Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arequipa and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Arequipa: $719 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Arequipa
Learn more

Arequipa Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index

Jump to prices

Arequipa

🇵🇪 Peru

$719

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arequipa and in Montevideo

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

A single person spends $719 per month in Arequipa vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

Arequipa $719
Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $1,114 per month in Arequipa vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

Arequipa $1,114
Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $1,510 per month in Arequipa vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

Arequipa $1,510
Montevideo $3,750

Arequipa is about 60% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Arequipa sits 46% below the global median, while Montevideo is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.41 PEN 11.73

$15.26 UYU 613

-77.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.27 PEN 93.8

$67.4 UYU 2,707

-59.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.68 PEN 19.53

$14.37 UYU 577

-60.47%

Cappuccino

$2.47 PEN 8.48

$4.64 UYU 186

-46.77%

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

$0.82 PEN 2.82

$2.73 UYU 110

-69.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 PEN 1.32

$2.09 UYU 83.9

-81.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 PEN 7.12

$4.75 UYU 191

-56.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 PEN 15.13

$3.67 UYU 147

19.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 PEN 4.59

$1.38 UYU 55.4

-3.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 PEN 4.69

$2.77 UYU 111

-50.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 PEN 5.22

$1.69 UYU 67.7

-10.06%

Eggs

$2.25 PEN 7.75

$4.52 UYU 182

-50.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.39 PEN 21.97

$14.17 UYU 569

-54.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.37 PEN 15.04

$12.07 UYU 485

-63.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.48 PEN 25.74

$12.16 UYU 488

-38.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 PEN 6.09

$2.87 UYU 115

-38.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 PEN 4.20

$2.75 UYU 110

-55.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.13 PEN 3.90

$1.73 UYU 69.4

-34.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 PEN 3.53

$3.24 UYU 130

-68.21%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 PEN 2.20

$2.07 UYU 83.0

-69.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.67 PEN 2.31

$2.07 UYU 83.0

-67.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 PEN 1.87

$1.38 UYU 55.4

-60.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 PEN 2.61

$1.85 UYU 74.4

-58.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 PEN 17.82

$5.57 UYU 224

-7.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.04 PEN 17.32

$8.89 UYU 357

-43.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 PEN 9.37

$2.29 UYU 92.1

18.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 PEN 7.58

$2.70 UYU 108

-18.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 PEN 0.95

$1.52 UYU 61.2

-81.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,958

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.01 PEN 6.90

$1.82 UYU 73.3

10.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 PEN 6.78

$0.40 UYU 16.02

392.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.00 PEN 44.70

$10.66 UYU 428

21.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 PEN 5.28

$2.22 UYU 89.0

-31.08%

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

$19.2K PEN 65.9K

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

-28.32%

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

$25.0K PEN 86.1K

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

-31.85%

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

$24.05 PEN 82.7

$191 UYU 7,662

-87.40%

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

$10.15 PEN 34.91

$20.40 UYU 819

-50.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.01 PEN 79.2

$44.14 UYU 1,772

-47.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.05 PEN 86.2

$54.1 UYU 2,174

-53.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.13 PEN 27.97

$19.68 UYU 790

-58.69%

Cinema Ticket

$7.41 PEN 25.48

$12.33 UYU 495

-39.90%

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

$74.8 PEN 257

$613 UYU 24.6K

-87.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,596 PEN 22.7K

$11.0K UYU 443.6K

-40.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.85 PEN 168

$103 UYU 4,128

-52.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.46 PEN 91.0

$56.1 UYU 2,251

-52.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.0 PEN 234

$124 UYU 4,993

-45.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.3 PEN 197

$130 UYU 5,207

-55.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$354 PEN 1,217

$705 UYU 28.3K

-49.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$236 PEN 812

$575 UYU 23.1K

-58.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$714 PEN 2,458

$1,139 UYU 45.7K

-37.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 PEN 1,436

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

-58.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,991 PEN 6,847

$3,349 UYU 134.4K

-40.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$974 PEN 3,351

$1,942 UYU 78.0K

-49.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$617 PEN 2,122

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-49.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

161.32%

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

Last update for Arequipa: October 5, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arequipa

$236 33.3%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 144% $339

Groceries & Markets

Arequipa

$174 24.6%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 91% $158

Eating Out

Arequipa

$98 13.8%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 177% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Arequipa

$90 12.7%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 106% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arequipa

$57 8.1%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 346% $198

Sport & Entertainment

Arequipa

$40 5.6%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 97.6% $39

Getting Around

Arequipa

$13 * 1.8%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 545% $71

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $354 in Arequipa versus $705 in Montevideo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 99% higher in Montevideo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27.00 in Arequipa versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $174 vs $332 – making Arequipa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Arequipa

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

07:26 7:26 AM

2 h ahead of Arequipa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,062

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.85 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.15 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.99 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Arequipa Montevideo 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Arequipa
Montevideo

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

Arequipa vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo costs about 152% more than Arequipa, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,078 per month in Arequipa and $2,720 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arequipa, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27.00 in Arequipa and $67.0 in Montevideo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 91% more in Montevideo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arequipa, where all-in costs run around $719, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Arequipa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arequipa costs $719 versus $1,813 in Montevideo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Arequipa. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montevideo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.