Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Kingston: $1,668 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index

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Kingston

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,668

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,813 in Montevideo.

Kingston $1,668
Montevideo $1,813

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,779 in Kingston versus $2,782 in Montevideo.

Kingston $2,779
Montevideo $2,782

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,890 in Kingston versus $3,750 in Montevideo.

Kingston $3,890
Montevideo $3,750

Living in Kingston costs roughly 8% less than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston 24% above, Montevideo 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.57 JMD 2,150

$15.26 UYU 613

-11.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.2 JMD 11.8K

$67.4 UYU 2,707

10.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 JMD 1,261

$14.37 UYU 577

-44.68%

Cappuccino

$5.47 JMD 866

$4.64 UYU 186

17.89%

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

$1.14 JMD 180

$2.73 UYU 110

-58.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 JMD 118

$2.09 UYU 83.9

-64.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 JMD 358

$4.75 UYU 191

-52.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 JMD 496

$3.67 UYU 147

-14.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$4.12 JMD 654

$1.38 UYU 55.4

198.55%

White Bread (500g)

$3.79 JMD 600

$2.77 UYU 111

36.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 JMD 251

$1.69 UYU 67.7

-5.92%

Eggs

$3.56 JMD 564

$4.52 UYU 182

-21.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 JMD 1,778

$14.17 UYU 569

-20.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 JMD 1,026

$12.07 UYU 485

-46.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 JMD 1,620

$12.16 UYU 488

-15.95%

Apples (1kg)

$5.89 JMD 933

$2.87 UYU 115

105.23%

Banana (1kg)

$3.90 JMD 619

$2.75 UYU 110

41.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.34 JMD 1,163

$1.73 UYU 69.4

324.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.06 JMD 485

$3.24 UYU 130

-5.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.23 JMD 511

$2.07 UYU 83.0

56.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.67 JMD 423

$2.07 UYU 83.0

28.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.05 JMD 483

$1.38 UYU 55.4

121.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 JMD 240

$1.85 UYU 74.4

-18.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.51 JMD 1,507

$5.57 UYU 224

70.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 JMD 1,793

$8.89 UYU 357

27.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.82 JMD 447

$2.29 UYU 92.1

23.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 JMD 649

$2.70 UYU 108

51.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 JMD 123

$1.52 UYU 61.2

-48.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.32 JMD 5,914

$73.7 UYU 2,958

-49.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 JMD 196

$1.82 UYU 73.3

-31.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.18 JMD 504

$0.40 UYU 16.02

695.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 JMD 1,023

$10.66 UYU 428

-39.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 JMD 225

$2.22 UYU 89.0

-36.04%

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

$44.7K JMD 7.1M

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

66.99%

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

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

-10.55%

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

$169 JMD 26.7K

$191 UYU 7,662

-11.62%

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

$29.11 JMD 4,613

$20.40 UYU 819

42.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.9 JMD 8,390

$44.14 UYU 1,772

19.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.5 JMD 9,904

$54.1 UYU 2,174

15.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.63 JMD 2,793

$19.68 UYU 790

-10.42%

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 JMD 2,104

$12.33 UYU 495

7.70%

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

$357 JMD 56.6K

$613 UYU 24.6K

-41.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,163 JMD 1.3M

$11.0K UYU 443.6K

-26.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.85 JMD 3,780

$103 UYU 4,128

-76.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.37 JMD 4,971

$56.1 UYU 2,251

-44.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.0 JMD 12.4K

$124 UYU 4,993

-37.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 JMD 16.1K

$130 UYU 5,207

-21.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 JMD 151.6K

$705 UYU 28.3K

35.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$576 JMD 91.3K

$575 UYU 23.1K

0.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,139 JMD 338.9K

$1,139 UYU 45.7K

87.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 JMD 220.5K

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

36.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,892 JMD 458.2K

$3,349 UYU 134.4K

-13.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,080 JMD 329.6K

$1,942 UYU 78.0K

7.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$733 JMD 116.1K

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-40.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.74

64.63%

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

Last update for Kingston: 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

Kingston

$576 34.2%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 0.2% $1

Groceries & Markets

Kingston

$384 22.8%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 13.5% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston

$251 14.9%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 1.9% $4.7

Eating Out

Kingston

$223 13.2%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 21.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston

$106 6.3%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 75.8% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston

$89 5.3%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 11.5% $10

Getting Around

Kingston

$58 3.4%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 45.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Kingston and $705 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 68% 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: $74.0 in Kingston vs $67.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $384 vs $332 per month, with Montevideo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Kingston

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

22:46 10:46 PM

00:46 12:46 AM

2 h ahead of Kingston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

660,000 Capital

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.31 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.15 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.03 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kingston Montevideo 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston
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

Kingston vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Montevideo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kingston the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 68% 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: $957 in Kingston versus $705 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $357 in Kingston versus $613 in Montevideo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Montevideo pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,668 in Kingston versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kingston but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Kingston the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kingston delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,668 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kingston hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Kingston 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 Kingston gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.