Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Marta and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Marta: $1,436 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. The total is higher in Montevideo despite lower rent and utilities.

60

Cost of Living Index in Santa Marta
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Santa Marta Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Santa Marta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,436

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,436 per month in Santa Marta vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,436
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $1,691 per month in Santa Marta vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,691
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $1,946 per month in Santa Marta vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santa Marta $1,946
Montevideo $3,708

Santa Marta is about 19% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Santa Marta and Montevideo sit above the global median – Santa Marta by 6%, Montevideo by 31%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

Cappuccino

$3.85 COP 12.2K

$4.46 UYU 179

-13.68%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 COP 4,834

$1.36 UYU 54.8

11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 COP 6,825

$2.87 UYU 115

-25.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 COP 3,737

$1.75 UYU 70.2

-32.57%

Eggs

$2.55 COP 8,070

$4.68 UYU 188

-45.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 COP 25.9K

$13.88 UYU 557

-41.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 COP 31.0K

$11.98 UYU 481

-18.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.43 COP 36.2K

$11.97 UYU 480

-4.51%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$2.78 UYU 111

48.56%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 COP 3,110

$2.74 UYU 110

-64.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 COP 3,553

$1.77 UYU 71.2

-36.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,308

$3.24 UYU 130

-38.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 COP 2,881

$1.97 UYU 79.2

-53.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 COP 4,888

$2.07 UYU 83.1

-25.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 COP 3,081

$1.37 UYU 55.1

-29.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 COP 2,037

$1.88 UYU 75.3

-65.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 COP 13.0K

$5.59 UYU 224

-26.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.44 COP 55.3K

$8.78 UYU 352

98.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 COP 4,566

$2.26 UYU 90.9

-36.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,507

$2.75 UYU 110

-48.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 COP 3,086

$1.53 UYU 61.5

-36.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 COP 10.2K

$1.91 UYU 76.7

67.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,104

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-39.44%

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

$24.0K COP 75.9M

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-11.64%

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

$33.6K COP 106.6M

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-7.29%

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

$154 COP 489.7K

$188 UYU 7,557

-17.98%

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

$9.26 COP 29.3K

$20.54 UYU 824

-54.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.25 COP 70.6K

$44.81 UYU 1,798

-50.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.58 COP 100.1K

$54.0 UYU 2,166

-41.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 COP 16.1K

$11.95 UYU 480

-57.57%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K COP 34.1M

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

-2.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.9 COP 275.6K

$102 UYU 4,099

-14.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.5 COP 201.4K

$57.5 UYU 2,309

10.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 COP 293.6K

$127 UYU 5,079

-26.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 COP 279.6K

$128 UYU 5,131

-31.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 COP 3.5M

$719 UYU 28.8K

51.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 COP 2.4M

$568 UYU 22.8K

30.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

-4.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$628 COP 2.0M

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

-38.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

-67.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 COP 3.9M

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

-37.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$534 COP 1.7M

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

-57.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.54

5.74

240.42%

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

Last update for Santa Marta: October 12, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Marta

$743 51.8%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 23.5% $175

Groceries & Markets

Santa Marta

$263 18.3%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 26.2% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Marta

$186 13%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 36.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Marta

$149 10.4%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 25% $37

Eating Out

Santa Marta

$46 * 3.2%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 482% $223

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Marta

$42 2.9%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 86.7% $36

Getting Around

Santa Marta

$7.1 * 0.5%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 1088% $77

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,088 in Santa Marta 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 133% higher in Montevideo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Santa Marta

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

00:59 12:59 AM

02:59 2:59 AM

2 h ahead of Santa Marta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 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 COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Marta Montevideo 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Marta
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

Santa Marta vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 23%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,153 per month in Santa Marta 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 Santa Marta, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,436 in Santa Marta and $1,771 in Montevideo. That's a gap of about 23%.

Groceries cost about 26% 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 Santa Marta, where all-in costs run around $1,436, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Santa Marta it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Santa Marta – 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 Santa Marta. 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.