Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,300 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Arima
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Arima Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Arima

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 Arima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,813 per month in Montevideo vs $1,300 in Arima, rent included.

Montevideo $1,813
Arima $1,300

A couple spends around $2,782 per month in Montevideo vs $2,187 in Arima, rent included.

Montevideo $2,782
Arima $2,187

A family of three spends $3,750 per month in Montevideo vs $3,075 in Arima, rent included.

Montevideo $3,750
Arima $3,075

Montevideo costs about 40% more than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montevideo sits 35% above the global median, while Arima is 3% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$10.39 TTD 70.1

46.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,711

$74.9 TTD 506

-9.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 578

$9.08 TTD 61.3

58.26%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 187

$3.75 TTD 25.33

23.73%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$1.04 TTD 7.01

162.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 84.0

$0.71 TTD 4.82

194.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$1.89 TTD 12.74

151.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$2.98 TTD 20.12

23.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.5

$2.46 TTD 16.62

-43.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 112

$2.38 TTD 16.08

16.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.8

$2.92 TTD 19.71

-42.12%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$4.41 TTD 29.79

2.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 570

$6.60 TTD 44.54

114.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$6.60 TTD 44.58

82.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 489

$9.03 TTD 60.9

34.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 116

$5.57 TTD 37.59

-48.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$2.26 TTD 15.23

21.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.5

$3.68 TTD 24.82

-52.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$4.83 TTD 32.61

-32.92%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.32 TTD 8.90

56.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$0.96 TTD 6.45

115.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$1.40 TTD 9.46

-1.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.5

$0.94 TTD 6.38

96.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$4.62 TTD 31.20

20.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$19.38 TTD 131

-54.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.2

$1.91 TTD 12.89

19.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 109

$3.01 TTD 20.30

-10.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 UYU 61.3

$1.06 TTD 7.16

43.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,962

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 UYU 73.4

$0.71 TTD 4.76

156.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

$0.70 TTD 4.76

-42.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 429

$14.52 TTD 98.0

-26.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.2

$1.15 TTD 7.78

93.04%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$27.2K TTD 183.9K

-1.80%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$36.4K TTD 245.7K

0.97%

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

$191 UYU 7,674

$89.6 TTD 605

112.94%

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

$20.40 UYU 820

$44.50 TTD 300

-54.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,775

$56.0 TTD 378

-21.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

$52.5 TTD 354

3.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

$8.63 TTD 58.2

42.87%

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

$177 TTD 1,198

245.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

$11.0K TTD 74.5K

0.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,134

$63.3 TTD 428

62.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,255

$44.48 TTD 300

26.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 5,000

$148 TTD 997

-15.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,214

$73.3 TTD 495

76.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.4K

$522 TTD 3,521

35.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

$364 TTD 2,456

58.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

$1,043 TTD 7,044

9.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

$887 TTD 5,989

14.50%

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

$1,209 TTD 8,159

1.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

5.75

-0.17%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Arima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Arima

$364 28.6% 36.8% $212

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Arima

$315 24.8% 5.2% $17

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Arima

$178 14% 34.5% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Arima

$190 14.9% 25.6% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Arima

$148 11.6% 20.4% $38

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Arima

$8.5 * 0.7% 89.9% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Arima

$70 5.5% 11.5% $9.1

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $705 in Montevideo versus $522 in Arima. 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 2% 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 $67.0 in Montevideo versus $75.0 in Arima. Groceries tell a different story – $332 in Montevideo vs $315 in Arima – so Arima wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

08:59 8:59 AM

07:59 7:59 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

35,000

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1 TTD = 0.148 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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 = 45.06 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.75 TTD (1 TTD = 0.148 USD). 1 EUR = 7.57 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Montevideo Arima 5,090 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Arima

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 Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo costs about 40% more than Arima, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,720 per month in Montevideo and $1,949 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,813 in Montevideo and $1,300 in Arima. That's a gap of about 40%.

Kindergarten costs $613 per month in Montevideo and $177 in Arima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Arima, where all-in costs run around $1,300, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Arima it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Arima costs $1,300 versus $1,813 in Montevideo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 Arima. 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.