Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Arouca

For one person, living is cheaper in Arouca: $780 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Arouca
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Arouca Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Arouca

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$780

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Arouca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,813 in Montevideo versus $780 in Arouca.

Montevideo $1,813
Arouca $780

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,782 in Montevideo versus $1,326 in Arouca.

Montevideo $2,782
Arouca $1,326

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,750 in Montevideo versus $1,873 in Arouca.

Montevideo $3,750
Arouca $1,873

Living in Montevideo is roughly 132% more expensive than in Arouca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 35% above, Arouca is 42% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$10.50 TTD 70.9

45.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,711

$59.7 TTD 403

12.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 578

$8.05 TTD 54.3

78.51%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 187

$3.63 TTD 24.54

27.82%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$1.00 TTD 6.73

173.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 84.0

$0.72 TTD 4.89

190.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$1.80 TTD 12.13

163.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$2.56 TTD 17.26

43.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.5

$2.05 TTD 13.84

-32.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 112

$2.26 TTD 15.23

22.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.8

$2.88 TTD 19.45

-41.32%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$3.82 TTD 25.76

18.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 570

$6.79 TTD 45.84

108.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$10.05 TTD 67.9

20.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 489

$8.83 TTD 59.6

37.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 116

$5.62 TTD 37.91

-48.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$2.45 TTD 16.51

12.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.5

$3.65 TTD 24.65

-52.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$4.21 TTD 28.39

-23.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$0.71 TTD 4.78

191.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$0.75 TTD 5.09

176.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$1.51 TTD 10.17

-8.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.5

$1.17 TTD 7.89

58.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$5.73 TTD 38.72

-2.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$17.44 TTD 118

-49.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.2

$1.50 TTD 10.16

52.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 109

$3.01 TTD 20.32

-10.30%

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

$0.93 TTD 6.26

95.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

$0.90 TTD 6.09

-55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 429

$15.02 TTD 101

-29.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.2

$1.11 TTD 7.52

100.00%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$36.2K TTD 244.4K

-26.12%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$41.2K TTD 278.5K

-10.91%

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

$191 UYU 7,674

$43.48 TTD 294

338.91%

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

$20.40 UYU 820

$42.44 TTD 287

-51.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,775

$46.29 TTD 312

-4.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

$8.99 TTD 60.7

37.15%

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

$406 TTD 2,740

51.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

$10.6K TTD 71.7K

4.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,134

$55.6 TTD 375

84.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,255

$36.56 TTD 247

53.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 5,000

$88.3 TTD 596

40.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,214

$88.3 TTD 596

46.83%

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

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 Arouca: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Arouca

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Arouca

$317 41.4% 4.5% $15

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Arouca

$173 22.5% 36.3% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Arouca

$132 17.2% 48.2% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Arouca

$121 15.8% 34.9% $65

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Arouca

$5.4 * 0.7% 93.5% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Arouca

$18 * 2.4% 77.2% $61

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 $60.0 in Arouca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $317 per month, with Arouca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇹🇹 Arouca

🕒 Local time

03:19 3:19 AM

02:19 2:19 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

12,054

💱 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 = 45.1 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 Arouca 5,090 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Arouca

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 Arouca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo and Arouca differ by about 132% in total monthly costs ($1,813 vs $780 including rent). Arouca 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 $1,171 in Arouca 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 $406 in Arouca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Arouca – a meal for two runs $60.0 versus $67.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $780 in Arouca versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Arouca but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Arouca 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 Arouca 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 Arouca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 132% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.