Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $1,122 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Santo Domingo

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,122

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,122 per month in Santo Domingo vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santo Domingo $1,122
Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $1,761 per month in Santo Domingo vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santo Domingo $1,761
Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $2,401 per month in Santo Domingo vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

Santo Domingo $2,401
Montevideo $3,750

Santo Domingo is about 38% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Santo Domingo sits 16% below the global median, while Montevideo is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 DOP 621

$15.26 UYU 613

-33.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.5 DOP 3,075

$67.4 UYU 2,711

-25.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.79 DOP 474

$14.37 UYU 578

-45.79%

Cappuccino

$2.23 DOP 136

$4.64 UYU 187

-51.94%

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

$1.02 DOP 62.3

$2.73 UYU 110

-62.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 DOP 33.07

$2.09 UYU 84.0

-74.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 DOP 155

$4.75 UYU 191

-46.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 DOP 201

$3.67 UYU 147

-10.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 DOP 81.0

$1.38 UYU 55.5

-3.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 DOP 91.3

$2.77 UYU 112

-45.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 DOP 99.1

$1.69 UYU 67.8

-3.55%

Eggs

$2.36 DOP 143

$4.52 UYU 182

-47.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 DOP 450

$14.17 UYU 570

-47.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.59 DOP 340

$12.07 UYU 485

-53.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 DOP 408

$12.16 UYU 489

-44.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 DOP 194

$2.87 UYU 116

11.15%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 DOP 51.7

$2.75 UYU 110

-69.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 DOP 168

$1.73 UYU 69.5

59.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.86 DOP 113

$3.24 UYU 130

-42.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 DOP 126

$2.07 UYU 83.1

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 DOP 137

$2.07 UYU 83.1

8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 DOP 62.9

$1.38 UYU 55.4

-25.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 DOP 58.9

$1.85 UYU 74.5

-47.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.19 DOP 316

$5.57 UYU 224

-6.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.24 DOP 623

$8.89 UYU 357

15.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 DOP 154

$2.29 UYU 92.2

10.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 DOP 181

$2.70 UYU 109

10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 DOP 36.51

$1.52 UYU 61.3

-60.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.04 DOP 1,098

$73.7 UYU 2,962

-75.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 DOP 205

$1.82 UYU 73.4

84.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 DOP 134

$0.40 UYU 16.05

452.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 DOP 347

$10.66 UYU 429

-46.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 DOP 87.2

$2.22 UYU 89.2

-35.59%

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

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

-12.61%

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

$34.2K DOP 2.1M

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

-7.05%

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

$93.8 DOP 5,708

$191 UYU 7,674

-50.86%

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

$31.81 DOP 1,936

$20.40 UYU 820

55.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.01 DOP 2,253

$44.14 UYU 1,775

-16.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.96 DOP 1,824

$54.1 UYU 2,177

-44.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.22 DOP 1,474

$19.68 UYU 791

23.07%

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 DOP 445

$12.33 UYU 496

-40.79%

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

$256 DOP 15.6K

$613 UYU 24.7K

-58.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,297 DOP 444.2K

$11.0K UYU 444.3K

-33.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.66 DOP 2,780

$103 UYU 4,134

-55.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.81 DOP 2,849

$56.1 UYU 2,255

-16.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 DOP 5,362

$124 UYU 5,000

-29.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 DOP 7,674

$130 UYU 5,214

-2.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 DOP 43.3K

$705 UYU 28.4K

0.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 DOP 21.2K

$575 UYU 23.1K

-39.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 DOP 88.4K

$1,139 UYU 45.8K

27.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 DOP 37.9K

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

-38.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,205 DOP 134.2K

$3,349 UYU 134.6K

-34.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,203 DOP 73.2K

$1,942 UYU 78.1K

-38.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 DOP 35.9K

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-52.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

5.74

136.24%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 6, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santo Domingo

$348 31.5%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 65.3% $227

Groceries & Markets

Santo Domingo

$221 20%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 50.1% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santo Domingo

$163 14.7%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 57.1% $93

Eating Out

Santo Domingo

$157 14.2%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 72.4% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Santo Domingo

$138 12.5%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 34.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Santo Domingo

$45 4%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 76.8% $34

Getting Around

Santo Domingo

$35 3.2%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 140% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $712 in Santo Domingo versus $705 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 108% higher in Montevideo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51.0 in Santo Domingo versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $221 vs $332 – making Santo Domingo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Santo Domingo

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

22:52 10:52 PM

23:52 11:52 PM

1 h ahead of Santo Domingo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

965,040 Capital

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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 60.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.27 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.21 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.1 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santo Domingo Montevideo 6,110 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santo Domingo
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

Santo Domingo vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 62%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,683 per month in Santo Domingo and $2,720 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $256 per month in Santo Domingo and $613 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 50% 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 Santo Domingo, where all-in costs run around $1,122, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Santo Domingo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Santo Domingo – 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 Santo Domingo. 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.