA$27.8K

12.47%

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

$151 CLP 148.9K

$207 CA$294

-26.78%

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

$12.34 CLP 12.1K

$42.87 CA$61.0

-71.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.73 CLP 18.4K

$54.4 CA$77.3

-65.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.71 CLP 33.1K

$44.82 CA$63.7

-24.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.80 CLP 11.6K

Cinema Ticket

$7.45 CLP 7,325

$12.90 CA$18.34

-42.25%

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

$430 CLP 423.2K

$752 CA$1,069

-42.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K CLP 10.6M

$9,571 CA$13.6K

12.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.65 CLP 48.8K

$42.60 CA$60.6

16.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.94 CLP 28.5K

$45.15 CA$64.2

-35.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.7 CLP 64.6K

$83.3 CA$118

-21.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 CLP 79.3K

$94.7 CA$135

-14.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 CLP 549.7K

$1,182 CA$1,681

-52.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 CLP 377.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 CLP 987.2K

$1,725 CA$2,452

-41.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 CLP 766.9K

$1,344 CA$1,911

-41.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,640 CLP 2.6M

$22.6K CA$32.1K

-88.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,546 CLP 2.5M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$804 CLP 790.0K

$4,061 CA$5,773

-80.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

4.32

24.77%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cochrane: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$384 32.3%

Cochrane

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 19.8%

Cochrane

$285 26.5% 20.8% $49

Eating Out

Santiago

$189 15.9%

Cochrane

$271 25.2% 43% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.3%

Cochrane

$304 28.3% 66.6% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$101 8.5%

Cochrane

$120 11.1% 18.2% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Cochrane

$71 6.6% 45.3% $22

Getting Around

Santiago

$48 4.1%

Cochrane

$24 * 2.2% 51.1% $25

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 $559 in Santiago and $1,182 in Cochrane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cochrane pays 405% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $52.0 in Santiago vs $70.0 in Cochrane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $285 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇨🇦 Cochrane

🕒 Local time

21:37 9:37 PM

18:37 6:37 PM

3 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

26,000

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.17 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.08 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.628 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 983 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,101 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.08 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santiago Cochrane 10,340 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Cochrane

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 Cochrane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cochrane wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Santiago. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cochrane the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 405% lower in Cochrane. 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: $559 in Santiago versus $1,182 in Cochrane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Santiago pay roughly 21% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,190 per month in Santiago versus $1,074 in Cochrane – a 11% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,074 in Cochrane versus $1,190 in Santiago, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cochrane but tight or insufficient in Santiago. The gap between the two cities makes Cochrane 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 Cochrane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Santiago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.