Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Uruguay

For one person, living is cheaper in Uruguay: $1,637 a month against $1,825 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇮🇹 Italy
$1,825
/mo nomad
🇺🇾 Uruguay
$1,637
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Uruguay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,825 in Italy versus $1,637 in Uruguay.

  • Italy $1,825
  • Uruguay $1,637

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,790 in Italy versus $2,486 in Uruguay.

  • Italy $2,790
  • Uruguay $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,756 in Italy versus $3,335 in Uruguay.

  • Italy $3,756
  • Uruguay $3,335

Italy ($1,044–$2,560) and Uruguay ($47.00–$1,997) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Italy is roughly 11% more expensive than in Uruguay on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Italy 35% above, Uruguay 21% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$19.90 €17.70
$17.11 UYU 687
16.31%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$77.1 €68.6
$54.1 UYU 2,169
42.66%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.41 €10.15
$12.35 UYU 496
-7.61%
Cappuccino
$2.01 €1.78
$4.29 UYU 172
-53.15%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.13 €2.78
$2.31 UYU 92.6
35.50%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.40 €1.24
$1.83 UYU 73.5
-23.50%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.76 €5.12
$3.76 UYU 151
53.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.73 €5.10
$3.80 UYU 153
50.79%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.62 €1.44
$1.21 UYU 48.76
33.88%
White Bread (500g)
$2.38 €2.12
$2.56 UYU 103
-7.03%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.92 €2.60
$1.66 UYU 66.8
75.90%
Eggs
$4.17 €3.70
$4.21 UYU 169
-0.95%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$17.28 €15.37
$12.98 UYU 521
33.13%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$12.73 €11.32
$10.58 UYU 424
20.32%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.39 €18.13
$11.39 UYU 457
79.02%
Apples (1kg)
$2.61 €2.32
$2.76 UYU 111
-5.43%
Banana (1kg)
$2.12 €1.88
$2.56 UYU 103
-17.19%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.63 €2.34
$1.55 UYU 62.2
69.68%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.34 €2.97
$3.07 UYU 123
8.79%
Potato (1kg)
$2.02 €1.79
$1.82 UYU 73.1
10.99%
Onion (1kg)
$1.89 €1.69
$2.13 UYU 85.6
-11.27%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.56 €1.39
$1.32 UYU 52.8
18.18%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.55 €0.49
$1.81 UYU 72.7
-69.61%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.84 €6.08
$5.45 UYU 219
25.50%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.64 €6.80
$7.36 UYU 295
3.80%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.80 €1.61
$2.16 UYU 86.6
-16.67%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.40 €2.14
$2.79 UYU 112
-13.98%
🚌 Getting Around
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.86 €1.65
$1.38 UYU 55.4
34.78%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$43.27 €38.49
$76.0 UYU 3,051
-43.08%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.64 €5.01
$1.82 UYU 73.2
209.89%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.71 €1.52
$1.67 UYU 67.1
2.40%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$33.04 €29.39
$10.49 UYU 421
214.97%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.11 €1.87
$2.12 UYU 85.0
-0.47%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.8K €31.8K
$26.8K UYU 1.1M
33.64%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$37.4K €33.3K
$37.2K UYU 1.5M
0.47%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$230 €204
$150 UYU 6,028
52.92%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.60 €10.32
$20.75 UYU 833
-44.10%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$30.40 €27.04
$40.71 UYU 1,634
-25.33%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$53.9 €47.96
$46.61 UYU 1,871
15.68%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$24.24 €21.56
$19.19 UYU 770
26.32%
Cinema Ticket
$10.58 €9.41
$11.11 UYU 446
-4.77%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$545 €485
$575 UYU 23.1K
-5.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.5K €10.3K
$9,169 UYU 368.0K
25.70%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$88.4 €78.7
$85.5 UYU 3,431
3.44%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.60 €35.22
$49.89 UYU 2,003
-20.63%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$101 €89.8
$120 UYU 4,820
-15.90%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$133 €118
$110 UYU 4,432
20.53%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$799 €711
$663 UYU 26.6K
20.58%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$624 €555
$526 UYU 21.1K
18.75%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,423 €1,266
$1,079 UYU 43.3K
31.92%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,030 €916
$871 UYU 34.9K
18.27%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,601 €3,203
$3,313 UYU 133.0K
8.69%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,270 €2,019
$1,807 UYU 72.5K
25.62%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Italy
Uruguay
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,893 €1,684
$1,067 UYU 42.8K
77.46%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.56
5.81
-38.73%

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

Last update for Italy: October 18, 2026

Last update for Uruguay: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Italy
$624
Uruguay
$526 15.8% $99
Groceries & Markets
Italy
$350
Uruguay
$306 12.6% $44
Eating Out
Italy
$276
Uruguay
$268 2.7% $7.6
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Italy
$272
Uruguay
$212 22.1% $60
Clothing & Footwear
Italy
$163
Uruguay
$165 1% $1.7
Sport & Entertainment
Italy
$75
Uruguay
$69 8.3% $6.3
Getting Around
Italy
$65
Uruguay
$92 41.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $724 in Italy, $337 in Uruguay. Capital cities: $1,191 in Rome vs $713 in Montevideo.

National salary averages: $1,892 in Italy, $864 in Uruguay. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 115% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 59% more in Italy.

Public transport is 215% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are 119% higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know
🇮🇹 Italy
🇺🇾 Uruguay
🕒 Local time
16:19 4:19 PM
11:19 11:19 AM
5 h behind Italy
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
58,850,717
3,444,263
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Italy Uruguay 11,030 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Italy
  • Uruguay

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
Italy vs Uruguay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost difference between Italy and Uruguay?
At $1,825 per month in Italy and $1,637 in Uruguay, there's a 11% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.
Which country is cheaper for everyday spending?
Day-to-day life is cheaper in Uruguay: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.
Which country has higher housing costs?
Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $724 in Italy and $337 in Uruguay. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.
Is $2,500 a realistic budget in Italy or in Uruguay?
In Uruguay, $2,500 covers most cities easily; in Italy it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.
Should I move to Italy or to Uruguay?
It depends on what you're after: Uruguay wins on affordability; Italy may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.

Italy vs other spots: cost of living compared

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