Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $771 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
Learn more

San Juan Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index

Jump to prices

San Juan

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$771

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

San Juan $771
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $1,321 per month in San Juan vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

San Juan $1,321
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $1,870 per month in San Juan vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

San Juan $1,870
Montevideo $3,708

San Juan is about 56% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

San Juan sits 43% below the global median, while Montevideo is 31% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.47 TTD 70.4

$15.16 UYU 609

-30.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$59.2 TTD 398

$69.2 UYU 2,776

-14.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.95 TTD 53.5

$14.65 UYU 588

-45.73%

Cappuccino

$3.63 TTD 24.39

$4.46 UYU 179

-18.61%

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

$1.21 TTD 8.15

$2.67 UYU 107

-54.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 TTD 5.07

$2.00 UYU 80.4

-62.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 TTD 14.98

$4.83 UYU 194

-53.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 TTD 20.23

$3.80 UYU 152

-20.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 TTD 13.33

$1.36 UYU 54.8

45.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 TTD 15.86

$2.87 UYU 115

-17.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.91 TTD 19.56

$1.75 UYU 70.2

66.29%

Eggs

$3.74 TTD 25.14

$4.68 UYU 188

-20.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.80 TTD 45.75

$13.88 UYU 557

-51.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.15 TTD 68.3

$11.98 UYU 481

-15.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.89 TTD 59.8

$11.97 UYU 480

-25.73%

Apples (1kg)

$5.51 TTD 37.04

$2.78 UYU 111

98.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.53 TTD 17.00

$2.74 UYU 110

-7.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 TTD 24.22

$1.77 UYU 71.2

103.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 TTD 28.57

$3.24 UYU 130

31.17%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 TTD 5.17

$1.97 UYU 79.2

-60.91%

Onion (1kg)

$0.71 TTD 4.81

$2.07 UYU 83.1

-65.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 TTD 9.76

$1.37 UYU 55.1

5.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 TTD 8.13

$1.88 UYU 75.3

-35.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.77 TTD 38.81

$5.59 UYU 224

3.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.00 TTD 121

$8.78 UYU 352

105.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 TTD 10.49

$2.26 UYU 90.9

-30.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 TTD 20.23

$2.75 UYU 110

9.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 TTD 5.82

$1.91 UYU 76.7

-54.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 TTD 5.71

$0.40 UYU 16.18

112.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.64 TTD 98.5

$10.33 UYU 415

41.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 TTD 7.78

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-45.54%

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

$37.6K TTD 253.1K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

38.78%

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

$41.0K TTD 275.6K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

12.98%

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

$43.82 TTD 295

$188 UYU 7,557

-76.73%

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

$42.30 TTD 285

$20.54 UYU 824

105.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.86 TTD 302

$44.81 UYU 1,798

0.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$8.95 TTD 60.2

$11.95 UYU 480

-25.10%

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

$398 TTD 2,678

$634 UYU 25.5K

-37.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K TTD 72.6K

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

-2.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 TTD 362

$102 UYU 4,099

-47.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.61 TTD 253

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-34.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.8 TTD 591

$127 UYU 5,079

-30.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.9 TTD 605

$128 UYU 5,131

-29.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.75

5.74

0.17%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 11, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$320 41.5%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 3.6% $12

Eating Out

San Juan

$176 22.8%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 52.8% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$131 17%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 93.6% $123

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$121 15.7%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 53.9% $65

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$18 * 2.3%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 335% $60

Getting Around

San Juan

$5.1 * 0.7%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 1550% $79

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

- * 0%

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59.0 in San Juan versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $320 vs $332 – making San Juan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇹 San Juan

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

07:52 7:52 AM

08:52 8:52 AM

1 h ahead of San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to TTD – Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar ($)

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 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 TTD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Juan Montevideo 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 130%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,157 per month in San Juan and $2,656 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $59.0 in San Juan 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 4% 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 San Juan, where all-in costs run around $771, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In San Juan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Juan – 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 San Juan. 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.