Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Quebec City

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,206 a month against $1,893 in Quebec City, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
91

Cost of Living Index in Quebec City
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Quebec City Living Index

Jump to prices

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Quebec City

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,893

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Quebec City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Santiago versus $1,893 in Quebec City.

Santiago $1,206
Quebec City $1,893

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Santiago versus $2,839 in Quebec City.

Santiago $1,885
Quebec City $2,839

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,564 in Santiago versus $3,785 in Quebec City.

Santiago $2,564
Quebec City $3,785

Living in Santiago costs roughly 36% less than in Quebec City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santiago is 10% below, Quebec City is 41% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,954

$21.19 CA$30.14

-51.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 51.0K

$64.1 CA$91.1

-18.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,342

$10.97 CA$15.60

-22.15%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,122

$3.66 CA$5.21

-12.84%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,641

$2.07 CA$2.95

-18.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,194

$1.41 CA$2.01

-13.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,110

$5.58 CA$7.93

-24.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,550

$5.56 CA$7.91

-16.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,286

$2.12 CA$3.01

-37.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,760

$2.85 CA$4.05

-36.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,547

$4.25 CA$6.04

-62.82%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,151

$3.18 CA$4.52

33.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$8.87 CA$12.62

26.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,596

$10.52 CA$14.96

-35.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

$10.39 CA$14.78

2.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,995

$4.21 CA$5.99

-51.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,500

$1.59 CA$2.26

-3.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,553

$3.70 CA$5.26

-57.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,712

$3.91 CA$5.56

-55.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,054

$2.86 CA$4.06

-62.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,480

$2.79 CA$3.97

-45.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,148

$2.69 CA$3.83

-56.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,043

$1.43 CA$2.03

-25.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,027

$14.87 CA$21.16

-65.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,745

$11.16 CA$15.88

-47.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,516

$3.15 CA$4.48

-50.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,223

$3.40 CA$4.84

-33.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 831

$2.77 CA$3.93

-69.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.50 CLP 40.6K

$69.6 CA$99.0

-40.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 CLP 383

$2.90 CA$4.13

-86.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.84 CLP 822

$1.48 CA$2.11

-43.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.94 CLP 11.7K

$34.24 CA$48.70

-65.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 CLP 1,470

$1.25 CA$1.78

20.00%

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

$18.1K CLP 17.7M

$28.3K CA$40.2K

-35.99%

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

$21.6K CLP 21.1M

$21.3K CA$30.3K

1.48%

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

$151 CLP 147.7K

$100 CA$143

50.74%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.8K

$31.82 CA$45.26

-62.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$44.74 CA$63.6

-57.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.81 CLP 33.0K

$34.56 CA$49.16

-2.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.72 CLP 11.5K

$15.27 CA$21.72

-23.25%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 CLP 7,202

$10.87 CA$15.46

-32.20%

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

$434 CLP 424.3K

$685 CA$975

-36.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$9,148 CA$13.0K

20.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.7K

$59.7 CA$84.9

-14.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.5K

$50.2 CA$71.4

-41.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.8K

$89.7 CA$128

-24.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.4K

$108 CA$153

-25.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 542.0K

$1,025 CA$1,458

-45.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 364.0K

$774 CA$1,101

-51.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 986.6K

$1,565 CA$2,226

-35.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 760.9K

$1,278 CA$1,818

-39.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 CLP 2.6M

$4,737 CA$6,737

-43.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,622 CLP 2.6M

$2,731 CA$3,884

-3.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$791 CLP 773.5K

$3,037 CA$4,320

-73.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

4.44

21.40%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Quebec City: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Quebec City

$774 41.2% 108% $401

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Quebec City

$342 18.2% 44.6% $105

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Quebec City

$299 16% 59.7% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Quebec City

$177 9.4% 2.9% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Quebec City

$138 7.4% 34.9% $36

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Quebec City

$91 4.9% 83.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Quebec City

$56 3% 16% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $555 in Santiago and $1,025 in Quebec City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Quebec City pays 284% 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 $64.0 in Quebec City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $342 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇨🇦 Quebec City

🕒 Local time

05:45 5:45 AM

04:45 4:45 AM

1 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

530,168

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.23 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.12 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 977 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,096 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.12 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.703 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.627 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santiago Quebec City 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Quebec City

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 Quebec City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago wins on cost – living expenses run 57% lower than in Quebec City. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Santiago the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 284% lower in Quebec City. 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 $1,025 in Quebec City. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,206 per month in Santiago versus $1,893 in Quebec City – a 57% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Santiago runs roughly 68% less than in Quebec City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,206 in Santiago versus $1,893 in Quebec City, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Quebec City. 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.

Expats usually find Santiago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 57% less than in Quebec City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.