Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and La Vega

For one person, living is cheaper in La Vega: $712 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in La Vega
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La Vega Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

La Vega

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$712

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in La Vega

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,813 in Montevideo versus $712 in La Vega.

Montevideo $1,813
La Vega $712

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,782 in Montevideo versus $1,144 in La Vega.

Montevideo $2,782
La Vega $1,144

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,750 in Montevideo versus $1,576 in La Vega.

Montevideo $3,750
La Vega $1,576

Living in Montevideo is roughly 155% more expensive than in La Vega, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 35% above, La Vega is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$5.37 DOP 327

184.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,711

$33.49 DOP 2,039

101.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 578

$6.88 DOP 419

108.87%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 187

$0.87 DOP 53.1

433.33%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$0.40 DOP 24.35

582.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 84.0

$0.34 DOP 21.00

514.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$2.46 DOP 150

93.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$3.56 DOP 217

3.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.5

$1.21 DOP 73.9

14.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 112

$1.81 DOP 110

53.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.8

$1.58 DOP 96.1

6.96%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$1.46 DOP 88.7

209.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 570

$6.47 DOP 394

119.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$3.49 DOP 213

245.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 489

$4.66 DOP 284

160.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 116

$3.28 DOP 200

-12.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$1.46 DOP 88.7

88.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.5

$3.37 DOP 205

-48.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$2.15 DOP 131

50.70%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$3.49 DOP 213

-40.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$2.94 DOP 179

-29.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$0.40 DOP 24.48

245.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.5

$1.58 DOP 96.4

17.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$4.88 DOP 297

14.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$16.71 DOP 1,017

-46.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.2

$2.93 DOP 178

-21.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 109

$3.52 DOP 214

-23.30%

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

$1.94 DOP 118

-6.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

$3.36 DOP 204

-88.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 429

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.2

$1.39 DOP 84.4

59.71%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$18.4K DOP 1.1M

45.26%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$15.8K DOP 959.5K

133.10%

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

$191 UYU 7,674

$97.1 DOP 5,911

96.52%

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

$20.40 UYU 820

$20.00 DOP 1,218

2.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,775

$33.86 DOP 2,061

30.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

$4.83 DOP 294

155.28%

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

$152 DOP 9,247

303.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

$5,492 DOP 334.3K

101.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,134

$26.90 DOP 1,637

282.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,255

$46.25 DOP 2,815

21.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 5,000

$63.1 DOP 3,840

97.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,214

$67.0 DOP 4,079

93.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.4K

$134 DOP 8,153

426.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

$99.1 DOP 6,034

480.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

$416 DOP 25.3K

173.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

$261 DOP 15.9K

289.66%

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

-47.82%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for La Vega: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

La Vega

$99 14.1% 82.8% $476

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

La Vega

$235 33.5% 29.4% $98

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

La Vega

$96 13.8% 64.4% $175

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

La Vega

$151 21.5% 40.9% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

La Vega

$91 13% 50.8% $94

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

La Vega

$19 * 2.7% 77.6% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

La Vega

$9.7 * 1.4% 87.7% $69

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $705 in Montevideo and $134 in La Vega. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67.0 in Montevideo vs $33.00 in La Vega for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $235 per month, with La Vega cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇩🇴 La Vega

🕒 Local time

07:17 7:17 AM

06:17 6:17 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

220,279

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, 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).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 60.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.21 DOP (100 DOP = 1.47 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montevideo La Vega 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
La Vega

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 La Vega: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo and La Vega differ by about 155% in total monthly costs ($1,813 vs $712 including rent). La Vega 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 $1,069 in La Vega 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $705 in Montevideo versus $134 in La Vega. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $613 in Montevideo versus $152 in La Vega. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in La Vega – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $67.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $712 in La Vega versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $2,000 budget is realistic in La Vega but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes La Vega 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 La Vega 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 La Vega gentler on the wallet – expenses run 155% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.