Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arima and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,300 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Arima
🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago
$1,300
/mo nomad
Montevideo
🇺🇾 Uruguay
$1,813
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arima 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 Arima and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,300 per month in Arima vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • Arima $1,300
  • Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $2,187 per month in Arima vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • Arima $2,187
  • Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $3,075 per month in Arima vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

  • Arima $3,075
  • Montevideo $3,750

Arima is about 28% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Arima sits 3% below the global median, while Montevideo is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.39 TTD 70.1
$15.26 UYU 613
-31.91%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$74.9 TTD 506
$67.4 UYU 2,711
11.05%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.08 TTD 61.3
$14.37 UYU 578
-36.81%
Cappuccino
$3.75 TTD 25.33
$4.64 UYU 187
-19.18%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.04 TTD 7.01
$2.73 UYU 110
-61.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.71 TTD 4.82
$2.09 UYU 84.0
-66.03%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.89 TTD 12.74
$4.75 UYU 191
-60.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.98 TTD 20.12
$3.67 UYU 147
-18.80%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.46 TTD 16.62
$1.38 UYU 55.5
78.26%
White Bread (500g)
$2.38 TTD 16.08
$2.77 UYU 112
-14.08%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.92 TTD 19.71
$1.69 UYU 67.8
72.78%
Eggs
$4.41 TTD 29.79
$4.52 UYU 182
-2.43%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.60 TTD 44.54
$14.17 UYU 570
-53.42%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.60 TTD 44.58
$12.07 UYU 485
-45.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.03 TTD 60.9
$12.16 UYU 489
-25.74%
Apples (1kg)
$5.57 TTD 37.59
$2.87 UYU 116
94.08%
Banana (1kg)
$2.26 TTD 15.23
$2.75 UYU 110
-17.82%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.68 TTD 24.82
$1.73 UYU 69.5
112.72%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.83 TTD 32.61
$3.24 UYU 130
49.07%
Potato (1kg)
$1.32 TTD 8.90
$2.07 UYU 83.1
-36.23%
Onion (1kg)
$0.96 TTD 6.45
$2.07 UYU 83.1
-53.62%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.40 TTD 9.46
$1.38 UYU 55.4
1.45%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.94 TTD 6.38
$1.85 UYU 74.5
-49.19%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.62 TTD 31.20
$5.57 UYU 224
-17.06%
Wine (Bottle)
$19.38 TTD 131
$8.89 UYU 357
118.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.91 TTD 12.89
$2.29 UYU 92.2
-16.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.01 TTD 20.30
$2.70 UYU 109
11.48%
🚌 Getting Around
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.06 TTD 7.16
$1.52 UYU 61.3
-30.26%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$73.7 UYU 2,962
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.71 TTD 4.76
$1.82 UYU 73.4
-60.99%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.70 TTD 4.76
$0.40 UYU 16.05
75.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$14.52 TTD 98.0
$10.66 UYU 429
36.21%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.15 TTD 7.78
$2.22 UYU 89.2
-48.20%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.2K TTD 183.9K
$26.7K UYU 1.1M
1.83%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$36.4K TTD 245.7K
$36.7K UYU 1.5M
-0.96%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$89.6 TTD 605
$191 UYU 7,674
-53.04%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$44.50 TTD 300
$20.40 UYU 820
118.14%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$56.0 TTD 378
$44.14 UYU 1,775
26.87%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$52.5 TTD 354
$54.1 UYU 2,177
-3.07%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$19.68 UYU 791
-
Cinema Ticket
$8.63 TTD 58.2
$12.33 UYU 496
-30.01%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$177 TTD 1,198
$613 UYU 24.7K
-71.05%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.0K TTD 74.5K
$11.0K UYU 444.3K
-0.08%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$63.3 TTD 428
$103 UYU 4,134
-38.40%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.48 TTD 300
$56.1 UYU 2,255
-20.67%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$148 TTD 997
$124 UYU 5,000
18.78%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$73.3 TTD 495
$130 UYU 5,214
-43.49%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$522 TTD 3,521
$705 UYU 28.4K
-26.04%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$364 TTD 2,456
$575 UYU 23.1K
-36.77%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,043 TTD 7,044
$1,139 UYU 45.8K
-8.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$887 TTD 5,989
$1,016 UYU 40.8K
-12.66%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$3,349 UYU 134.6K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,942 UYU 78.1K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Arima
Montevideo
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,209 TTD 8,159
$1,229 UYU 49.4K
-1.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.75
5.74
0.17%

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

Last update for Arima: October 4, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Arima
$364
Montevideo
$575 58.2% $212
Groceries & Markets
Arima
$315
Montevideo
$332 5.5% $17
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Arima
$190
Montevideo
$255 34.3% $65
Eating Out
Arima
$178
Montevideo
$271 52.6% $93
Clothing & Footwear
Arima
$148
Montevideo
$186 25.6% $38
Sport & Entertainment
Arima
$70
Montevideo
$79 13% $9.1
Getting Around
Arima
$8.5 *
Montevideo
$84 887% $75

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $522 in Arima 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 2% 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 $75.0 in Arima versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Groceries tell a different story – $315 in Arima vs $332 in Montevideo – so Arima wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇹🇹 Arima
🇺🇾 Montevideo
🕒 Local time
23:02 11:02 PM
00:02 12:02 AM
1 h ahead of Arima
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
35,000
1,319,108 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.75 TTD (1 TTD = 0.148 USD). 1 EUR = 7.57 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.1 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Arima Montevideo 5,090 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Arima
  • 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
Arima vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Arima or Montevideo?
Montevideo costs about 40% more than Arima, 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.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Arima and in Montevideo?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,949 per month in Arima and $2,720 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Arima or Montevideo?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How much does it cost to live in Arima compared to Montevideo?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,300 in Arima and $1,813 in Montevideo. That's a gap of about 40%.
How do childcare costs compare in Arima and in Montevideo?
Kindergarten costs $177 per month in Arima and $613 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Arima or in Montevideo?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arima, where all-in costs run around $1,300, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Arima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Arima or Montevideo?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arima costs $1,300 versus $1,813 in Montevideo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
How safe is Arima compared to Montevideo?
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.
Should I move to Arima or to Montevideo?
If budget matters most, go with Arima. 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.

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