Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caracas and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,312 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
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Caracas Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,312

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,312 per month in Caracas vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

Caracas $1,312
Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $2,236 per month in Caracas vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

Caracas $2,236
Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $3,160 per month in Caracas vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

Caracas $3,160
Montevideo $3,750

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

Caracas sits 2% below the global median, while Montevideo is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.63 VES 9,293

$15.26 UYU 613

-30.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 VES 59.6K

$67.4 UYU 2,711

1.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.99 VES 9,611

$14.37 UYU 578

-23.52%

Cappuccino

$3.73 VES 3,266

$4.64 UYU 187

-19.61%

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

$1.54 VES 1,349

$2.73 UYU 110

-43.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 VES 1,122

$2.09 UYU 84.0

-38.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 VES 1,796

$4.75 UYU 191

-56.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 VES 2,546

$3.67 UYU 147

-20.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 VES 2,413

$1.38 UYU 55.5

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 VES 2,030

$2.77 UYU 112

-16.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 VES 1,655

$1.69 UYU 67.8

11.83%

Eggs

$4.82 VES 4,219

$4.52 UYU 182

6.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.18 VES 8,900

$14.17 UYU 570

-28.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.44 VES 8,260

$12.07 UYU 485

-21.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.51 VES 10.1K

$12.16 UYU 489

-5.35%

Apples (1kg)

$7.23 VES 6,322

$2.87 UYU 116

151.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 VES 1,713

$2.75 UYU 110

-28.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 VES 1,864

$1.73 UYU 69.5

23.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 VES 2,070

$3.24 UYU 130

-26.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 VES 1,956

$2.07 UYU 83.1

8.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 VES 1,957

$2.07 UYU 83.1

8.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 VES 1,411

$1.38 UYU 55.4

16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 VES 2,104

$1.85 UYU 74.5

30.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.57 VES 3,994

$5.57 UYU 224

-17.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.02 VES 10.5K

$8.89 UYU 357

35.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 VES 1,196

$2.29 UYU 92.2

-40.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 VES 1,896

$2.70 UYU 109

-19.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 VES 449

$1.52 UYU 61.3

-66.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.63 VES 25.9K

$73.7 UYU 2,962

-59.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 VES 4,271

$1.82 UYU 73.4

168.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 VES 2,346

$0.40 UYU 16.05

570.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.17 VES 13.3K

$10.66 UYU 429

42.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 VES 754

$2.22 UYU 89.2

-61.26%

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

$25.1K VES 22.0M

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

-5.99%

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

$38.6K VES 33.8M

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

5.16%

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

$22.07 VES 19.3K

$191 UYU 7,674

-88.44%

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

$11.81 VES 10.3K

$20.40 UYU 820

-42.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.64 VES 33.8K

$44.14 UYU 1,775

-12.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.8 VES 58.5K

$54.1 UYU 2,177

23.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.23 VES 15.1K

$19.68 UYU 791

-12.45%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 VES 5,666

$12.33 UYU 496

-47.45%

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

$159 VES 139.5K

$613 UYU 24.7K

-73.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,138 VES 5.4M

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

-44.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 VES 68.0K

$103 UYU 4,134

-24.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 VES 44.2K

$56.1 UYU 2,255

-9.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 VES 119.2K

$124 UYU 5,000

9.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 VES 119.2K

$130 UYU 5,214

5.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 VES 541.0K

$705 UYU 28.4K

-12.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 VES 365.3K

$575 UYU 23.1K

-27.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 VES 966.9K

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

-2.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$887 VES 775.5K

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

-12.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,458 VES 1.3M

$3,349 UYU 134.6K

-56.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$690 VES 603.7K

$1,942 UYU 78.1K

-64.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$304 VES 265.6K

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-75.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

283.28%

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

Last update for Caracas: October 3, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caracas

$418 31.4%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 37.8% $158

Groceries & Markets

Caracas

$340 25.6%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 2.2% $7.5

Eating Out

Caracas

$190 14.3%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 42.6% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Caracas

$180 13.6%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 3% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Caracas

$80 6%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 1.2% $1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caracas

$73 5.5%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 252% $183

Getting Around

Caracas

$50 3.8%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 67.2% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $619 in Caracas 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 305% 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 $68.0 in Caracas versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $340 vs $332 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Caracas

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

03:26 3:26 AM

04:26 4:26 AM

1 h ahead of Caracas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,274,000 Capital

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 875 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 981 VES (1,000 VES = 1.02 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).

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Caracas Montevideo 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Caracas
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

Caracas vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,968 per month in Caracas 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 Caracas, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 149% less in Caracas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $159 per month in Caracas and $613 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Caracas, where all-in costs run around $1,312, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Caracas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Caracas – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Caracas. 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.