Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bilbao and Maldonado

For one person, living is cheaper in Maldonado: $1,368 a month against $2,101 in Bilbao, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bilbao outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Bilbao
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Bilbao Living Index
66

Cost of Living Index in Maldonado
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Maldonado Living Index

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Bilbao

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,101

/mo nomad

Maldonado

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,368

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bilbao and in Maldonado

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bilbao and in Maldonado actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,101 in Bilbao versus $1,368 in Maldonado.

Bilbao $2,101
Maldonado $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,158 in Bilbao versus $2,178 in Maldonado.

Bilbao $3,158
Maldonado $2,178

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,215 in Bilbao versus $2,988 in Maldonado.

Bilbao $4,215
Maldonado $2,988

Living in Bilbao is roughly 54% more expensive than in Maldonado, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bilbao 55% above, Maldonado 1% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.59 €20.10

$14.87 UYU 597

51.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.6 €65.4

$54.9 UYU 2,202

34.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.16 €10.82

$13.91 UYU 558

-12.58%

Cappuccino

$2.56 €2.28

$4.57 UYU 183

-43.98%

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

$3.17 €2.82

$2.65 UYU 106

19.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.10 UYU 84.2

-9.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.31 €2.94

$2.95 UYU 118

12.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$3.62 UYU 145

-5.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.13 UYU 45.19

18.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 €1.43

$2.70 UYU 109

-40.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.77 UYU 71.1

-16.95%

Eggs

$3.35 €2.98

$3.98 UYU 160

-15.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.44 €13.74

$14.11 UYU 566

9.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.25 €7.34

$11.31 UYU 454

-27.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.39 €12.80

$11.61 UYU 466

23.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.79 UYU 112

3.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$2.14 UYU 86.0

0.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.66 €2.37

$1.75 UYU 70.2

52.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.64 €2.35

$3.15 UYU 126

-16.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 €1.45

$2.00 UYU 80.2

-18.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.00 UYU 80.4

27.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.43 UYU 57.4

-10.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 €0.83

$1.95 UYU 78.3

-51.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 €5.91

$5.51 UYU 221

20.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.77 €6.91

$8.13 UYU 326

-4.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.31

$2.32 UYU 93.3

-36.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 €2.29

$2.71 UYU 109

-4.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.41 UYU 56.8

25.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.4 €45.76

$48.89 UYU 1,962

5.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.66 €5.03

$3.40 UYU 136

66.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.00 €0.89

$0.44 UYU 17.53

127.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 €29.24

$10.25 UYU 411

220.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 €1.60

$2.24 UYU 89.9

-19.64%

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

$33.7K €29.9K

$26.6K UYU 1.1M

26.44%

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

$32.0K €28.4K

$37.0K UYU 1.5M

-13.51%

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

$141 €126

$116 UYU 4,644

21.98%

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

$20.30 €18.06

$19.18 UYU 770

5.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.31 €26.96

$45.04 UYU 1,808

-32.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 €49.29

$48.23 UYU 1,936

14.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.19 €13.51

$30.20 UYU 1,212

-49.70%

Cinema Ticket

$10.22 €9.09

$12.05 UYU 484

-15.19%

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

$526 €468

$496 UYU 19.9K

5.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K €10.2K

$6,515 UYU 261.5K

75.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.4

$90.3 UYU 3,625

15.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.05 €32.95

$37.34 UYU 1,498

-0.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.5 €66.3

$125 UYU 5,014

-40.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 €127

$118 UYU 4,729

21.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 €1,127

$426 UYU 17.1K

197.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 €913

$315 UYU 12.7K

225.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,414 €2,147

$919 UYU 36.9K

162.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 €1,507

$601 UYU 24.1K

181.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,882 €5,232

$2,803 UYU 112.5K

109.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,700 €3,291

$1,541 UYU 61.8K

140.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,424 €2,156

$1,014 UYU 40.7K

139.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.98

-40.40%

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

Last update for Bilbao: October 18, 2026

Last update for Maldonado: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bilbao

$1K 48.9%

Maldonado

$315 23.1% 69.3% $711

Eating Out

Bilbao

$292 13.9%

Maldonado

$257 18.8% 12% $35

Groceries & Markets

Bilbao

$285 13.6%

Maldonado

$317 23.2% 11.1% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bilbao

$192 9.1%

Maldonado

$180 13.2% 6.2% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Bilbao

$161 7.7%

Maldonado

$167 12.2% 3.3% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Bilbao

$76 3.6%

Maldonado

$72 5.3% 4.6% $3.5

Getting Around

Bilbao

$69 3.3%

Maldonado

$60 4.4% 13.1% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,267 in Bilbao and $426 in Maldonado. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bilbao pays 139% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $74.0 in Bilbao vs $55.0 in Maldonado. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $317, with Bilbao cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Bilbao

🇺🇾 Maldonado

🕒 Local time

13:46 1:46 PM

08:46 8:46 AM

5 h behind Bilbao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,096

62,592

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 23, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bilbao Maldonado 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bilbao
Maldonado

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

Bilbao vs Maldonado: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bilbao and Maldonado differ by about 54% in total monthly costs ($2,101 vs $1,368 including rent). Maldonado is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 139% higher in Bilbao, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,267 in Bilbao versus $426 in Maldonado. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $526 in Bilbao versus $496 in Maldonado. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bilbao pay roughly 11% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,368 in Maldonado versus $2,101 in Bilbao, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maldonado but tight or insufficient in Bilbao. The gap between the two cities makes Maldonado the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bilbao and Maldonado are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Maldonado gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Bilbao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.