Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Curridabat and Montevideo

For one person, living costs are similar in Curridabat and in Montevideo: $1,739 and $1,771 a month, rent and utilities included.

83

Cost of Living Index in Curridabat
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Curridabat Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Curridabat

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,739

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,739 in Curridabat versus $1,771 in Montevideo.

Curridabat $1,739
Montevideo $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,732 in Curridabat versus $2,740 in Montevideo.

Curridabat $2,732
Montevideo $2,740

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,724 in Curridabat versus $3,708 in Montevideo.

Curridabat $3,724
Montevideo $3,708

Living in Curridabat costs roughly 2% less than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Curridabat 29% above, Montevideo 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.77 ₡4,839

$15.16 UYU 610

-28.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.6 ₡25.0K

$69.2 UYU 2,780

-19.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.04 ₡4,510

$14.65 UYU 589

-31.47%

Cappuccino

$4.49 ₡2,016

$4.46 UYU 179

0.67%

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

$1.96 ₡881

$2.67 UYU 107

-26.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₡603

$2.00 UYU 80.5

-33.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 ₡1,498

$4.83 UYU 194

-31.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ₡1,364

$3.80 UYU 153

-20.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.38 ₡1,071

$1.36 UYU 54.9

75.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.12 ₡1,401

$2.87 UYU 115

8.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 ₡1,082

$1.75 UYU 70.3

37.71%

Eggs

$3.51 ₡1,579

$4.68 UYU 188

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.51 ₡4,725

$13.88 UYU 558

-24.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.28 ₡4,621

$11.98 UYU 482

-14.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 ₡6,273

$11.97 UYU 481

16.62%

Apples (1kg)

$5.05 ₡2,271

$2.78 UYU 112

81.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ₡730

$2.74 UYU 110

-40.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.66 ₡2,095

$1.77 UYU 71.3

163.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.81 ₡1,712

$3.24 UYU 130

17.59%

Potato (1kg)

$3.86 ₡1,734

$1.97 UYU 79.3

95.94%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,605

$2.07 UYU 83.2

72.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡501

$1.37 UYU 55.2

-18.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 ₡1,429

$1.88 UYU 75.4

69.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.00 ₡2,698

$5.59 UYU 225

7.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.29 ₡9,119

$8.78 UYU 353

131.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 ₡1,287

$2.26 UYU 91.0

26.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 ₡1,617

$2.75 UYU 111

30.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ₡651

$1.53 UYU 61.6

-5.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,985

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.37 ₡1,065

$1.91 UYU 76.8

24.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 ₡728

$0.40 UYU 16.21

305.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.69 ₡3,904

$10.33 UYU 415

-15.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 ₡693

$2.13 UYU 85.7

-27.70%

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

$21.9K ₡9.8M

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-19.32%

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

$35.4K ₡15.9M

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-2.42%

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

$96.2 ₡43.2K

$188 UYU 7,570

-48.93%

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

$35.78 ₡16.1K

$20.54 UYU 826

74.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.4 ₡27.1K

$44.81 UYU 1,801

34.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.9 ₡30.5K

$54.0 UYU 2,169

25.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 794

Cinema Ticket

$7.49 ₡3,366

$11.95 UYU 481

-37.32%

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

$998 ₡448.6K

$634 UYU 25.5K

57.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.4K ₡7.8M

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

57.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.8 ₡32.7K

$102 UYU 4,106

-28.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.0 ₡24.7K

$57.5 UYU 2,313

-4.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 ₡57.7K

$127 UYU 5,088

1.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡59.9K

$128 UYU 5,139

4.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$815 ₡366.4K

$719 UYU 28.9K

13.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$666 ₡299.5K

$568 UYU 22.8K

17.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,891 ₡849.9K

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

65.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,315 ₡590.9K

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

28.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$506 ₡227.3K

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

-59.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.74

50.17%

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

Last update for Curridabat: 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

Curridabat

$666 38.3%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 14.8% $99

Groceries & Markets

Curridabat

$400 23%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 17% $68

Eating Out

Curridabat

$206 11.9%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 30.6% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Curridabat

$192 11.1%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 31.9% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Curridabat

$175 10.1%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 6.3% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Curridabat

$83 4.8%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 6.1% $5

Getting Around

Curridabat

$16 * 0.9%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 419% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $815 in Curridabat and $719 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 146% 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: $56.0 in Curridabat vs $69.0 in Montevideo. Groceries flip the comparison at $400 vs $332, with Montevideo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Curridabat

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

04:07 4:07 AM

07:07 7:07 AM

3 h ahead of Curridabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 40.2 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.02 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Curridabat Montevideo 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Curridabat
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

Curridabat vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Curridabat is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 146% lower in Montevideo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $815 in Curridabat versus $719 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $998 in Curridabat versus $634 in Montevideo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Curridabat – a meal for two runs $56.0 versus $69.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,739 in Curridabat versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Curridabat but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Curridabat the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Curridabat is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Montevideo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Curridabat and Montevideo 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 Curridabat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.