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Montañita cost of living

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Nomad score 5.9/10

-1.8282, -80.7529 America/Guayaquil #596

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Researched Updated Nov 12, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost
Housing 1 2 3 4 5 $600 $450 $850 $250 $50
Utilities 17 3 2 — $70 $120 $35 —
Internet & Mobile 21 19 1 $40 $45 $70 $25 $0
Groceries 8 12 14 1 4 $110 $240 $550 $180 $8
Transportation 1 4 17 $50 $60 $150 $30 $15
Dining Out 1 4 3 $580 $280 $450 $60 $45
Leisure Activities 1 4 3 $220 $150 $250 $40 $25
Health Insurance 20 28 27 $65 $85 $240 — $2
Visa & Legal Fees 24 23 $13 $45 $60 — $0
Total $1,678 $1,425 $2,740 $620 $145

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 5 $420.00 $300 – $600 per month
Coworking Space 1 $150.00 per month
Airbnb (1 month) 1 3 2 5 $550.00 $400 – $750 per month
Coliving Space 2 7 1 $450.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee $2.75 per cup
Beer 1 $2.50 per pint
Meal (Inexpensive) 1 4 $3.50 per meal
Fast Food Combo 29 25 $7.00 per meal
Apples 15 $1.90 per kg
Bread 14 $1.50 per loaf
Milk 12 $1.30 per liter
Rice 8 $1.40 per kg
Chicken Fillets 9 $6.75 per kg
Beef 10 $6.99 per kg
Wine (Mid-range) 11 $11.00 per bottle
Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 $40.00 per meal
Water (1.5L bottle) 13 $0.80 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 17 1 $1.50 per trip
Taxi per km 1 17 $1.00 per km
Monthly Transport Pass 4 17 1 $15.00 per month
Gasoline 16 17 $0.84 per liter
Ride-hailing (5km) 1 $5.00 per trip
Scooter Rental $15.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 21 $10.50 per month
Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 19 3 $35.00 per month
Gym Membership 18 $30.00 per month
Tennis Court (Weekend) $12.00 per hour
SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 22 $3.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $6.50 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $45.00 per pair
Summer Dress $25.00 per dress
Running Shoes $85.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $7.00 per visit
Laundry $6.00 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 26 27 $35.00 per visit
Pharmacy (basic meds) 27 $6.00 per purchase

About these costs

Method
Researched
Last updated
Nov 12, 2026
Last changed
Nov 14, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Canoa, Quito, Cuenca, Hanoi

  1. Vidala Montañita expat guide, March 2026 — rooms 300–400, private apartments 400–600, furnished studio 500 asking and 380–420 on a 3-month deal, almuerzo 2.50–3.50, tourist meals 8–15, beer 1.50–2.50, cocktails 3–5, CNT home internet 25–35, transport 40–100, entertainment 50–250, board rental 5–8/hour, lessons 20–35, tours 35–50, bus to Guayaquil 4–6, taxis nearby towns 5–10Secondary
  2. Hostelworld Montañita — 10 hostels, dorms from about 3.00–12.50 and private rooms from about 4.70–20.00 a night (Casa del Sol 17.50/12.50, Kamala 12.50/7.80, Kiwi 7.50/7.00, Hidden House 4.75/4.45)Listings
  3. Balsa Surf Camp hotel — rooms from 36 per person per night incl breakfast and yoga, long-stay week and month discounts up to 40% off, wifi 140 Mbps, high season 15 Dec–30 May, weekend package 299 a couple (updated 30 Sep 2026)Listings
  4. Wikivoyage Montañita — Guayaquil bus 3.30 to Santa Elena/La Libertad plus 1.50 Citup, direct CLP about 6, surfboards 5/hour or 15/day, set menus from 2, street burgers 1.50, hostels 3–15, Kundalini 40 private, La Gondola 45 double with breakfastSecondary
  5. LongTermLettings Montañita — one monthly listing, furnished loft at La Punta at 1,339 EUR a month (top of the market); Ecuador snapshot 1-bed furnished average 450Listings
  6. Balsa Surf Camp rooms — rooms from 36 per person per night, family cabins for 3–5, kitchenette cabins for long stays, wifi 140 MbpsListings
  7. Montañita Spanish School apartments — beachfront self-catering apartments in Manglaralto 3 km away, fibre wifi 500+ Mbps, 7-night minimum, aimed at digital nomads and longer staysListings
  8. SmartAhorra rice — Tía 9.07 kg sack 10.65 = 1.17/kg (6 Nov 2026), Coral 13.99 = 1.54/kgShop
  9. Tía online store — chicken breast 4.05 per 600 g = 6.75/kgShop
  10. Tía online store — ground beef 5.59 per 800 g = 6.99/kgShop
  11. Tía online store — 750 ml red wines: Gato Negro 8.59, Bravio 8.99, Oveja Negra 11.99, cheap bottles from 2.99Shop
  12. SmartAhorra milk 1 L — Supermaxi 1.20, Tía 1.59 (24 Oct 2026)Shop
  13. SmartAhorra bottled water 1.5 L — Tía 0.79, Coral 0.81Shop
  14. Tía online store — white sandwich loaves 550 g at 1.05–1.89 (Moderna 1.59)Shop
  15. Tía online store — apple Ana bag 0.99, red apples tray of 6 at 2.29Shop
  16. Ecuador gasoline 0.84/litre on 2026-11-02 (state-fixed, ARCA source)Index
  17. Preciosmundi Ecuador Nov 2026 — bus 0.35, monthly pass 21, taxi 1.50 start and 1.50/km, gasoline 0.82, internet 28.28, mobile 13.38, utilities 85 m² 44.15Index
  18. Ecuador gym prices, April 2026 — small cities 10–30/month, neighbourhood gym 15–20, barrio minimum 15Secondary
  19. Ecuador fibre plans, April 2026 — CNT 50 Mbps 14, 200 Mbps 22, national prices, CNT national coverage, fibre mainly urbanSecondary
  20. SafetyWing Essential 62.72 USD per 4 weeks for ages 10–39Official
  21. Claro prepago packs 5.50/15 days 10 GB, 10.50/30 days 16 GB, 15.50/30 days 22 GB (country prep)Official
  22. Claro chip 2–4 USD with passport activation (country prep)Official
  23. UK FCDO Ecuador entry — 90 days visa-free, paid +90-day extension (country prep)Official
  24. Visa Nómada (archived gob.ec) — application 50 USD plus issuance 270 USD, up to 2 years, 3× SBU foreign income, dependants +250 USD/month incomeOfficial
  25. Numbeo Loja (Wayback) — fast-food combo 7.00 (6–10), the borrow base of this run; cross-checks meal 3.00, cappuccino 1.83, gym 33.75, taxi start 0.65Index
  26. La Hora, March 2026 — private GP visit 25–45 in Quito/Guayaquil, 20–35 in CuencaSecondary
  27. EcuaPass 2026 — private GP 25–40, local plans 100–300, medication courses 5–15Secondary
  28. Provincial private insurance plans 50–90/month (Confiamed/BMI)Secondary
  29. Uber Eats Burger King Quito menu, November 2026 — basic combos 5.75-8.99 (doble cheeseburger 5.75, 2-piece chicken 6.25, Whopper Jr 6.50, King de pollo original 7.99, Cheese classic king 8.99), Whopper 8.99, larger combos 10.50-12.99Listings

Change history

    • Method Generated Researched
    • Airbnb (1 month) 950 550
    • Apples 2.2 1.9
    • Beef 9.5 6.99
    • Bread 1.6 1.5
    • Chicken Fillets 6.8 6.75
    21 more changes
    • Coliving Space 550 450
    • Coworking Space 145 150
    • Fast Food Combo 7.5 7
    • Gasoline 0.64 0.84
    • Gym Membership 35 30
    • Health Insurance local 0, nomad 65, expat 85, family 240, tourist 5 local 0, nomad 65, expat 85, family 240, tourist 2.3
    • Housing local 250, nomad 750, expat 450, family 850, tourist 65 local 250, nomad 600, expat 450, family 850, tourist 50
    • Internet & Mobile local 25, nomad 60, expat 45, family 70, tourist 4 local 25, nomad 40, expat 45, family 70, tourist 0.35
    • Leisure Activities local 40, nomad 220, expat 200, family 350, tourist 35 local 40, nomad 220, expat 150, family 250, tourist 25
    • Meal (Inexpensive) 5.5 3.5
    • Milk 1.15 1.3
    • Mobile Plan 15 10.5
    • Monthly Transport Pass 25 15
    • Rice 1.3 1.4
    • Ride-hailing (5km) 4.5 5
    • SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 8 3
    • Transportation local 30, nomad 50, expat 60, family 220, tourist 15 local 30, nomad 50, expat 60, family 150, tourist 15
    • Utilities local 35, nomad 90, expat 70, family 120, tourist 0 local 35, nomad 0, expat 70, family 120, tourist 0
    • Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 45, family 110 local 0, nomad 13, expat 45, family 60, tourist 0.44
    • Water (1.5L bottle) 0.9 0.8
    • Wine (Mid-range) 12 11

    Fast Food Combo keeps 7.00, grounded in the Burger King Ecuador combo menu on the delivery listing instead of the Loja index alone Source

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