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Last updated on 12/06/2026
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The currency used in Chile is the Chilean peso (peso chileno), usually represented as $, CL$, or CLP.
To give you an idea of what a peso is worth, the exchange rate USD/CLP ranged during the last ten years between 450 and 850 Chilean pesos for 1 US dollar. The currency is significantly weaker than it used to be due to limited growth since 2016, social protests in 2019, and a pandemic that has impacted the price of copper, Chile's main export.
Coins
Available coins are worth 10, 50, 100, or 500 pesos.
In 2018, the Chilean central bank removed the 1 and 5 pesos coins. When you pay in cash, the amounts in centimes ending in 0 to 5 are rounded down. Amounts in centimes ending in 6 to 9 are rounded up.
Notes
You can find notes of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000 and 20000 pesos. Notes of 500 pesos are deemed to exist, but they seem to be all in private collections now.
You will often hear the expression luca, which means 1000 pesos. Especially when walking in the street, where sellers shout a luca, a luca, meaning they sell everything at 1000 pesos.
The portrait of Gabriela Mistral (a famous Chilean poet and diplomat from the beginning of the 20th century) is on the 5000 pesos note. Therefore, a gabriela is sometimes used to describe this note.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Chilean Peso
The Chilean peso
Over the last ten years, the USD/CLP exchange rate has ranged between 450 and 850 Chilean pesos per US dollar, so 100 US dollars has been worth anywhere from roughly 45,000 to 85,000 pesos depending on the period. The rate moves constantly, so check a live converter or your bank's rate before exchanging money.
The peso is significantly weaker than it used to be for a combination of reasons: limited economic growth since 2016, the social protests of 2019, and the pandemic's impact on the price of copper, Chile's main export. Copper prices remain one of the biggest drivers of the peso's value against the dollar.
