Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Higuey and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $912 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
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Higuey Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$912

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $912 in Higuey versus $1,771 in Montevideo.

Higuey $912
Montevideo $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,495 in Higuey versus $2,784 in Montevideo.

Higuey $1,495
Montevideo $2,784

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,078 in Higuey versus $3,797 in Montevideo.

Higuey $2,078
Montevideo $3,797

Living in Higuey costs roughly 48% less than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Higuey is 33% below, Montevideo is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.75 DOP 597

$15.63 UYU 629

-37.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.0 DOP 3,064

$69.9 UYU 2,812

-28.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 DOP 457

$14.51 UYU 584

-48.59%

Cappuccino

$1.99 DOP 122

$4.43 UYU 178

-55.08%

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

$1.04 DOP 63.9

$2.49 UYU 100

-58.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 DOP 31.17

$1.95 UYU 78.5

-73.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.51 DOP 154

$4.78 UYU 192

-47.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 DOP 194

$3.67 UYU 148

-13.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 DOP 73.1

$1.26 UYU 50.6

-5.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 DOP 96.2

$2.98 UYU 120

-47.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 DOP 82.8

$1.74 UYU 70.1

-22.41%

Eggs

$1.95 DOP 119

$4.80 UYU 193

-59.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 DOP 447

$14.06 UYU 565

-48.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.29 DOP 324

$11.35 UYU 457

-53.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.56 DOP 402

$12.16 UYU 489

-46.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 DOP 183

$2.74 UYU 110

9.49%

Banana (1kg)

$0.70 DOP 43.08

$2.83 UYU 114

-75.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 DOP 89.1

$1.63 UYU 65.4

-10.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 DOP 79.0

$3.18 UYU 128

-59.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 DOP 71.0

$2.02 UYU 81.1

-42.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 DOP 68.2

$2.13 UYU 85.5

-47.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 DOP 36.00

$1.39 UYU 56.0

-57.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 DOP 28.95

$1.94 UYU 78.2

-75.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.38 DOP 330

$5.34 UYU 215

0.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.11 DOP 619

$8.31 UYU 334

21.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 DOP 148

$2.35 UYU 94.3

2.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 DOP 176

$2.80 UYU 113

2.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 DOP 49.35

$1.55 UYU 62.4

-47.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.72 DOP 3,045

$74.9 UYU 3,013

-33.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 DOP 203

$1.91 UYU 76.9

73.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.26 DOP 139

$0.41 UYU 16.55

451.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 DOP 358

$10.38 UYU 417

-43.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 DOP 83.5

$2.23 UYU 89.5

-39.01%

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

$24.8K DOP 1.5M

$26.5K UYU 1.1M

-6.57%

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

$30.7K DOP 1.9M

$35.9K UYU 1.4M

-14.34%

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

$90.5 DOP 5,540

$184 UYU 7,392

-50.78%

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

$16.40 DOP 1,004

$20.15 UYU 810

-18.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.65 DOP 2,000

$43.24 UYU 1,739

-24.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.74 DOP 1,515

$48.47 UYU 1,949

-48.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$65.4 DOP 4,003

$19.71 UYU 792

231.66%

Cinema Ticket

$7.38 DOP 452

$12.11 UYU 487

-39.06%

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

$98.6 DOP 6,039

$636 UYU 25.6K

-84.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,173 DOP 133.1K

$11.0K UYU 442.1K

-80.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.71 DOP 2,738

$101 UYU 4,050

-55.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.17 DOP 2,766

$56.9 UYU 2,289

-20.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.2 DOP 5,279

$123 UYU 4,937

-29.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 DOP 4,873

$130 UYU 5,241

-38.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$289 DOP 17.7K

$747 UYU 30.0K

-61.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 DOP 12.8K

$581 UYU 23.3K

-63.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$566 DOP 34.6K

$1,284 UYU 51.6K

-55.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 DOP 24.6K

$1,125 UYU 45.2K

-64.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,809 DOP 110.8K

$3,653 UYU 146.9K

-50.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,240 DOP 75.9K

$2,029 UYU 81.6K

-38.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$434 DOP 26.6K

$1,284 UYU 51.6K

-66.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

5.65

103.54%

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

Last update for Higuey: October 24, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Higuey

$209 22.9%

Montevideo

$581 32.8% 178% $371

Groceries & Markets

Higuey

$192 21.1%

Montevideo

$330 18.6% 71.9% $138

Eating Out

Higuey

$149 16.4%

Montevideo

$271 15.3% 81.3% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Higuey

$140 15.3%

Montevideo

$247 14% 77.2% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Higuey

$115 12.6%

Montevideo

$185 10.4% 60.7% $70

Getting Around

Higuey

$68 7.4%

Montevideo

$85 4.8% 26% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Higuey

$40 4.3%

Montevideo

$73 4.1% 84% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $289 in Higuey and $747 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays about 3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $50 in Higuey vs $70 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $330 per month, with Higuey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Higuey

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

15:17 3:17 PM

16:17 4:17 PM

1 h ahead of Higuey

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

123,787

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.23 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 61.24 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.17 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 44.77 UYU (100 UYU = 2.23 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Higuey Montevideo 6,100 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Higuey
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

Higuey vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Higuey is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 94% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Higuey. 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: $289 in Higuey versus $747 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $912 per month in Higuey versus $1,771 in Montevideo – a 94% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Higuey runs roughly 34% less than in Montevideo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Higuey 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 Higuey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.