Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Matamoros

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,090 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Matamoros

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,771 in Montevideo versus $1,090 in Matamoros.

Montevideo $1,771
Matamoros $1,090

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,740 in Montevideo versus $1,832 in Matamoros.

Montevideo $2,740
Matamoros $1,832

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,708 in Montevideo versus $2,573 in Matamoros.

Montevideo $3,708
Matamoros $2,573

Living in Montevideo is roughly 62% more expensive than in Matamoros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montevideo is 31% above, Matamoros is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$12.38 MX$229

22.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$37.67 MX$696

83.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$9.06 MX$167

61.70%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$3.29 MX$60.8

35.56%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.47 MX$27.18

81.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$1.05 MX$19.40

90.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$2.26 MX$41.81

113.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$4.48 MX$82.8

-15.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.63 MX$30.12

-16.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.40 MX$44.43

19.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.70 MX$31.43

2.94%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$2.57 MX$47.54

82.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$9.01 MX$167

54.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$7.82 MX$144

53.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$11.74 MX$217

1.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$2.70 MX$49.81

2.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.73 MX$31.92

58.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$1.67 MX$30.82

5.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$2.05 MX$37.92

58.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$2.17 MX$40.01

-9.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$2.09 MX$38.70

-0.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.61 MX$29.73

-14.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$1.22 MX$22.48

54.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$4.72 MX$87.2

18.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$10.79 MX$199

-18.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$2.02 MX$37.32

11.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.18 MX$58.8

-13.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$0.65 MX$12.03

135.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$2.71 MX$50.0

-29.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$2.25 MX$41.49

-82.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$11.47 MX$212

-9.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.34 MX$24.72

58.96%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$23.5K MX$435.0K

15.16%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$23.9K MX$441.3K

51.84%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$56.2 MX$1,038

235.35%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$25.44 MX$470

-19.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$26.61 MX$492

68.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$32.88 MX$608

64.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

$22.40 MX$414

-11.83%

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$4.48 MX$82.7

166.74%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$223 MX$4,114

184.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$4,650 MX$85.9K

137.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$53.3 MX$986

91.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$38.50 MX$711

49.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$99.1 MX$1,832

27.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$79.4 MX$1,467

61.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$646 MX$11.9K

11.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$337 MX$6,220

68.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$901 MX$16.7K

27.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$826 MX$15.3K

23.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

$2,039 MX$37.7K

66.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

$1,054 MX$19.5K

84.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.3

-49.20%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Matamoros: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Matamoros

$337 30.9% 40.7% $231

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Matamoros

$269 24.7% 18.8% $62

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Matamoros

$196 18% 27.2% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Matamoros

$108 9.9% 57.3% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Matamoros

$122 11.2% 34.7% $65

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Matamoros

$17 * 1.5% 80.4% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Matamoros

$42 3.8% 46.3% $36

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 $646 in Matamoros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $69.0 in Montevideo vs $38.00 in Matamoros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $269 per month, with Matamoros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

23:16 11:16 PM

2 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

510,739

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Matamoros 8,040 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Matamoros

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 Matamoros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matamoros wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in Montevideo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Matamoros the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,656 in Montevideo and $1,635 in Matamoros 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 $646 in Matamoros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $634 in Montevideo versus $223 in Matamoros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Matamoros – 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 $1,090 in Matamoros versus $1,771 in Montevideo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Matamoros but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Matamoros the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Matamoros delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,090 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Matamoros hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Montevideo and Matamoros 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 Matamoros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.