Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portmore and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,246 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,246

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Portmore and in Montevideo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Portmore and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,246 per month in Portmore vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Portmore $1,246
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $2,073 per month in Portmore vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

Portmore $2,073
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $2,900 per month in Portmore vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

Portmore $2,900
Montevideo $3,708

Portmore is about 30% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Portmore sits 8% below the global median, while Montevideo is 31% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 JMD 1,603

$15.16 UYU 609

-33.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.3 JMD 10.0K

$69.2 UYU 2,776

-8.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 JMD 1,270

$14.65 UYU 588

-45.12%

Cappuccino

$5.43 JMD 859

$4.46 UYU 179

21.75%

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

$0.90 JMD 143

$2.67 UYU 107

-66.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 JMD 104

$2.00 UYU 80.4

-67.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 JMD 345

$4.83 UYU 194

-54.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 JMD 342

$3.80 UYU 152

-43.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 JMD 478

$1.36 UYU 54.8

122.06%

White Bread (500g)

$3.49 JMD 551

$2.87 UYU 115

21.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 JMD 161

$1.75 UYU 70.2

-41.71%

Eggs

$3.61 JMD 571

$4.68 UYU 188

-22.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.52 JMD 1,821

$13.88 UYU 557

-17.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.30 JMD 996

$11.98 UYU 481

-47.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 JMD 1,490

$11.97 UYU 480

-21.22%

Apples (1kg)

$5.99 JMD 946

$2.78 UYU 111

115.47%

Banana (1kg)

$3.93 JMD 620

$2.74 UYU 110

43.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 JMD 468

$1.77 UYU 71.2

67.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 JMD 476

$3.24 UYU 130

-7.10%

Potato (1kg)

$3.30 JMD 521

$1.97 UYU 79.2

67.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.60 JMD 411

$2.07 UYU 83.1

25.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.59 JMD 251

$1.37 UYU 55.1

16.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 JMD 199

$1.88 UYU 75.3

-32.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.64 JMD 1,523

$5.59 UYU 224

72.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.24 JMD 1,776

$8.78 UYU 352

28.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 JMD 444

$2.26 UYU 90.9

24.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 JMD 356

$2.75 UYU 110

-17.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 JMD 361

$1.53 UYU 61.5

49.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.2 JMD 7,931

$74.3 UYU 2,980

-32.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 JMD 152

$1.91 UYU 76.7

-49.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.09 JMD 488

$0.40 UYU 16.18

672.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.24 JMD 985

$10.33 UYU 415

-39.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 JMD 187

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-44.60%

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

$43.1K JMD 6.8M

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

58.94%

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

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-10.88%

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

$155 JMD 24.5K

$188 UYU 7,557

-17.78%

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

$29.01 JMD 4,583

$20.54 UYU 824

41.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.7 JMD 8,322

$44.81 UYU 1,798

17.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.2 JMD 9,503

$54.0 UYU 2,166

11.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 JMD 2,114

$11.95 UYU 480

11.97%

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

$285 JMD 45.1K

$634 UYU 25.5K

-55.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,143 JMD 496.5K

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

-71.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.25 JMD 3,674

$102 UYU 4,099

-77.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.94 JMD 4,889

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-46.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.7 JMD 12.4K

$127 UYU 5,079

-37.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.5 JMD 14.9K

$128 UYU 5,131

-26.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 JMD 48.6K

$719 UYU 28.8K

-57.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$216 JMD 34.1K

$568 UYU 22.8K

-61.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$656 JMD 103.7K

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

-42.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 JMD 93.3K

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

-42.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,466 JMD 1.2M

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

120.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,702 JMD 900.9K

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

192.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,301 JMD 205.5K

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

4.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.45

5.74

64.63%

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

Last update for Portmore: October 10, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Portmore

$336 27%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 1.3% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portmore

$237 19%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 7.3% $17

Accommodation & Living

Portmore

$216 17.3%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 163% $352

Eating Out

Portmore

$192 15.4%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 40.2% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Portmore

$102 8.2%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 82.1% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Portmore

$87 7%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 10.4% $9

Getting Around

Portmore

$76 6.1%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 11.3% $8.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $307 in Portmore versus $719 in Montevideo. 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 5% higher in Portmore, 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 $63.0 in Portmore versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Groceries tell a different story – $336 in Portmore vs $332 in Montevideo – so Montevideo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇯🇲 Portmore

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

15:21 3:21 PM

17:21 5:21 PM

2 h ahead of Portmore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

170,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to JMD – Jamaican Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇲 Jamaican Dollar ($)

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

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).

USD to JMD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Portmore Montevideo 6,270 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Portmore
Montevideo

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

Portmore vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 42%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,868 per month in Portmore and $2,656 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $285 per month in Portmore and $634 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 1% cheaper in Montevideo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Portmore, where all-in costs run around $1,246, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Portmore it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Portmore – 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 Portmore. 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.