Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Puerto Escondido

For one person, living costs are similar in Santiago and in Puerto Escondido: $1,190 and $1,151 a month, rent and utilities included.

57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Escondido
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Puerto Escondido Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,190

/mo nomad

Puerto Escondido

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Puerto Escondido

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

A single person spends $1,190 per month in Santiago vs $1,151 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Santiago $1,190
Puerto Escondido $1,151

A couple spends around $1,892 per month in Santiago vs $1,856 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Santiago $1,892
Puerto Escondido $1,856

A family of three spends $2,595 per month in Santiago vs $2,561 in Puerto Escondido, rent included.

Santiago $2,595
Puerto Escondido $2,561

Santiago costs about 3% more than Puerto Escondido, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Santiago and Puerto Escondido are more affordable than the global median – Santiago 12% lower, Puerto Escondido 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.37 CLP 10.2K

$10.52 MX$194

-1.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.7 CLP 50.9K

$42.96 MX$794

20.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.94 CLP 8,805

$8.65 MX$160

3.35%

Cappuccino

$3.26 CLP 3,211

$3.58 MX$66.1

-8.94%

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

$1.67 CLP 1,640

$1.42 MX$26.25

17.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 CLP 1,212

$1.05 MX$19.38

17.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.98 CLP 3,914

$3.04 MX$56.2

30.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 CLP 4,465

$4.05 MX$74.9

12.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 CLP 1,263

$1.85 MX$34.14

-30.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.85 CLP 1,817

$2.84 MX$52.5

-34.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,567

$1.64 MX$30.22

-3.05%

Eggs

$4.10 CLP 4,031

$2.80 MX$51.7

46.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.41 CLP 11.2K

$8.20 MX$152

39.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.69 CLP 6,586

$10.98 MX$203

-39.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.81 CLP 10.6K

$11.54 MX$213

-6.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 CLP 1,905

$2.68 MX$49.45

-27.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 CLP 1,497

$1.59 MX$29.42

-4.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 CLP 1,577

$1.86 MX$34.42

-13.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 CLP 1,668

$1.73 MX$32.01

-2.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 CLP 1,084

$1.59 MX$29.46

-30.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 CLP 1,500

$2.02 MX$37.35

-24.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 CLP 1,164

$1.48 MX$27.28

-20.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 CLP 1,061

$1.14 MX$21.15

-5.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.07 CLP 4,995

$4.48 MX$82.7

13.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.95 CLP 5,858

$10.36 MX$191

-42.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 CLP 1,470

$2.46 MX$45.43

-39.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 CLP 2,342

$3.09 MX$57.1

-22.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 CLP 821

$0.83 MX$15.35

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.14 CLP 39.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 CLP 393

$2.80 MX$51.7

-85.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 CLP 897

$1.78 MX$32.92

-48.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.63 CLP 11.5K

$9.89 MX$183

17.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 CLP 1,486

$1.36 MX$25.14

11.03%

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

$17.6K CLP 17.3M

$18.7K MX$344.9K

-5.84%

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

$22.0K CLP 21.6M

$25.2K MX$465.2K

-12.67%

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

$151 CLP 149.0K

$64.7 MX$1,196

134.02%

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

$12.34 CLP 12.1K

$22.92 MX$424

-46.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.73 CLP 18.4K

$36.45 MX$674

-48.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.71 CLP 33.2K

$27.77 MX$513

21.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.80 CLP 11.6K

$19.89 MX$368

-40.67%

Cinema Ticket

$7.45 CLP 7,334

$4.56 MX$84.2

63.38%

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

$430 CLP 423.7K

$220 MX$4,069

95.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K CLP 10.6M

$4,364 MX$80.6K

147.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.65 CLP 48.9K

$49.88 MX$922

-0.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.94 CLP 28.5K

$42.79 MX$791

-32.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.7 CLP 64.6K

$91.6 MX$1,693

-28.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 CLP 79.4K

$84.0 MX$1,553

-3.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 CLP 550.4K

$601 MX$11.1K

-6.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 CLP 377.8K

$382 MX$7,061

0.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 CLP 988.4K

$960 MX$17.7K

4.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 CLP 767.9K

$778 MX$14.4K

0.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,640 CLP 2.6M

$2,036 MX$37.6K

29.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,546 CLP 2.5M

$1,289 MX$23.8K

97.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$804 CLP 791.0K

$327 MX$6,035

146.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

11.3

-52.30%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Puerto Escondido: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$384 32.3%

Puerto Escondido

$382 33.2% 0.4% $1.7

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 19.8%

Puerto Escondido

$285 24.8% 21% $49

Eating Out

Santiago

$189 15.9%

Puerto Escondido

$186 16.2% 1.7% $3.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.3%

Puerto Escondido

$124 10.8% 32% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$101 8.5%

Puerto Escondido

$121 10.5% 19.3% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Puerto Escondido

$37 3.2% 24.1% $12

Getting Around

Santiago

$48 4.1%

Puerto Escondido

$15 * 1.3% 69% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $559 in Santiago versus $601 in Puerto Escondido. 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 146% 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 $43.00 in Puerto Escondido. Groceries tell a different story – $236 in Santiago vs $285 in Puerto Escondido – so Santiago wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇲🇽 Puerto Escondido

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

07:13 7:13 AM

3 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

25,902

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.16 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CLP – Chilean Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇱 Chilean Peso ($)

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 984 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,107 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.04 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santiago Puerto Escondido 6,160 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Puerto Escondido

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 Puerto Escondido: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santiago is pricier by about 3%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,785 per month in Santiago and $1,726 in Puerto Escondido. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Puerto Escondido, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,190 in Santiago and $1,151 in Puerto Escondido. That's a gap of about 3%.

Kindergarten costs $430 per month in Santiago and $220 in Puerto Escondido. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Puerto Escondido, where all-in costs run around $1,151, than in Santiago at $1,190. In Puerto Escondido it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santiago it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Puerto Escondido – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Puerto Escondido. 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.