Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Esmeraldas and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Esmeraldas: $789 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Esmeraldas
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Esmeraldas Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index

Jump to prices

Esmeraldas

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$789

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $789 in Esmeraldas versus $1,771 in Montevideo.

Esmeraldas $789
Montevideo $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,359 in Esmeraldas versus $2,740 in Montevideo.

Esmeraldas $1,359
Montevideo $2,740

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,929 in Esmeraldas versus $3,708 in Montevideo.

Esmeraldas $1,929
Montevideo $3,708

Living in Esmeraldas costs roughly 55% less than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Esmeraldas is 42% below, Montevideo is 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.05 $3.05

$15.16 UYU 609

-79.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.6 $53.6

$69.2 UYU 2,776

-22.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.96 $3.96

$14.65 UYU 588

-72.97%

Cappuccino

$3.30 $3.30

$4.46 UYU 179

-26.01%

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

$0.52 $0.52

$2.67 UYU 107

-80.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 $0.49

$2.00 UYU 80.4

-75.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.53 $3.53

$4.83 UYU 194

-26.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.87 $5.87

$3.80 UYU 152

54.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.36 UYU 54.8

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 $1.55

$2.87 UYU 115

-45.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.75 UYU 70.2

-13.71%

Eggs

$2.18 $2.18

$4.68 UYU 188

-53.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.38 $6.38

$13.88 UYU 557

-54.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.75 $5.75

$11.98 UYU 481

-52.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.94 $7.94

$11.97 UYU 480

-33.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.28 $2.28

$2.78 UYU 111

-17.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 $1.19

$2.74 UYU 110

-56.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 $1.32

$1.77 UYU 71.2

-25.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.08 $1.08

$3.24 UYU 130

-66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 $1.25

$1.97 UYU 79.2

-36.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$2.07 UYU 83.1

-50.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.37 UYU 55.1

-64.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 $1.06

$1.88 UYU 75.3

-43.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 $5.85

$5.59 UYU 224

4.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.89 $9.89

$8.78 UYU 352

12.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 $1.53

$2.26 UYU 90.9

-32.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 $3.20

$2.75 UYU 110

16.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 $0.35

$1.53 UYU 61.5

-77.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.82 $15.82

$74.3 UYU 2,980

-78.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.91 UYU 76.7

-19.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 $1.22

$0.40 UYU 16.18

205.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.81 $9.81

$10.33 UYU 415

-5.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-59.15%

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

$21.1K $21.1K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-22.29%

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

$28.2K $28.2K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-22.36%

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

$28.51 $28.51

$188 UYU 7,557

-84.86%

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

$17.81 $17.81

$20.54 UYU 824

-13.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.81 $28.81

$44.81 UYU 1,798

-35.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.46 $30.46

$54.0 UYU 2,166

-43.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.98 $16.98

$19.75 UYU 793

-14.03%

Cinema Ticket

$6.53 $6.53

$11.95 UYU 480

-45.36%

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

$228 $228

$634 UYU 25.5K

-64.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,109 $9,109

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

-17.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 $69.9

$102 UYU 4,099

-31.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.87 $49.87

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-13.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$127 UYU 5,079

-7.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$128 UYU 5,131

-16.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$297 $297

$719 UYU 28.8K

-58.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 $186

$568 UYU 22.8K

-67.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$622 $622

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

-45.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 $416

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

-59.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,353 $1,353

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

-60.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$706 $706

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

-63.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 $451

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

-63.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

5.74

76.31%

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

Last update for Esmeraldas: October 13, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Esmeraldas

$196 24.8%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 69.5% $136

Accommodation & Living

Esmeraldas

$186 23.5%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 206% $382

Clothing & Footwear

Esmeraldas

$154 19.6%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 20.6% $32

Eating Out

Esmeraldas

$109 13.9%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 146% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Esmeraldas

$75 9.5%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 238% $179

Sport & Entertainment

Esmeraldas

$44 5.5%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 78.9% $34

Getting Around

Esmeraldas

$25 3.2%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 239% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $297 in Esmeraldas and $719 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 176% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $54.0 in Esmeraldas vs $69.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $332 per month, with Esmeraldas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Esmeraldas

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

00:25 12:25 AM

2 h ahead of Esmeraldas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,216

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Esmeraldas Montevideo 4,680 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Esmeraldas
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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

Esmeraldas vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Esmeraldas is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 125% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 176% lower in Montevideo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $297 in Esmeraldas versus $719 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Montevideo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Esmeraldas – a meal for two runs $54.0 versus $69.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $789 in Esmeraldas versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Esmeraldas but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Esmeraldas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Esmeraldas is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Montevideo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Esmeraldas and Montevideo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Esmeraldas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.