Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Alexandria

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $1,044 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Alexandria

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,044

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Alexandria

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Montevideo and in Alexandria actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,813 in Montevideo versus $1,044 in Alexandria.

Montevideo $1,813
Alexandria $1,044

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,782 in Montevideo versus $1,704 in Alexandria.

Montevideo $2,782
Alexandria $1,704

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,750 in Montevideo versus $2,364 in Alexandria.

Montevideo $3,750
Alexandria $2,364

Living in Montevideo is roughly 74% more expensive than in Alexandria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 35% above, Alexandria is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$15.61 JMD 2,466

-2.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,711

$76.6 JMD 12.1K

-11.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 578

$8.75 JMD 1,381

64.23%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 187

$5.28 JMD 834

-12.12%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$1.16 JMD 184

135.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 84.0

$0.68 JMD 107

207.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$2.27 JMD 359

109.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$3.21 JMD 508

14.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.5

$4.09 JMD 646

-66.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 112

$3.86 JMD 610

-28.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.8

$1.59 JMD 250

6.29%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$3.53 JMD 557

28.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 570

$11.57 JMD 1,826

22.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$6.39 JMD 1,009

88.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 489

$10.30 JMD 1,626

18.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 116

$6.22 JMD 983

-53.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.93 JMD 621

-30.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.5

$7.47 JMD 1,180

-76.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$3.01 JMD 475

7.64%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$3.33 JMD 525

-37.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$2.59 JMD 409

-20.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$3.12 JMD 492

-55.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.5

$1.47 JMD 232

25.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$9.74 JMD 1,538

-42.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$11.57 JMD 1,827

-23.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.2

$2.90 JMD 458

-21.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 109

$4.07 JMD 643

-33.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 UYU 61.3

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,962

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 UYU 73.4

$1.17 JMD 185

55.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

$3.13 JMD 494

-87.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 429

$6.42 JMD 1,013

66.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.2

$1.42 JMD 224

56.34%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$44.9K JMD 7.1M

-40.43%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$32.9K JMD 5.2M

11.58%

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

$191 UYU 7,674

$174 JMD 27.5K

9.54%

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

$20.40 UYU 820

$30.04 JMD 4,744

-32.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,775

$53.0 JMD 8,365

-16.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

$13.14 JMD 2,074

-6.16%

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

$359 JMD 56.7K

70.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

$8,225 JMD 1.3M

34.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,134

$23.28 JMD 3,676

341.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,255

$31.50 JMD 4,974

78.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 5,000

$77.3 JMD 12.2K

60.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,214

$102 JMD 16.1K

26.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,349 UYU 134.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,942 UYU 78.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

9.45

-39.26%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Alexandria: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Alexandria

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Alexandria

$388 37.6% 16.8% $56

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Alexandria

$240 23.2% 11.6% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Alexandria

$257 24.9% 0.7% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Alexandria

$105 10.2% 43.3% $80

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Alexandria

$17 * 1.6% 79.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Alexandria

$26 * 2.5% 66.7% $53

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $67.0 in Montevideo vs $77.0 in Alexandria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $388 per month, with Montevideo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇯🇲 Alexandria

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

03:41 3:41 AM

2 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

1,927

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

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).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.65 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montevideo Alexandria 6,330 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Alexandria

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

Montevideo vs Alexandria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo and Alexandria differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,813 vs $1,044 including rent). Alexandria is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,720 in Montevideo and $1,567 in Alexandria to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $613 in Montevideo versus $359 in Alexandria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Alexandria – a meal for two runs $77.0 versus $67.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,044 in Alexandria versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alexandria but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Alexandria the clear choice for anyone on this 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, Montevideo and Alexandria 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 Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.