Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $1,684 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $1,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,684

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in San Juan

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $1,684 in San Juan, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
San Juan $1,684

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $2,772 in San Juan, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
San Juan $2,772

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $3,861 in San Juan, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
San Juan $3,861

Montevideo costs about 5% more than San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Montevideo and San Juan sit above the global median – Montevideo by 31%, San Juan by 25%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$12.36 ₡5,541

22.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$61.3 ₡27.5K

12.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$11.46 ₡5,139

27.84%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$4.42 ₡1,982

0.90%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$2.77 ₡1,240

-3.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$1.94 ₡870

3.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$3.31 ₡1,483

45.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$4.45 ₡1,996

-14.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$2.34 ₡1,052

-41.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$3.18 ₡1,425

-9.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$2.51 ₡1,125

-30.28%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$3.46 ₡1,551

35.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$10.66 ₡4,782

30.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$10.33 ₡4,633

15.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$13.90 ₡6,233

-13.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$4.97 ₡2,230

-44.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.59 ₡714

72.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$4.64 ₡2,079

-61.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$3.95 ₡1,771

-17.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$3.86 ₡1,731

-48.96%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$3.75 ₡1,684

-44.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.07 ₡479

28.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$3.08 ₡1,379

-38.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$6.00 ₡2,691

-6.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$19.72 ₡8,844

-55.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$2.76 ₡1,236

-18.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$3.69 ₡1,654

-25.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$1.37 ₡614

11.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$2.41 ₡1,079

-20.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$1.54 ₡693

-74.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$8.58 ₡3,849

20.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.55 ₡695

37.42%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

25.30%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$34.9K ₡15.6M

4.01%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$96.4 ₡43.2K

95.39%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$35.06 ₡15.7K

-41.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$59.3 ₡26.6K

-24.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$66.9 ₡30.0K

-19.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$7.50 ₡3,362

59.33%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$1,001 ₡449.1K

-36.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$16.9K ₡7.6M

-34.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$70.9 ₡31.8K

44.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$55.3 ₡24.8K

3.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$126 ₡56.6K

0.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$134 ₡60.2K

-4.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$717 ₡321.3K

0.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$593 ₡266.1K

-4.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$1,850 ₡829.6K

-38.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$1,386 ₡621.4K

-26.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

8.62

-33.41%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

San Juan

$593 35.2% 4.5% $25

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

San Juan

$398 23.6% 20% $66

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

San Juan

$231 13.7% 14.4% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

San Juan

$191 11.3% 24.8% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

San Juan

$174 10.3% 6.6% $12

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

San Juan

$16 * 0.9% 81.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

San Juan

$82 4.9% 5.2% $4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $719 in Montevideo versus $717 in San Juan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo versus $61.0 in San Juan. Groceries tell a different story – $332 in Montevideo vs $398 in San Juan – so Montevideo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇨🇷 San Juan

🕒 Local time

11:02 11:02 AM

08:02 8:02 AM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

27,000

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Montevideo San Juan 5,790 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
San Juan

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 San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,656 per month in Montevideo and $2,526 in San Juan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Juan, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Montevideo and $61.0 in San Juan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 20% cheaper in Montevideo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in San Juan, where all-in costs run around $1,684, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In San Juan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Juan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with San Juan. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montevideo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.