Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Cuautla

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuautla: $1,253 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Cuautla
Learn more

Cuautla Living Index

Jump to prices

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Cuautla

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,253

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Cuautla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,253 in Cuautla.

Montevideo $1,771
Cuautla $1,253

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Montevideo versus $1,999 in Cuautla.

Montevideo $2,740
Cuautla $1,999

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,708 in Montevideo versus $2,745 in Cuautla.

Montevideo $3,708
Cuautla $2,745

Living in Montevideo is roughly 41% more expensive than in Cuautla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 31% above, Cuautla is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$11.03 MX$204

37.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$64.2 MX$1,186

7.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$9.42 MX$174

55.52%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$3.71 MX$68.5

20.22%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.63 MX$30.20

63.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$1.04 MX$19.22

92.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$3.27 MX$60.5

47.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$5.54 MX$102

-31.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.92 MX$35.52

-29.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.79 MX$51.6

2.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.94 MX$35.82

-9.79%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$2.75 MX$50.8

70.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$8.75 MX$162

58.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$9.17 MX$169

30.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$13.77 MX$255

-13.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$3.39 MX$62.7

-17.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.60 MX$29.55

71.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$2.14 MX$39.45

-17.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.94 MX$35.78

67.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$1.86 MX$34.37

5.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.76 MX$32.51

17.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.51 MX$27.96

-9.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$1.19 MX$22.07

57.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$4.50 MX$83.2

24.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$17.50 MX$323

-49.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$2.24 MX$41.32

0.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.95 MX$73.0

-30.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$0.63 MX$11.60

142.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$3.23 MX$59.6

-40.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$2.54 MX$47.02

-84.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$11.09 MX$205

-6.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.31 MX$24.22

62.60%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$20.8K MX$384.9K

30.14%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$24.0K MX$444.0K

50.92%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$58.8 MX$1,087

220.13%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$26.84 MX$496

-23.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$24.52 MX$453

82.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$36.29 MX$671

48.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

$20.97 MX$387

-5.82%

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$7.36 MX$136

62.36%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$263 MX$4,865

140.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$5,033 MX$93.0K

119.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$51.9 MX$959

96.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$45.28 MX$837

27.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$99.8 MX$1,844

26.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$98.4 MX$1,817

29.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$645 MX$11.9K

11.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$434 MX$8,019

30.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$1,182 MX$21.8K

-3.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$736 MX$13.6K

39.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

$1,712 MX$31.6K

98.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

$1,075 MX$19.9K

81.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.99

-52.13%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cuautla: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Cuautla

$434 34.6% 23.6% $134

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Cuautla

$308 24.6% 7.2% $24

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Cuautla

$199 15.9% 26% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Cuautla

$110 8.8% 56.6% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Cuautla

$133 10.6% 28.7% $53

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Cuautla

$18 * 1.5% 78.1% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Cuautla

$51 4.1% 34.5% $27

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 $645 in Cuautla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $69.0 in Montevideo vs $64.0 in Cuautla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $308 per month, with Cuautla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇲🇽 Cuautla

🕒 Local time

09:26 9:26 AM

06:26 6:26 AM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

157,336

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montevideo Cuautla 7,490 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Cuautla

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 Cuautla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuautla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 41% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,656 in Montevideo and $1,880 in Cuautla to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $719 in Montevideo versus $645 in Cuautla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $634 in Montevideo versus $263 in Cuautla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuautla – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $69.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,253 in Cuautla versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuautla but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Cuautla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cuautla 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 Cuautla 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 Cuautla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.