Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo and Vancouver

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $1,122 a month against $2,684 in Vancouver, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Vancouver
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Vancouver Living Index

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Santo Domingo

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,122

/mo nomad

Vancouver

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,684

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santo Domingo and in Vancouver

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santo Domingo and in Vancouver actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,122 in Santo Domingo versus $2,684 in Vancouver.

Santo Domingo $1,122
Vancouver $2,684

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,761 in Santo Domingo versus $3,878 in Vancouver.

Santo Domingo $1,761
Vancouver $3,878

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,401 in Santo Domingo versus $5,072 in Vancouver.

Santo Domingo $2,401
Vancouver $5,072

Living in Santo Domingo costs roughly 58% less than in Vancouver, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santo Domingo is 16% below, Vancouver is 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 DOP 622

$17.30 CA$24.61

-41.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.5 DOP 3,082

$69.0 CA$98.1

-26.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.79 DOP 475

$10.56 CA$15.02

-26.23%

Cappuccino

$2.23 DOP 136

$3.89 CA$5.53

-42.67%

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

$1.02 DOP 62.5

$2.05 CA$2.92

-50.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 DOP 33.14

$1.62 CA$2.31

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 DOP 156

$5.54 CA$7.89

-53.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 DOP 201

$6.33 CA$9.00

-47.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 DOP 81.1

$2.31 CA$3.29

-42.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 DOP 91.5

$2.50 CA$3.56

-40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 DOP 99.3

$4.44 CA$6.32

-63.29%

Eggs

$2.36 DOP 144

$4.07 CA$5.79

-42.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 DOP 451

$11.28 CA$16.04

-34.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.59 DOP 341

$13.42 CA$19.09

-58.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 DOP 409

$20.10 CA$28.59

-66.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 DOP 194

$4.06 CA$5.77

-21.43%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 DOP 51.8

$1.33 CA$1.89

-36.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 DOP 168

$3.91 CA$5.56

-29.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.86 DOP 114

$4.05 CA$5.77

-54.07%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 DOP 127

$2.72 CA$3.87

-23.90%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 DOP 137

$2.89 CA$4.11

-22.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 DOP 63.1

$2.53 CA$3.60

-59.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 DOP 59.0

$1.62 CA$2.30

-40.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.19 DOP 317

$15.57 CA$22.15

-66.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.24 DOP 625

$14.05 CA$19.99

-27.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 DOP 154

$2.69 CA$3.82

-5.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 DOP 181

$2.99 CA$4.26

-0.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 DOP 36.59

$2.44 CA$3.47

-75.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.04 DOP 1,101

$83.4 CA$119

-78.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 DOP 205

$2.71 CA$3.86

23.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 DOP 135

$1.57 CA$2.23

40.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 DOP 348

$31.39 CA$44.65

-81.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 DOP 87.4

$1.38 CA$1.96

3.62%

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

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

$28.1K CA$39.9K

-16.72%

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

$34.2K DOP 2.1M

$19.8K CA$28.2K

72.36%

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

$93.8 DOP 5,720

$81.2 CA$115

15.54%

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

$31.81 DOP 1,940

$37.45 CA$53.3

-15.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.01 DOP 2,258

$51.4 CA$73.1

-27.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.96 DOP 1,828

$43.47 CA$61.8

-31.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.22 DOP 1,477

$12.53 CA$17.82

93.30%

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 DOP 445

$12.54 CA$17.84

-41.79%

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

$256 DOP 15.6K

$1,094 CA$1,557

-76.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,297 DOP 445.1K

$19.9K CA$28.3K

-63.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.66 DOP 2,785

$57.0 CA$81.1

-19.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.81 DOP 2,855

$32.73 CA$46.56

43.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 DOP 5,373

$92.6 CA$132

-4.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 DOP 7,691

$94.2 CA$134

33.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 DOP 43.4K

$1,745 CA$2,483

-59.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 DOP 21.2K

$1,484 CA$2,111

-76.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 DOP 88.5K

$2,998 CA$4,264

-51.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 DOP 38.0K

$2,422 CA$3,446

-74.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,205 DOP 134.5K

$8,002 CA$11.4K

-72.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,203 DOP 73.4K

$6,457 CA$9,184

-81.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 DOP 36.0K

$3,799 CA$5,404

-84.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

4.28

216.82%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 6, 2026

Last update for Vancouver: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santo Domingo

$348 31.5%

Vancouver

$1.5K 56.6% 326% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Santo Domingo

$221 20%

Vancouver

$399 15.2% 80% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santo Domingo

$163 14.7%

Vancouver

$170 6.5% 4.6% $7.4

Eating Out

Santo Domingo

$157 14.2%

Vancouver

$272 10.4% 72.8% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Santo Domingo

$138 12.5%

Vancouver

$124 4.8% 9.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Santo Domingo

$45 4%

Vancouver

$69 2.6% 53.8% $24

Getting Around

Santo Domingo

$35 3.2%

Vancouver

$104 4% 198% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $712 in Santo Domingo and $1,745 in Vancouver. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vancouver pays 544% 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: $51.0 in Santo Domingo vs $69.0 in Vancouver for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $399 per month, with Santo Domingo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Santo Domingo

🇨🇦 Vancouver

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

18:18 6:18 PM

3 h behind Santo Domingo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

965,040 Capital

631,486

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

1 CAD = 0.703 USD

1 CAD = 0.627 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 61 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.42 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 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 DOP in detail →

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Between locations

Santo Domingo Vancouver 5,820 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santo Domingo
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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

Santo Domingo vs Vancouver: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santo Domingo and Vancouver differ by about 139% in total monthly costs ($1,122 vs $2,684 including rent). Santo Domingo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 544% lower in Vancouver. 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: $712 in Santo Domingo versus $1,745 in Vancouver. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Santo Domingo – a meal for two runs $51.0 versus $69.0 in Vancouver. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,122 per month in Santo Domingo versus $2,684 in Vancouver – a 139% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,122 in Santo Domingo versus $2,684 in Vancouver, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo but tight or insufficient in Vancouver. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo 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 Santo Domingo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Vancouver. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.