Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilmenau and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,771 a month against $2,071 in Ilmenau, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ilmenau outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

100

Cost of Living Index in Ilmenau
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Ilmenau Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Ilmenau

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,071

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,071 in Ilmenau versus $1,771 in Montevideo.

Ilmenau $2,071
Montevideo $1,771

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,525 in Ilmenau versus $2,740 in Montevideo.

Ilmenau $2,525
Montevideo $2,740

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,980 in Ilmenau versus $3,708 in Montevideo.

Ilmenau $2,980
Montevideo $3,708

Living in Ilmenau is roughly 17% more expensive than in Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ilmenau 53% above, Montevideo 31% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.96 €9.75

$15.16 UYU 609

-27.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$69.2 UYU 2,776

-3.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.27 €10.02

$14.65 UYU 588

-23.07%

Cappuccino

$3.41 €3.04

$4.46 UYU 179

-23.54%

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

$4.26 €3.79

$2.67 UYU 107

59.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 €7.09

$2.00 UYU 80.4

298.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.92

$4.83 UYU 194

-8.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 €4.44

$3.80 UYU 152

31.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.36 UYU 54.8

-16.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.87 UYU 115

-25.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 €2.88

$1.75 UYU 70.2

85.14%

Eggs

$3.23 €2.87

$4.68 UYU 188

-30.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.33 €12.75

$13.88 UYU 557

3.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 €9.11

$11.98 UYU 481

-14.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.79

$11.97 UYU 480

48.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 €2.55

$2.78 UYU 111

3.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 €1.24

$2.74 UYU 110

-48.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.50 €3.11

$1.77 UYU 71.2

97.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.82 €3.40

$3.24 UYU 130

17.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.97 UYU 79.2

7.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$2.07 UYU 83.1

-34.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.37 UYU 55.1

18.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$1.88 UYU 75.3

-53.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.22 €8.20

$5.59 UYU 224

64.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.22 €5.53

$8.78 UYU 352

-29.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 €0.99

$2.26 UYU 90.9

-50.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.32

$2.75 UYU 110

-46.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 €58.1

$74.3 UYU 2,980

-12.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 €4.65

$1.91 UYU 76.7

173.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.21 €3.75

$0.40 UYU 16.18

952.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$43.78 €38.94

$10.33 UYU 415

323.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.90

$2.13 UYU 85.6

0.47%

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

$32.3K €28.7K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

19.00%

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

$37.8K €33.6K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

4.13%

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

$675 €600

$188 UYU 7,557

258.38%

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

$27.38 €24.36

$20.54 UYU 824

33.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.08 €30.32

$44.81 UYU 1,798

-23.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.13 €42.81

$54.0 UYU 2,166

-10.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 €11.74

$11.95 UYU 480

10.46%

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

$454 €404

$634 UYU 25.5K

-28.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.0 €82.8

$102 UYU 4,099

-8.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.50 €28.02

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-45.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €107

$127 UYU 5,079

-4.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$128 UYU 5,131

-11.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$471 €419

$719 UYU 28.8K

-34.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 €404

$568 UYU 22.8K

-19.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$828 €737

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

-27.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,254 €2,894

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

161.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

5.74

-31.18%

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

Last update for Ilmenau: October 11, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilmenau

$736 35.6%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 65.6% $483

Accommodation & Living

Ilmenau

$455 22%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 24.9% $113

Groceries & Markets

Ilmenau

$309 14.9%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 7.3% $23

Eating Out

Ilmenau

$243 11.8%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 10.6% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Ilmenau

$161 7.8%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 15.5% $25

Getting Around

Ilmenau

$92 * 4.4%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 7.9% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Ilmenau

$75 3.6%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 4.5% $3.3

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 $471 in Ilmenau and $719 in Montevideo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilmenau pays 161% 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: $67.0 in Ilmenau vs $69.0 in Montevideo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $332 per month, with Ilmenau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ilmenau

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

18:19 6:19 PM

13:19 1:19 PM

5 h behind Ilmenau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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

Ilmenau Montevideo 11,560 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilmenau
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

Ilmenau vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilmenau and Montevideo differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($2,071 vs $1,771 including rent). Montevideo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 161% higher in Ilmenau, 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: $471 in Ilmenau versus $719 in Montevideo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,071 per month in Ilmenau versus $1,771 in Montevideo – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Montevideo runs roughly 14% less than in Ilmenau. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,771 in Montevideo versus $2,071 in Ilmenau, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Montevideo but tight or insufficient in Ilmenau. The gap between the two cities makes Montevideo 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, Ilmenau 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 Montevideo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Ilmenau. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.