Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Samana

For one person, living is cheaper in Samana: $717 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Samana
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Samana Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Samana

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$717

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Samana

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $717 in Samana, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
Samana $717

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $1,173 in Samana, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
Samana $1,173

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $1,629 in Samana, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
Samana $1,629

Montevideo costs about 147% more than Samana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montevideo sits 31% above the global median, while Samana is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 610

$8.00 DOP 489

89.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,780

$41.46 DOP 2,532

66.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 589

$6.85 DOP 419

113.87%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$1.81 DOP 111

146.41%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$0.71 DOP 43.29

276.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.5

$0.41 DOP 24.82

387.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$2.52 DOP 154

91.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 153

$3.94 DOP 240

-3.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.9

$1.20 DOP 73.5

13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$1.79 DOP 109

60.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.3

$1.48 DOP 90.7

18.24%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$1.46 DOP 89.0

220.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 558

$6.29 DOP 384

120.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 482

$3.51 DOP 214

241.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 481

$4.71 DOP 288

154.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 112

$3.60 DOP 220

-22.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.38 DOP 84.1

98.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.3

$3.37 DOP 206

-47.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.82 DOP 111

78.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.3

$3.50 DOP 213

-43.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.2

$2.82 DOP 172

-26.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.2

$0.94 DOP 57.5

45.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.4

$1.58 DOP 96.4

18.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 225

$4.68 DOP 286

19.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 353

$8.44 DOP 515

4.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 91.0

$3.00 DOP 183

-24.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 111

$3.30 DOP 202

-16.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.6

$0.79 DOP 47.96

93.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,985

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.8

$2.48 DOP 152

-22.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.21

$3.24 DOP 198

-87.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.7

$1.21 DOP 73.7

76.03%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$14.9K DOP 907.7K

82.39%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$25.8K DOP 1.6M

40.60%

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

$188 UYU 7,570

$94.1 DOP 5,746

100.15%

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

$20.54 UYU 826

$16.30 DOP 995

26.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,801

$37.80 DOP 2,309

18.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,169

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 794

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 481

$4.80 DOP 293

148.96%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$150 DOP 9,185

321.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

$5,511 DOP 336.5K

100.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,106

$26.75 DOP 1,634

281.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,313

$44.85 DOP 2,739

28.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,088

$62.0 DOP 3,786

104.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,139

$64.6 DOP 3,946

97.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.9K

$132 DOP 8,073

443.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$98.4 DOP 6,010

477.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$334 DOP 20.4K

242.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$243 DOP 14.8K

321.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

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 12, 2026

Last update for Samana: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Samana

$98 13.7% 82.7% $469

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Samana

$218 30.5% 34.1% $113

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Samana

$131 18.3% 51.2% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Samana

$148 20.7% 41.6% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Samana

$89 12.4% 52.1% $97

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Samana

$22 * 3% 74.1% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Samana

$9.6 * 1.3% 87.7% $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 $132 in Samana. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo versus $41.00 in Samana. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $218 – making Samana the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇩🇴 Samana

🕒 Local time

16:18 4:18 PM

15:18 3:18 PM

1 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

108,179

💱 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 = 1.46 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 40.2 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.02 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 61.07 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.39 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Montevideo Samana 6,170 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Samana

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 Samana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 147%, 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 $1,075 in Samana. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Samana, 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 $41.00 in Samana. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 52% 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Samana, where all-in costs run around $717, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Samana it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Samana – 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 Samana. 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.