Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Punta Cana and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Punta Cana: $732 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Punta Cana
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Punta Cana Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Punta Cana

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$732

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Punta Cana 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 Punta Cana and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $732 per month in Punta Cana vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Punta Cana $732
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $1,677 per month in Punta Cana vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

Punta Cana $1,677
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $2,622 per month in Punta Cana vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

Punta Cana $2,622
Montevideo $3,708

Punta Cana is about 59% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Punta Cana sits 46% below the global median, while Montevideo is 31% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.29 DOP 506

$15.16 UYU 610

-45.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.44 DOP 2,531

$69.2 UYU 2,780

-40.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.98 DOP 426

$14.65 UYU 589

-52.35%

Cappuccino

$1.81 DOP 111

$4.46 UYU 179

-59.42%

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

$0.71 DOP 43.32

$2.67 UYU 107

-73.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 DOP 24.70

$2.00 UYU 80.5

-80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 DOP 149

$4.83 UYU 194

-49.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 DOP 235

$3.80 UYU 153

1.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 DOP 73.6

$1.36 UYU 54.9

-11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.80 DOP 110

$2.87 UYU 115

-37.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 DOP 87.1

$1.75 UYU 70.3

-18.29%

Eggs

$1.44 DOP 87.8

$4.68 UYU 188

-69.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.42 DOP 392

$13.88 UYU 558

-53.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.49 DOP 213

$11.98 UYU 482

-70.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.65 DOP 284

$11.97 UYU 481

-61.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 DOP 179

$2.78 UYU 112

5.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 DOP 88.1

$2.74 UYU 110

-47.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.36 DOP 205

$1.77 UYU 71.3

89.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 DOP 130

$3.24 UYU 130

-33.95%

Potato (1kg)

$3.49 DOP 213

$1.97 UYU 79.3

77.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.91 DOP 178

$2.07 UYU 83.2

40.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 DOP 53.0

$1.37 UYU 55.2

-36.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 DOP 98.3

$1.88 UYU 75.4

-14.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.85 DOP 296

$5.59 UYU 225

-13.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.63 DOP 1,016

$8.78 UYU 353

89.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 DOP 177

$2.26 UYU 91.0

28.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 DOP 202

$2.75 UYU 111

20.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 DOP 83.6

$1.53 UYU 61.6

-10.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,985

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 DOP 154

$1.91 UYU 76.8

32.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.25 DOP 199

$0.40 UYU 16.21

712.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 DOP 86.7

$2.13 UYU 85.7

-33.33%

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

$14.6K DOP 889.4K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-46.28%

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

$25.0K DOP 1.5M

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-31.08%

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

$93.1 DOP 5,688

$188 UYU 7,570

-50.54%

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

$26.76 DOP 1,634

$20.54 UYU 826

30.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.04 DOP 2,323

$44.81 UYU 1,801

-15.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$84.2 DOP 5,143

$54.0 UYU 2,169

56.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 DOP 985

$19.75 UYU 794

-18.28%

Cinema Ticket

$5.03 DOP 307

$11.95 UYU 481

-57.91%

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

$147 DOP 8,983

$634 UYU 25.5K

-76.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,484 DOP 334.9K

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

-50.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.44 DOP 1,615

$102 UYU 4,106

-74.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.62 DOP 2,786

$57.5 UYU 2,313

-20.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.3 DOP 3,682

$127 UYU 5,088

-52.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.1 DOP 4,035

$128 UYU 5,139

-48.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$950 DOP 58.0K

$719 UYU 28.9K

32.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,606 DOP 159.2K

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

127.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$998 DOP 60.9K

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

-2.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,908 DOP 177.6K

$3,392 UYU 136.4K

-14.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,250 DOP 76.4K

$1,949 UYU 78.4K

-35.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

91.64%

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

Last update for Punta Cana: 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

Punta Cana

$233 31.8%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 42.2% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Punta Cana

$158 21.6%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 60.6% $96

Eating Out

Punta Cana

$133 18.2%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 102% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Punta Cana

$94 12.9%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 17.4% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Punta Cana

$89 12.2%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 109% $97

Getting Around

Punta Cana

$24 * 3.3%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 248% $60

Accommodation & Living

Punta Cana

- * 0%

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $950 in Punta Cana 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $41.00 in Punta Cana versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $233 vs $332 – making Punta Cana the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Punta Cana

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

15:30 3:30 PM

1 h ahead of Punta Cana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,023

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

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).

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).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Punta Cana Montevideo 6,080 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Punta Cana
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

Punta Cana vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 142%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,098 per month in Punta Cana 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 Punta Cana, 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 $41.00 in Punta Cana and $69.0 in Montevideo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 42% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Punta Cana, where all-in costs run around $732, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Punta Cana it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Punta Cana – 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 Punta Cana. 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.