Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenaventura and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenaventura: $1,308 a month against $1,784 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Buenaventura
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Buenaventura Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Buenaventura

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,308

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,308 per month in Buenaventura vs $1,784 in Montevideo, rent included.

Buenaventura $1,308
Montevideo $1,784

A couple spends around $2,012 per month in Buenaventura vs $2,756 in Montevideo, rent included.

Buenaventura $2,012
Montevideo $2,756

A family of three spends $2,716 per month in Buenaventura vs $3,728 in Montevideo, rent included.

Buenaventura $2,716
Montevideo $3,728

Buenaventura is about 27% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Buenaventura sits 3% below the global median, while Montevideo is 32% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.61 COP 24.1K

$14.82 UYU 595

-48.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.62 COP 135.1K

$69.7 UYU 2,797

-38.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.41 COP 29.8K

$14.68 UYU 589

-35.90%

Cappuccino

$2.59 COP 8,225

$4.65 UYU 186

-44.30%

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

$1.38 COP 4,370

$2.74 UYU 110

-49.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 COP 2,835

$2.07 UYU 82.9

-57.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.14 COP 9,959

$4.79 UYU 192

-34.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 COP 11.8K

$3.63 UYU 146

2.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 COP 4,538

$1.39 UYU 55.8

2.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 COP 7,642

$2.89 UYU 116

-16.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,169

$1.70 UYU 68.1

-4.12%

Eggs

$2.95 COP 9,353

$4.62 UYU 185

-36.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.86 COP 24.9K

$14.22 UYU 571

-44.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.62 COP 30.5K

$11.62 UYU 466

-17.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.27 COP 38.9K

$12.23 UYU 491

0.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 COP 11.4K

$2.77 UYU 111

29.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 COP 4,665

$2.85 UYU 114

-48.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,047

$1.81 UYU 72.5

5.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 COP 5,696

$3.20 UYU 129

-43.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 COP 4,737

$1.94 UYU 77.8

-23.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,694

$2.16 UYU 86.5

-31.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 COP 3,758

$1.43 UYU 57.3

-16.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 COP 3,811

$1.94 UYU 77.9

-38.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.95 COP 12.5K

$5.47 UYU 219

-27.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.14 COP 41.7K

$8.95 UYU 359

46.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,474

$2.26 UYU 90.8

-37.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 COP 7,555

$2.81 UYU 113

-15.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.09 COP 3,450

$1.56 UYU 62.6

-30.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 UYU 2,962

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.60 COP 5,079

$1.90 UYU 76.2

-15.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.04 COP 6,457

$0.43 UYU 17.36

374.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.02 COP 28.6K

$10.59 UYU 425

-14.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,080

$2.12 UYU 85.2

-39.15%

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

$24.7K COP 78.5M

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

-7.65%

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

$35.4K COP 112.2M

$37.0K UYU 1.5M

-4.37%

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

$126 COP 399.9K

$193 UYU 7,727

-34.48%

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

$13.14 COP 41.7K

$20.91 UYU 839

-37.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.17 COP 92.5K

$44.89 UYU 1,802

-35.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.15 COP 120.9K

$50.8 UYU 2,038

-24.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.73 UYU 792

Cinema Ticket

$6.50 COP 20.6K

$12.30 UYU 494

-47.15%

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

$630 COP 2.0M

$629 UYU 25.2K

0.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,516 COP 23.8M

$10.9K UYU 437.3K

-31.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.9 COP 269.2K

$104 UYU 4,166

-18.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 COP 172.5K

$57.4 UYU 2,305

-5.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.5K

$125 UYU 5,010

11.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 COP 328.1K

$132 UYU 5,315

-21.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$653 COP 2.1M

$713 UYU 28.6K

-8.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$475 COP 1.5M

$575 UYU 23.1K

-17.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$997 COP 3.2M

$1,164 UYU 46.7K

-14.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$875 COP 2.8M

$1,033 UYU 41.5K

-15.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,966 COP 6.2M

$3,418 UYU 137.2K

-42.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,628 COP 5.2M

$1,760 UYU 70.6K

-7.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,244 UYU 49.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

5.74

101.74%

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

Last update for Buenaventura: October 18, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenaventura

$475 36.3%

Montevideo

$575 32.2% 21.2% $101

Groceries & Markets

Buenaventura

$273 20.9%

Montevideo

$334 18.7% 22.1% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Buenaventura

$172 13.1%

Montevideo

$188 10.6% 9.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenaventura

$168 12.9%

Montevideo

$258 14.5% 53.4% $90

Eating Out

Buenaventura

$153 11.7%

Montevideo

$269 15.1% 76.3% $116

Sport & Entertainment

Buenaventura

$51 3.9%

Montevideo

$75 4.2% 47.4% $24

Getting Around

Buenaventura

$16 * 1.2%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 421% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $653 in Buenaventura versus $713 in Montevideo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Buenaventura versus $70.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $334 – making Buenaventura the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Buenaventura

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

06:02 6:02 AM

08:02 8:02 AM

2 h ahead of Buenaventura

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

365,607

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 23, 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 23, 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

Buenaventura Montevideo 4,830 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenaventura
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

Buenaventura vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,308 in Buenaventura, $1,784 in Montevideo – roughly 36% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,962 per month in Buenaventura and $2,676 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43.00 in Buenaventura and $70.0 in Montevideo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 22% 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 Buenaventura, where all-in costs run around $1,308, than in Montevideo at $1,784. In Buenaventura it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Montevideo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,308 in Buenaventura to $1,784 in Montevideo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Buenaventura. 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.