Cost of living comparison

 Thimphu, Bhutan
compared to
 Santiago, Chile
Santiago vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 3.4 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants
pay 4.4 times more in Santiago
Groceries
pay 92.3% more in Santiago
Transportation
pay 3.3 times more in Santiago
Housing
pay 4.2 times more in Santiago
Childcare
pay 5.5 times more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 22.9% more in Santiago
Clothing
pay 3.3 times more in Santiago

The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, transportation, clothing, and groceries in Santiago are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Santiago.

Santiago vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santiago instead of Thimphu, you would:

pay 4.4 times more for restaurants

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.95
BTN252.09
$12.36
CLF0.3000
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$2.95
BTN252.09
$8.24
CLF0.2000
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.55
BTN47.39
$1.78
CLF0.0400

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pay 92.3% more for groceries

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Bread
1 loaf
$0.94
BTN80.67
$1.48
CLF0.0400
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.68
BTN143.69
$5.49
CLF0.1300
Milk (1 gallon) $3.17
BTN271.01
$4.59
CLF0.1100

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pay 3.3 times more for transportation

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.93
BTN335.86
$5.14
CLF0.1300
Monthly public transit pass $3.97
BTN339.34
$41.20
CLF1.0100
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,215.98
BTN1,815,033.45
$18,540.00
CLF455.8100

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pay 4.2 times more for housing

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.25
BTN2,673.07
$20.87
CLF0.5100
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $124.45
BTN10,646.84
$513.58
CLF12.6300
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $79.38
BTN6,791.17
$439.93
CLF10.8200

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pay 5.5 times more for childcare

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $246.05
BTN21,049.35
$387.71
CLF9.5300
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $677.73
BTN57,980.24
$6,421.89
CLF157.8800

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pay 22.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.43
BTN550.21
$2.83
CLF0.0700
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.53
BTN131.09
$3.09
CLF0.0800
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.83
BTN327.71
$5.15
CLF0.1300

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pay 3.3 times more for clothing

 
Thimphu
Santiago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$9.43
BTN806.68
$52.80
CLF1.3000
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$11.79
BTN1,008.35
$31.11
CLF0.7600
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$32.41
BTN2,772.97
$73.37
CLF1.8000

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025
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