Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Puerto Plata

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Plata: $824 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Plata
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Puerto Plata Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Puerto Plata

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$824

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Puerto Plata

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $824 in Puerto Plata, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
Puerto Plata $824

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $1,338 in Puerto Plata, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
Puerto Plata $1,338

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $1,852 in Puerto Plata, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
Puerto Plata $1,852

Montevideo costs about 115% more than Puerto Plata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montevideo sits 31% above the global median, while Puerto Plata is 39% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$5.64 DOP 346

168.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$32.77 DOP 2,007

111.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$7.55 DOP 463

94.04%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$1.47 DOP 90.1

203.40%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$0.70 DOP 42.87

281.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$0.34 DOP 21.07

488.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$1.93 DOP 118

150.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$2.53 DOP 155

50.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.17 DOP 71.4

16.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$1.51 DOP 92.8

90.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.01 DOP 62.0

73.27%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$1.32 DOP 80.6

254.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$3.82 DOP 234

263.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$5.38 DOP 329

122.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$5.38 DOP 330

122.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$2.42 DOP 148

14.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$0.79 DOP 48.17

246.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$1.72 DOP 105

2.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$0.88 DOP 54.2

268.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$1.03 DOP 63.3

91.26%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.25 DOP 76.3

65.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$0.85 DOP 52.0

61.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$1.01 DOP 61.8

86.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$2.40 DOP 147

132.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$9.39 DOP 575

-6.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$2.07 DOP 127

9.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.00 DOP 184

-8.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$0.97 DOP 59.2

57.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$3.24 DOP 199

-41.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$2.28 DOP 140

-82.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$5.74 DOP 352

79.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.31 DOP 80.0

62.60%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$22.9K DOP 1.4M

18.62%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$33.0K DOP 2.0M

9.76%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$40.58 DOP 2,486

364.02%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$23.14 DOP 1,418

-11.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$36.33 DOP 2,226

23.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$5.00 DOP 306

139.00%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$253 DOP 15.5K

150.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$7,437 DOP 455.6K

48.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$19.30 DOP 1,182

429.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$13.03 DOP 798

341.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$86.6 DOP 5,304

46.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$123 DOP 7,528

4.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$434 DOP 26.6K

65.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$308 DOP 18.8K

84.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$834 DOP 51.1K

37.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$669 DOP 41.0K

52.84%

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

$328 DOP 20.1K

279.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

13.56

-57.67%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Puerto Plata: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Puerto Plata

$308 37.3% 45.8% $260

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Puerto Plata

$175 21.2% 47.3% $157

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Puerto Plata

$104 12.7% 61.2% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Puerto Plata

$100 12.1% 60.6% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Puerto Plata

$109 13.2% 41.6% $78

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Puerto Plata

$19 * 2.3% 78% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Puerto Plata

$10 * 1.2% 87.1% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $719 in Montevideo versus $434 in Puerto Plata. 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 280% 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 $69.0 in Montevideo versus $33.00 in Puerto Plata. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $175 – making Puerto Plata the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇩🇴 Puerto Plata

🕒 Local time

06:03 6:03 AM

05:03 5:03 AM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

130,000

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montevideo Puerto Plata 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Puerto Plata

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 Puerto Plata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 115%, 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 $1,236 in Puerto Plata. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo and $33.00 in Puerto Plata. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 90% 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 Puerto Plata, where all-in costs run around $824, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Puerto Plata it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Puerto Plata – 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 Puerto Plata. 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.