Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Philipsburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,813 a month against $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 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
148

Cost of Living Index in Philipsburg
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Philipsburg Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Philipsburg

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

A single person spends $1,813 per month in Montevideo vs $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent included.

Montevideo $1,813
Philipsburg $3,149

A couple spends around $2,782 per month in Montevideo vs $6,004 in Philipsburg, rent included.

Montevideo $2,782
Philipsburg $6,004

A family of three spends $3,750 per month in Montevideo vs $8,859 in Philipsburg, rent included.

Montevideo $3,750
Philipsburg $8,859

Montevideo is about 42% cheaper than Philipsburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Montevideo and Philipsburg sit above the global median – Montevideo by 35%, Philipsburg by 135%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$15.49 ANG 27.73

-1.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,711

$70.8 ANG 127

-4.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 578

$8.04 ANG 14.39

78.73%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 187

$4.38 ANG 7.83

5.94%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$2.90 ANG 5.19

-5.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 84.0

$4.11 ANG 7.35

-49.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$2.97 ANG 5.31

59.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$6.55 ANG 11.72

-43.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.5

$3.06 ANG 5.48

-54.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 112

$2.64 ANG 4.72

4.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.8

$2.53 ANG 4.53

-33.20%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$6.54 ANG 11.70

-30.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 570

$18.69 ANG 33.46

-24.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$13.75 ANG 24.61

-12.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 489

$14.89 ANG 26.66

-18.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 116

$5.07 ANG 9.07

-43.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$5.07 ANG 9.08

-45.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.5

$9.20 ANG 16.46

-81.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$7.58 ANG 13.57

-57.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$4.06 ANG 7.27

-49.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$4.04 ANG 7.22

-48.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$4.88 ANG 8.74

-71.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.5

$1.34 ANG 2.40

38.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$8.16 ANG 14.61

-31.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$10.82 ANG 19.37

-17.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.2

$5.13 ANG 9.19

-55.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 109

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 UYU 61.3

$2.26 ANG 4.05

-32.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,962

$1.47 ANG 2.63

4910.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 UYU 73.4

$15.04 ANG 26.92

-87.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.05

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 429

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.2

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

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

$191 UYU 7,674

$152 ANG 271

25.96%

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

$20.40 UYU 820

$32.40 ANG 58.0

-37.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,775

$65.8 ANG 118

-32.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,177

$62.7 ANG 112

-13.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 791

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 496

$10.92 ANG 19.54

12.91%

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

$613 UYU 24.7K

$248 ANG 443

147.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

$12.0K ANG 21.4K

-7.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,134

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,255

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 5,000

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,214

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.4K

$2,145 ANG 3,840

-67.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

$1,994 ANG 3,570

-71.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

$6,614 ANG 11.8K

-82.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

$6,466 ANG 11.6K

-84.29%

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

$1,132 ANG 2,026

8.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

14.80%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Philipsburg: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Philipsburg

$2K 64.2% 247% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Philipsburg

$496 * 16% 49.3% $164

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Philipsburg

$256 8.3% 5.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Philipsburg

$250 8% 2.2% $5.7

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Philipsburg

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Philipsburg

$26 * 0.8% 69.4% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Philipsburg

$85 2.7% 7.3% $5.7

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 $2,145 in Philipsburg. 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 9% higher in Montevideo, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67.0 in Montevideo versus $71.0 in Philipsburg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $496 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

06:08 6:08 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

1,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ANG, 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).

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 ANG (1 ANG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Montevideo Philipsburg 5,930 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Philipsburg

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 Philipsburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Philipsburg is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,720 per month in Montevideo and $4,723 in Philipsburg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $613 per month in Montevideo and $248 in Philipsburg. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 49% more in Philipsburg, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Montevideo, where all-in costs run around $1,813, than in Philipsburg at $3,149. In Montevideo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Philipsburg it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Montevideo – 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 Montevideo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Philipsburg makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.