Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Cochrane

For one person, living is cheaper in Cochrane: $1,074 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Montevideo
🇺🇾 Uruguay
$1,771
/mo nomad
Cochrane
🇨🇦 Canada
$1,074
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Cochrane

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 Cochrane actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,074 in Cochrane.

  • Montevideo $1,771
  • Cochrane $1,074

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Montevideo versus $2,385 in Cochrane.

  • Montevideo $2,740
  • Cochrane $2,385

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,708 in Montevideo versus $3,696 in Cochrane.

  • Montevideo $3,708
  • Cochrane $3,696

Living in Montevideo is roughly 65% more expensive than in Cochrane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 31% above, Cochrane is 20% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$15.16 UYU 609
$17.47 CA$24.70
-13.22%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$69.2 UYU 2,776
$70.2 CA$99.3
-1.54%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$14.65 UYU 588
$9.90 CA$14.00
47.98%
Cappuccino
$4.46 UYU 179
$3.82 CA$5.40
16.75%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.67 UYU 107
$2.33 CA$3.29
14.59%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.00 UYU 80.4
$1.62 CA$2.29
23.46%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.83 UYU 194
$5.69 CA$8.04
-15.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.80 UYU 152
$5.72 CA$8.08
-33.57%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.36 UYU 54.8
$1.56 CA$2.20
-12.82%
White Bread (500g)
$2.87 UYU 115
$2.07 CA$2.93
38.65%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.75 UYU 70.2
$2.98 CA$4.21
-41.28%
Eggs
$4.68 UYU 188
$3.22 CA$4.55
45.34%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.88 UYU 557
$8.58 CA$12.13
61.77%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.98 UYU 481
$8.42 CA$11.90
42.28%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.97 UYU 480
$8.57 CA$12.12
39.67%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 UYU 111
$4.29 CA$6.07
-35.20%
Banana (1kg)
$2.74 UYU 110
$1.37 CA$1.94
100.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.77 UYU 71.2
$4.38 CA$6.19
-59.59%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.24 UYU 130
$1.43 CA$2.03
126.57%
Potato (1kg)
$1.97 UYU 79.2
$1.37 CA$1.94
43.80%
Onion (1kg)
$2.07 UYU 83.1
$1.77 CA$2.50
16.95%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.37 UYU 55.1
$2.43 CA$3.44
-43.62%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.88 UYU 75.3
$1.75 CA$2.48
7.43%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.59 UYU 224
$13.80 CA$19.51
-59.49%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.78 UYU 352
$8.16 CA$11.54
7.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.26 UYU 90.9
$3.08 CA$4.36
-26.62%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.75 UYU 110
$2.96 CA$4.18
-7.09%
🚌 Getting Around
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.53 UYU 61.5
$3.46 CA$4.89
-55.78%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$74.3 UYU 2,980
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.91 UYU 76.7
$2.92 CA$4.13
-34.59%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.40 UYU 16.18
$1.38 CA$1.95
-71.01%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.33 UYU 415
$21.32 CA$30.15
-51.55%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.13 UYU 85.6
$1.06 CA$1.50
100.94%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.1K UYU 1.1M
$27.6K CA$39.0K
-1.84%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$36.3K UYU 1.5M
$19.5K CA$27.6K
85.52%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$188 UYU 7,557
$207 CA$292
-8.95%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$20.54 UYU 824
$42.87 CA$60.6
-52.09%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$44.81 UYU 1,798
$54.4 CA$76.9
-17.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.0 UYU 2,166
$44.82 CA$63.4
20.39%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.75 UYU 793
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$11.95 UYU 480
$12.90 CA$18.24
-7.36%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$634 UYU 25.5K
$752 CA$1,063
-15.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.1K UYU 443.6K
$9,571 CA$13.5K
15.48%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 UYU 4,099
$42.60 CA$60.2
139.74%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$57.5 UYU 2,309
$45.15 CA$63.8
27.42%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$127 UYU 5,079
$83.3 CA$118
51.86%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$128 UYU 5,131
$94.7 CA$134
34.94%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$719 UYU 28.8K
$1,182 CA$1,671
-39.19%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$568 UYU 22.8K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,145 UYU 46.0K
$1,725 CA$2,438
-33.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,023 UYU 41.1K
$1,344 CA$1,900
-23.87%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,392 UYU 136.1K
$22.6K CA$31.9K
-84.97%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,949 UYU 78.2K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Montevideo
Cochrane
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,245 UYU 50.0K
$4,061 CA$5,740
-69.35%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.74
4.32
32.87%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cochrane: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Montevideo
$568
Cochrane
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Montevideo
$332
Cochrane
$285 14% $47
Eating Out
Montevideo
$269
Cochrane
$271 0.7% $1.8
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Montevideo
$254
Cochrane
$304 19.9% $50
Clothing & Footwear
Montevideo
$186
Cochrane
$120 35.8% $67
Getting Around
Montevideo
$84
Cochrane
$24 * 71.9% $61
Sport & Entertainment
Montevideo
$78
Cochrane
$71 9.3% $7.2

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 $719 in Montevideo and $1,182 in Cochrane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cochrane pays 226% 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 $70.0 in Cochrane. Groceries flip the comparison at $332 vs $285, with Cochrane cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇺🇾 Montevideo
🇨🇦 Cochrane
🕒 Local time
23:50 11:50 PM
20:50 8:50 PM
3 h behind Montevideo
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,319,108 Capital
26,000
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Montevideo Cochrane 11,130 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Montevideo
  • Cochrane

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 Cochrane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Montevideo or Cochrane?
Cochrane wins on cost – living expenses run 65% lower than in Montevideo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cochrane the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Montevideo or in Cochrane?
On paper, salaries run 226% lower in Cochrane. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Montevideo compared to Cochrane?
Rent for a central apartment: $719 in Montevideo versus $1,182 in Cochrane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Montevideo or in Cochrane?
Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Montevideo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Montevideo compared to Cochrane?
All in, you'll spend $1,771 per month in Montevideo versus $1,074 in Cochrane – a 65% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Montevideo or in Cochrane?
At $1,074 in Cochrane versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cochrane but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Cochrane the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Montevideo or Cochrane?
Both work as nomad bases, but Cochrane delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,074 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cochrane hard to pass up.
How safe is Montevideo compared to Cochrane?
Safety-wise, Montevideo and Cochrane are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Cochrane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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