Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Cuernavaca

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuernavaca: $1,011 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Cuernavaca
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Cuernavaca Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Cuernavaca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Cuernavaca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,011 in Cuernavaca.

Montevideo $1,771
Cuernavaca $1,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Montevideo versus $1,692 in Cuernavaca.

Montevideo $2,740
Cuernavaca $1,692

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,708 in Montevideo versus $2,373 in Cuernavaca.

Montevideo $3,708
Cuernavaca $2,373

Living in Montevideo is roughly 75% more expensive than in Cuernavaca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 31% above, Cuernavaca is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$8.05 MX$149

88.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$38.27 MX$707

80.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$7.24 MX$134

102.35%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$2.43 MX$44.98

83.54%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.27 MX$23.43

110.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$0.63 MX$11.60

217.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$2.50 MX$46.29

93.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$3.26 MX$60.3

16.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.70 MX$31.33

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.21 MX$40.92

29.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.44 MX$26.52

21.53%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$1.92 MX$35.49

143.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$8.08 MX$149

71.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$4.89 MX$90.4

144.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$13.78 MX$255

-13.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$2.23 MX$41.24

24.66%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.35 MX$25.02

102.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$2.17 MX$40.07

-18.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.67 MX$30.92

94.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$1.71 MX$31.62

15.20%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.74 MX$32.06

18.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.53 MX$28.25

-10.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$0.91 MX$16.78

106.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$4.39 MX$81.2

27.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$8.15 MX$151

7.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$1.22 MX$22.55

85.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.32 MX$61.4

-17.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$0.57 MX$10.51

168.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

$27.69 MX$512

168.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$1.90 MX$35.20

0.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$2.63 MX$48.52

-84.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$10.93 MX$202

-5.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.42 MX$26.26

50.00%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$21.0K MX$387.9K

29.15%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$24.1K MX$444.6K

50.71%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$57.3 MX$1,059

228.74%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$18.78 MX$347

9.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$25.19 MX$465

77.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$25.75 MX$476

109.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$5.44 MX$100

119.67%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$217 MX$4,018

191.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$5,075 MX$93.8K

117.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$41.29 MX$763

147.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$33.18 MX$613

73.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$93.0 MX$1,719

36.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$99.1 MX$1,832

28.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$385 MX$7,110

86.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$332 MX$6,140

70.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$957 MX$17.7K

19.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$804 MX$14.9K

27.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

$870 MX$16.1K

290.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

$606 MX$11.2K

221.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

$649 MX$12.0K

91.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.4

-49.65%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cuernavaca: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Cuernavaca

$332 32.9% 41.5% $236

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Cuernavaca

$234 23.1% 29.6% $98

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Cuernavaca

$142 14.1% 47.2% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Cuernavaca

$101 10% 60.1% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Cuernavaca

$120 11.9% 35.6% $66

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Cuernavaca

$45 4.5% 46.6% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Cuernavaca

$37 3.6% 53% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $719 in Montevideo and $385 in Cuernavaca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 92% 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: $69.0 in Montevideo vs $38.00 in Cuernavaca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $234 per month, with Cuernavaca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇲🇽 Cuernavaca

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

05:00 5:00 AM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

341,029

💱 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 Cuernavaca 7,510 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Cuernavaca

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 Cuernavaca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuernavaca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 75% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Montevideo, 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: $719 in Montevideo versus $385 in Cuernavaca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Montevideo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cuernavaca – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $69.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,011 in Cuernavaca versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cuernavaca but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Cuernavaca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cuernavaca 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 Cuernavaca 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 Cuernavaca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 75% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.