Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Carenage

For one person, living is cheaper in Carenage: $767 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 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 Carenage
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Carenage Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Carenage

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$767

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Carenage

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $767 in Carenage, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
Carenage $767

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $1,315 in Carenage, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
Carenage $1,315

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $1,862 in Carenage, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
Carenage $1,862

Montevideo costs about 131% more than Carenage, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montevideo sits 31% above the global median, while Carenage is 43% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$10.35 TTD 69.6

46.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$58.7 TTD 395

17.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$8.01 TTD 53.9

82.90%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$3.62 TTD 24.33

23.20%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.04 TTD 6.98

156.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$0.71 TTD 4.80

181.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$1.81 TTD 12.17

166.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$2.64 TTD 17.75

43.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$2.06 TTD 13.82

-33.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.35 TTD 15.81

22.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$2.93 TTD 19.68

-40.27%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$3.93 TTD 26.42

19.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$6.80 TTD 45.75

104.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$10.07 TTD 67.8

18.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$9.05 TTD 60.9

32.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$5.51 TTD 37.06

-49.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$2.49 TTD 16.74

10.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$3.72 TTD 25.01

-52.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$4.21 TTD 28.32

-23.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$0.77 TTD 5.16

155.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$0.75 TTD 5.07

176.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.51 TTD 10.13

-9.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$1.15 TTD 7.72

63.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$5.46 TTD 36.73

2.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$18.06 TTD 121

-51.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$1.49 TTD 10.02

51.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$2.95 TTD 19.82

-6.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$0.86 TTD 5.81

122.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$0.92 TTD 6.20

-56.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$14.51 TTD 97.6

-28.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.12 TTD 7.53

90.18%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$36.7K TTD 247.2K

-26.23%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$41.4K TTD 278.6K

-12.42%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$44.71 TTD 301

321.16%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$41.69 TTD 280

-50.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$44.90 TTD 302

-0.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$8.73 TTD 58.7

36.88%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$399 TTD 2,687

58.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$10.7K TTD 72.1K

3.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$55.6 TTD 374

83.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$37.01 TTD 249

55.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$88.4 TTD 594

43.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$87.6 TTD 589

45.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

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 12, 2026

Last update for Carenage: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Carenage

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Carenage

$321 41.8% 3.2% $11

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Carenage

$172 22.4% 36.3% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Carenage

$131 17.1% 48.2% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Carenage

$121 15.7% 35.2% $66

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Carenage

$5.5 * 0.7% 93.5% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Carenage

$17 * 2.3% 77.6% $60

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo versus $59.0 in Carenage. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $321 – making Carenage the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇹🇹 Carenage

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

04:27 4:27 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

25,370

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montevideo Carenage 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Carenage

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 Carenage: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 131%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,656 per month in Montevideo and $1,151 in Carenage. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo and $59.0 in Carenage. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 3% more in Montevideo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Carenage, where all-in costs run around $767, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Carenage it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Carenage – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Carenage. 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.