Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Monterrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Monterrey: $1,607 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
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Monterrey Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Monterrey

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,813 in Montevideo versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Montevideo $1,813
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,782 in Montevideo versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Montevideo $2,782
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,750 in Montevideo versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Montevideo $3,750
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Montevideo is roughly 13% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montevideo 35% above, Monterrey 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.26 UYU 613

$13.75 MX$250

10.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 UYU 2,707

$50.2 MX$913

34.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.37 UYU 577

$11.13 MX$203

29.11%

Cappuccino

$4.64 UYU 186

$4.04 MX$73.5

14.85%

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

$2.73 UYU 110

$1.70 MX$31.00

60.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 UYU 83.9

$0.99 MX$18.00

111.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.75 UYU 191

$2.41 MX$43.80

97.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 UYU 147

$4.48 MX$81.6

-18.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$1.92 MX$34.98

-28.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 UYU 111

$2.89 MX$52.6

-4.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 67.7

$1.94 MX$35.34

-12.89%

Eggs

$4.52 UYU 182

$2.50 MX$45.47

80.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.17 UYU 569

$12.30 MX$224

15.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.07 UYU 485

$9.33 MX$170

29.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 UYU 488

$13.07 MX$238

-6.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.87 UYU 115

$3.38 MX$61.5

-15.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 UYU 110

$1.58 MX$28.75

74.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 UYU 69.4

$2.20 MX$40.07

-21.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$2.45 MX$44.48

32.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.0

$2.26 MX$41.09

-8.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.0

$2.74 MX$49.89

-24.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 UYU 55.4

$1.53 MX$27.83

-9.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 UYU 74.4

$1.26 MX$22.94

46.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.57 UYU 224

$4.84 MX$88.1

15.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.89 UYU 357

$13.59 MX$247

-34.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 UYU 92.1

$1.91 MX$34.69

19.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 UYU 108

$3.06 MX$55.8

-11.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 UYU 61.2

$0.80 MX$14.47

90.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.7 UYU 2,958

$31.77 MX$578

131.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.82 UYU 73.3

$1.62 MX$29.50

12.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.02

$1.10 MX$19.99

-63.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.66 UYU 428

$10.97 MX$199

-2.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 UYU 89.0

$1.52 MX$27.68

46.05%

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

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

$21.4K MX$388.7K

25.15%

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

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

$25.5K MX$463.3K

44.27%

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

$191 UYU 7,662

$120 MX$2,178

59.41%

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

$20.40 UYU 819

$27.08 MX$493

-24.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.14 UYU 1,772

$26.70 MX$486

65.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 UYU 2,174

$31.15 MX$567

73.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.68 UYU 790

$21.95 MX$399

-10.34%

Cinema Ticket

$12.33 UYU 495

$5.14 MX$93.5

139.88%

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

$613 UYU 24.6K

$688 MX$12.5K

-10.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K UYU 443.6K

$11.4K MX$207.9K

-3.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 UYU 4,128

$71.9 MX$1,308

42.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 UYU 2,251

$43.30 MX$788

29.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 UYU 4,993

$112 MX$2,040

10.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 UYU 5,207

$122 MX$2,216

6.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$705 UYU 28.3K

$957 MX$17.4K

-26.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$575 UYU 23.1K

$670 MX$12.2K

-14.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 UYU 45.7K

$1,887 MX$34.3K

-39.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

$1,305 MX$23.7K

-22.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,349 UYU 134.4K

$4,159 MX$75.7K

-19.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,942 UYU 78.0K

$2,437 MX$44.3K

-20.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

$1,133 MX$20.6K

8.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.79

-51.31%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$575 32.3%

Monterrey

$670 41.4% 16.5% $95

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 6% $20

Eating Out

Montevideo

$271 15.2%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 17.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$255 14.3%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 32.1% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.4%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 15.4% $29

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.7%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 49.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$79 4.4%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 47.4% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $705 in Montevideo and $957 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montevideo pays 8% 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: $67.0 in Montevideo vs $50.0 in Monterrey for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $312 per month, with Monterrey cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

01:00 1:00 AM

22:00 10:00 PM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.15 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.03 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Montevideo Monterrey 8,180 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Monterrey

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 Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montevideo and Monterrey differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,813 vs $1,607 including rent). Monterrey is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% 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: $705 in Montevideo versus $957 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Monterrey – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $67.0 in Montevideo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,813 per month in Montevideo versus $1,607 in Monterrey – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,607 in Monterrey versus $1,813 in Montevideo, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Montevideo. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Montevideo and Monterrey 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 Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Montevideo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.