Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,163 a month against $1,278 in Phuket, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,163

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,163 in Santiago versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Santiago $1,163
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,844 in Santiago versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Santiago $1,844
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,525 in Santiago versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Santiago $2,525
Phuket $3,154

Living in Santiago costs roughly 9% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santiago 15% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.93 CLP 9,866

$4.47 ฿151

122.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.88 CLP 49.5K

$32.41 ฿1,094

53.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.64 CLP 8,585

$8.81 ฿297

-1.93%

Cappuccino

$3.16 CLP 3,140

$2.83 ฿95.4

11.66%

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

$1.65 CLP 1,642

$0.87 ฿29.42

89.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 CLP 1,235

$0.49 ฿16.66

153.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.12 CLP 4,091

$2.56 ฿86.3

60.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 CLP 4,574

$3.68 ฿124

25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 CLP 1,214

$1.66 ฿56.0

-26.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.82 CLP 1,803

$1.46 ฿49.32

24.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,572

$1.50 ฿50.5

5.33%

Eggs

$4.04 CLP 4,014

$2.09 ฿70.5

93.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.96 CLP 10.9K

$19.07 ฿643

-42.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.66 CLP 6,616

$3.30 ฿111

101.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.32 CLP 10.3K

$10.91 ฿368

-5.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 CLP 2,002

$2.93 ฿98.9

-31.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 CLP 1,479

$1.69 ฿57.0

-11.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,568

$2.25 ฿75.8

-29.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 CLP 1,704

$2.08 ฿70.1

-17.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 CLP 1,037

$1.51 ฿51.0

-31.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,499

$1.38 ฿46.54

9.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 CLP 1,210

$1.07 ฿35.97

14.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 CLP 1,093

$0.52 ฿17.51

111.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.10 CLP 5,063

$4.20 ฿142

21.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 CLP 5,891

$18.79 ฿634

-68.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 CLP 1,470

$1.82 ฿61.5

-18.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 CLP 2,232

$2.84 ฿95.9

-20.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 CLP 832

$1.45 ฿49.00

-42.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.64 CLP 40.4K

$56.7 ฿1,912

-28.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 CLP 378

$3.02 ฿102

-87.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 CLP 813

$1.02 ฿34.34

-19.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.53 CLP 11.5K

$3.69 ฿125

212.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 CLP 1,514

$1.47 ฿49.78

3.40%

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

$16.8K CLP 16.7M

$26.8K ฿903.7K

-37.15%

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

$24.9K CLP 24.8M

$26.7K ฿900.8K

-6.63%

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

$146 CLP 144.7K

$96.4 ฿3,252

51.22%

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

$12.20 CLP 12.1K

$11.26 ฿380

8.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.80 CLP 18.7K

$16.85 ฿569

11.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.41 CLP 32.2K

$67.2 ฿2,269

-51.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.68 CLP 11.6K

$10.73 ฿362

8.85%

Cinema Ticket

$7.58 CLP 7,534

$7.50 ฿253

1.07%

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

$440 CLP 436.9K

$476 ฿16.1K

-7.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K CLP 10.6M

$11.3K ฿380.1K

-5.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.81 CLP 48.5K

$62.4 ฿2,105

-21.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.87 CLP 28.7K

$28.41 ฿959

1.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.4 CLP 63.9K

$94.3 ฿3,182

-31.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.9 CLP 80.4K

$85.8 ฿2,896

-5.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$497 CLP 493.6K

$716 ฿24.2K

-30.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 CLP 370.9K

$491 ฿16.6K

-23.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$989 CLP 982.1K

$1,927 ฿65.0K

-48.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$750 CLP 745.0K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-47.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,960 CLP 2.9M

$4,175 ฿140.9K

-29.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,517 CLP 2.5M

$3,045 ฿102.8K

-17.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$771 CLP 765.9K

$502 ฿17.0K

53.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.57

-3.23%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$373 32.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 31.5% $117

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$232 19.9%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 14.8% $34

Eating Out

Santiago

$185 15.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 34.1% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$177 15.2%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 29.6% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$100 8.6%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 21.5% $22

Getting Around

Santiago

$48 4.2%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 45.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$48 4.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 72.9% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $497 in Santiago and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santiago pays 54% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50 in Santiago vs $32 in Phuket. Groceries flip the comparison at $232 vs $266, with Santiago cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

23:54 11:54 PM

09:54 9:54 AM

10 h ahead of Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

79,308

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.07 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.02 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 993 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 1,109 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.02 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago Phuket 16,960 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 54% higher in Santiago, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $497 in Santiago versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $440 in Santiago versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Phuket. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Santiago gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.