Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Cartago

For one person, living costs are similar in Montevideo and in Cartago: $1,771 and $1,713 a month, rent and utilities included.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
Learn more

Cartago Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Cartago

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Cartago

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,713 in Cartago.

Montevideo $1,771
Cartago $1,713

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Montevideo versus $2,362 in Cartago.

Montevideo $2,740
Cartago $2,362

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,708 in Montevideo versus $3,011 in Cartago.

Montevideo $3,708
Cartago $3,011

Living in Montevideo is roughly 3% more expensive than in Cartago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montevideo 31% above, Cartago 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 610

$8.64 ₡3,882

75.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,780

$34.53 ₡15.5K

100.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 589

$9.92 ₡4,458

47.68%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$4.54 ₡2,040

-1.76%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$2.13 ₡957

25.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.5

$1.36 ₡611

47.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$2.15 ₡966

124.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 153

$4.06 ₡1,823

-6.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.9

$2.39 ₡1,075

-43.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.37 ₡1,067

21.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.3

$2.47 ₡1,112

-29.15%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$3.57 ₡1,604

31.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 558

$8.61 ₡3,868

61.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 482

$10.38 ₡4,664

15.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 481

$13.94 ₡6,265

-14.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 112

$5.24 ₡2,356

-46.95%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.29 ₡580

112.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.3

$4.49 ₡2,018

-60.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$2.91 ₡1,309

11.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.3

$2.24 ₡1,006

-12.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.2

$2.17 ₡973

-4.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.2

$1.09 ₡488

25.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.4

$2.18 ₡979

-13.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 225

$6.07 ₡2,728

-7.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 353

$15.16 ₡6,810

-42.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 91.0

$2.89 ₡1,298

-21.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 111

$2.03 ₡914

35.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.6

$1.37 ₡614

11.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,985

$73.2 ₡32.9K

1.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.8

$1.33 ₡600

43.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.21

$1.56 ₡703

-74.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$8.95 ₡4,023

15.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.7

$1.51 ₡679

41.06%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$21.7K ₡9.7M

24.97%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$35.1K ₡15.8M

3.26%

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

$188 UYU 7,570

$52.4 ₡23.6K

259.15%

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

$20.54 UYU 826

$35.12 ₡15.8K

-41.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,801

$59.9 ₡26.9K

-25.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,169

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-26.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 794

$77.8 ₡34.9K

-74.60%

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 481

$7.27 ₡3,268

64.37%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$549 ₡246.6K

15.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

$7,878 ₡3.5M

40.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,106

$70.1 ₡31.5K

45.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,313

$56.5 ₡25.4K

1.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,088

$121 ₡54.5K

4.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,139

$87.7 ₡39.4K

45.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.9K

$923 ₡415.0K

-22.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$704 ₡316.5K

-19.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$1,869 ₡839.7K

-38.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$724 ₡325.4K

41.30%

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)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

$1,344 ₡604.0K

-7.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

8.62

-33.41%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Cartago

$704 41.1% 24% $136

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Cartago

$348 20.3% 5% $17

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Cartago

$186 10.9% 30.8% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Cartago

$147 8.6% 41.9% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Cartago

$151 8.8% 19% $35

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Cartago

$88 5.1% 4.2% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Cartago

$88 5.2% 13.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $719 in Montevideo and $923 in Cartago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69.0 in Montevideo vs $35.00 in Cartago. Groceries flip the comparison at $332 vs $348, with Montevideo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇨🇷 Cartago

🕒 Local time

06:25 6:25 AM

03:25 3:25 AM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

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).

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).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Montevideo Cartago 5,770 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Cartago

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

Montevideo vs Cartago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cartago is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Cartago. 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: $719 in Montevideo versus $923 in Cartago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cartago runs roughly 1% less than in Montevideo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $634 in Montevideo versus $549 in Cartago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,713 in Cartago versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Cartago but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Cartago the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cartago 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, Montevideo and Cartago 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 Cartago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.