Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santiago and Saint John's

For one person, living is cheaper in Santiago: $1,206 a month against $1,816 in Saint John's, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
85

Cost of Living Index in Saint John's
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Saint John's Living Index

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Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,206

/mo nomad

Saint John's

🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda

$1,816

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santiago and in Saint John's

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Santiago versus $1,816 in Saint John's.

Santiago $1,206
Saint John's $1,816

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,885 in Santiago versus $2,873 in Saint John's.

Santiago $1,885
Saint John's $2,873

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,564 in Santiago versus $3,929 in Saint John's.

Santiago $2,564
Saint John's $3,929

Living in Santiago costs roughly 34% less than in Saint John's, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santiago is 10% below, Saint John's is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 CLP 9,931

$22.50 EC$60.8

-54.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 CLP 50.9K

$75.0 EC$203

-30.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.54 CLP 8,323

$10.97 EC$29.62

-22.15%

Cappuccino

$3.19 CLP 3,115

$3.80 EC$10.27

-16.05%

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

$1.68 CLP 1,637

$2.03 EC$5.47

-17.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.22 CLP 1,191

$0.87 EC$2.34

40.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.21 CLP 4,101

$1.87 EC$5.05

125.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CLP 4,539

$4.48 EC$12.09

4.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 CLP 1,283

$2.18 EC$5.88

-39.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 CLP 1,756

$2.81 EC$7.59

-35.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 CLP 1,543

$1.90 EC$5.14

-16.84%

Eggs

$4.25 CLP 4,141

$6.63 EC$17.91

-35.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.19 CLP 10.9K

$8.32 EC$22.46

34.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 CLP 6,580

$8.31 EC$22.44

-18.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.67 CLP 10.4K

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 CLP 1,991

$6.48 EC$17.49

-68.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 CLP 1,497

$2.42 EC$6.54

-36.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 CLP 1,549

$8.12 EC$21.93

-80.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 CLP 1,708

$8.10 EC$21.87

-78.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 CLP 1,051

$2.92 EC$7.88

-63.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 CLP 1,476

$2.90 EC$7.84

-47.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 CLP 1,145

$2.64 EC$7.12

-55.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 CLP 1,041

$1.61 EC$4.34

-33.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.14 CLP 5,015

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 CLP 5,732

$5.53 EC$14.93

6.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CLP 1,513

$2.73 EC$7.36

-43.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 CLP 2,218

$4.55 EC$12.29

-50.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 CLP 829

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

$1.63 EC$4.40

-7.98%

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

$256 EC$692

-41.07%

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

$12.04 CLP 11.7K

$40.32 EC$109

-70.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.93 CLP 18.5K

$81.4 EC$220

-76.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.81 CLP 33.0K

$65.3 EC$176

-48.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.72 CLP 11.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 CLP 7,185

$6.43 EC$17.36

14.62%

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

$434 CLP 423.3K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K CLP 10.7M

$1,855 EC$5,009

492.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.9 CLP 49.6K

$49.21 EC$133

3.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.16 CLP 28.4K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 CLP 65.7K

$75.4 EC$204

-10.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.3 CLP 78.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 CLP 540.8K

$1,036 EC$2,796

-46.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$372 CLP 363.2K

$680 EC$1,835

-45.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,009 CLP 984.3K

$1,694 EC$4,573

-40.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$779 CLP 759.1K

$1,497 EC$4,043

-48.01%

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

$1,344 EC$3,630

-41.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.5

-2.00%

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

Last update for Santiago: October 4, 2026

Last update for Saint John's: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santiago

$372 31.6%

Saint John's

$680 37.2% 82.5% $307

Groceries & Markets

Santiago

$236 20%

Saint John's

$349 * 19.1% 47.6% $112

Eating Out

Santiago

$187 15.9%

Saint John's

$288 15.8% 53.9% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santiago

$182 15.5%

Saint John's

$378 20.7% 108% $196

Clothing & Footwear

Santiago

$102 8.7%

Saint John's

$56 * 3.1% 45.2% $46

Getting Around

Santiago

$50 4.2%

Saint John's

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Santiago

$49 4.1%

Saint John's

$78 4.3% 61% $30

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 $1,036 in Saint John's. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Saint John's pays 70% 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 $75.0 in Saint John's for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $349 per month, with Santiago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇱 Santiago

🇦🇬 Saint John's

🕒 Local time

07:36 7:36 AM

06:36 6:36 AM

1 h behind Santiago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,139,087 Capital

21,926 Capital

💱 Currency

Chilean Peso CLP $

East Caribbean Dollar XCD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 CLP = 10.26 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR

1 XCD = 0.37 USD

1 XCD = 0.331 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XCD, 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).

East Caribbean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.7 XCD (1 XCD = 0.37 USD). 1 EUR = 3.03 XCD (1 XCD = 0.331 EUR).

USD to CLP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santiago Saint John's 5,700 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santiago
Saint John's

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 Saint John's: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santiago is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 70% lower in Saint John's. 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 $1,036 in Saint John's. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Saint John's. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Santiago – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $75.0 in Saint John's. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,206 in Santiago versus $1,816 in Saint John's, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Santiago but tight or insufficient in Saint John's. The gap between the two cities makes Santiago the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Santiago is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Saint John's, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Santiago and Saint John's 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 51% less than in Saint John's. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.