Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zihuatanejo and Santiago

For one person, living costs are similar in Zihuatanejo and in Santiago: $1,131 and $1,183 a month, rent and utilities included.

55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Santiago
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Santiago Living Index

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Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,183

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zihuatanejo and in Santiago

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

A single person spends $1,131 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $1,183 in Santiago, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $1,131
Santiago $1,183

A couple spends around $1,824 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $1,882 in Santiago, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $1,824
Santiago $1,882

A family of three spends $2,517 per month in Zihuatanejo vs $2,581 in Santiago, rent included.

Zihuatanejo $2,517
Santiago $2,581

Zihuatanejo is about 4% cheaper than Santiago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Zihuatanejo and Santiago are more affordable than the global median – Zihuatanejo 17% lower, Santiago 13% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$203

$10.15 CLP 10.1K

7.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.16 MX$827

$51.9 CLP 51.6K

-14.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.74 MX$164

$8.56 CLP 8,512

2.10%

Cappuccino

$3.48 MX$65.2

$3.15 CLP 3,134

10.48%

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

$1.36 MX$25.45

$1.71 CLP 1,703

-20.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$19.08

$1.28 CLP 1,269

-20.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 MX$45.89

$4.18 CLP 4,162

-41.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 MX$74.4

$4.46 CLP 4,437

-10.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 MX$31.05

$1.29 CLP 1,282

28.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 MX$47.69

$1.76 CLP 1,755

44.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MX$30.90

$1.66 CLP 1,647

-0.60%

Eggs

$2.44 MX$45.61

$4.21 CLP 4,184

-42.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MX$152

$11.08 CLP 11.0K

-26.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.52 MX$159

$6.75 CLP 6,711

26.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.56 MX$216

$10.76 CLP 10.7K

7.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$1.96 CLP 1,947

38.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 MX$29.27

$1.54 CLP 1,534

1.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.39

$1.58 CLP 1,576

22.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.77 MX$33.10

$1.74 CLP 1,731

1.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 MX$36.24

$1.09 CLP 1,087

77.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MX$35.15

$1.53 CLP 1,525

22.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 MX$26.71

$1.18 CLP 1,176

21.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.47

$1.08 CLP 1,071

0.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.28 MX$80.1

$5.18 CLP 5,155

-17.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 MX$192

$6.17 CLP 6,134

66.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 MX$34.04

$1.53 CLP 1,527

18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 MX$57.3

$2.36 CLP 2,349

29.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MX$12.77

$0.84 CLP 832

-19.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.44 CLP 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 MX$48.93

$0.42 CLP 421

521.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 MX$37.88

$0.88 CLP 878

129.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.18 MX$209

$11.49 CLP 11.4K

-2.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 MX$26.93

$1.49 CLP 1,478

-3.36%

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

$21.3K MX$398.4K

$17.2K CLP 17.2M

23.44%

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

$23.9K MX$447.0K

$25.6K CLP 25.5M

-6.73%

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

$57.3 MX$1,072

$149 CLP 147.8K

-61.47%

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

$23.00 MX$431

$12.11 CLP 12.0K

89.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 MX$558

$19.13 CLP 19.0K

55.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.76 MX$651

$33.30 CLP 33.1K

4.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.02 MX$375

$11.51 CLP 11.4K

73.94%

Cinema Ticket

$5.14 MX$96.2

$7.32 CLP 7,284

-29.78%

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

$216 MX$4,041

$436 CLP 433.7K

-50.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,526 MX$84.7K

$11.0K CLP 10.9M

-58.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.5 MX$1,038

$49.17 CLP 48.9K

12.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.25 MX$753

$29.11 CLP 29.0K

38.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,844

$65.5 CLP 65.2K

50.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.0 MX$1,684

$80.1 CLP 79.7K

12.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$596 MX$11.1K

$554 CLP 551.6K

7.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 MX$7,182

$383 CLP 380.6K

0.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,053 MX$19.7K

$1,002 CLP 996.9K

5.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$759 MX$14.2K

$775 CLP 770.5K

-2.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,915 MX$35.8K

$2,708 CLP 2.7M

-29.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MX$21.5K

$2,613 CLP 2.6M

-56.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$778 CLP 774.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.39

109.65%

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

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santiago: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zihuatanejo

$384 34%

Santiago

$383 32.3% 0.3% $1.1

Groceries & Markets

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3%

Santiago

$236 20% 10.5% $28

Eating Out

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3%

Santiago

$186 15.8% 1% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3%

Santiago

$101 8.5% 21.2% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7%

Santiago

$180 15.2% 63.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Zihuatanejo

$45 4%

Santiago

$48 4.1% 6.5% $2.9

Getting Around

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4%

Santiago

$50 4.2% 221% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $596 in Zihuatanejo versus $554 in Santiago. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Zihuatanejo versus $52 in Santiago. Groceries tell a different story – $264 in Zihuatanejo vs $236 in Santiago – so Santiago wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🇨🇱 Santiago

🕒 Local time

02:08 2:08 AM

05:08 5:08 AM

3 h ahead of Zihuatanejo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,408

6,139,087 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.05 USD

10,000 CLP = 8.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 995 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.01 USD). 1 EUR = 1,116 CLP (10,000 CLP = 8.96 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zihuatanejo Santiago 6,560 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Zihuatanejo
Santiago

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

Zihuatanejo vs Santiago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santiago is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,696 per month in Zihuatanejo and $1,775 in Santiago. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $596 in Zihuatanejo and $554 in Santiago. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,131 in Zihuatanejo and $1,183 in Santiago. That’s a gap of about 5%.

Kindergarten costs $216 per month in Zihuatanejo and $436 in Santiago. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,500 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,131 in Zihuatanejo and $1,183 in Santiago, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Zihuatanejo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,131 in Zihuatanejo to $1,183 in Santiago. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.