Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and San Juan de Pasto

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan de Pasto: $1,371 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
Learn more

Montevideo Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in San Juan de Pasto
Learn more

San Juan de Pasto Living Index

Jump to prices

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

San Juan de Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $1,371 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
San Juan de Pasto $1,371

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $2,031 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
San Juan de Pasto $2,031

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $2,691 in San Juan de Pasto, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
San Juan de Pasto $2,691

Montevideo costs about 29% more than San Juan de Pasto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Montevideo and San Juan de Pasto sit above the global median – Montevideo by 31%, San Juan de Pasto by 2%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$6.63 COP 21.0K

128.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$45.64 COP 144.7K

51.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$9.96 COP 31.6K

47.09%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$2.57 COP 8,146

73.54%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.56 COP 4,948

71.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$0.86 COP 2,715

132.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$3.07 COP 9,733

57.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$4.05 COP 12.9K

-6.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.43 COP 4,538

-4.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.41 COP 7,629

19.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.83 COP 5,795

-4.37%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$3.33 COP 10.6K

40.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$7.27 COP 23.1K

90.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$11.06 COP 35.1K

8.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$13.41 COP 42.5K

-10.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$3.58 COP 11.3K

-22.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.40 COP 4,426

95.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$2.01 COP 6,359

-11.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.78 COP 5,640

82.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$1.41 COP 4,481

39.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.27 COP 4,041

62.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.12 COP 3,566

22.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$1.12 COP 3,555

67.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$3.65 COP 11.6K

53.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$13.43 COP 42.6K

-34.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$1.46 COP 4,635

54.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$2.73 COP 8,670

0.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$1.07 COP 3,390

42.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$1.61 COP 5,102

18.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$2.39 COP 7,590

-83.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$9.04 COP 28.7K

14.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.19 COP 3,770

78.99%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$22.6K COP 71.7M

19.91%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$32.0K COP 101.4M

13.42%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$124 COP 392.5K

52.11%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$13.01 COP 41.2K

57.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$29.19 COP 92.5K

53.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$42.67 COP 135.3K

26.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$6.19 COP 19.6K

93.05%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$682 COP 2.2M

-6.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$6,774 COP 21.5M

63.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$91.0 COP 288.5K

12.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$61.1 COP 193.8K

-5.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$153 COP 486.6K

-17.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$102 COP 323.0K

25.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$706 COP 2.2M

1.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$518 COP 1.6M

9.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$1,082 COP 3.4M

5.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$789 COP 2.5M

29.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

67.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

$1,580 COP 5.0M

23.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.58

-50.43%

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 de Pasto: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

San Juan de Pasto

$518 37.8% 8.7% $50

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

San Juan de Pasto

$284 20.7% 14.4% $48

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

San Juan de Pasto

$147 10.7% 45.4% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

San Juan de Pasto

$166 12.1% 34.6% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

San Juan de Pasto

$183 13.4% 1.6% $3

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

San Juan de Pasto

$18 * 1.3% 78.8% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

San Juan de Pasto

$55 4% 29.3% $23

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 $706 in San Juan de Pasto. 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 $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $284 – making San Juan de Pasto the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇨🇴 San Juan de Pasto

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

02:17 2:17 AM

2 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

392,930

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, 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).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Montevideo San Juan de Pasto 4,580 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
San Juan de Pasto

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 de Pasto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 29%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,656 per month in Montevideo and $2,057 in San Juan de Pasto. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Juan de Pasto, 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 $46.00 in San Juan de Pasto. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 17% more in Montevideo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in San Juan de Pasto, where all-in costs run around $1,371, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In San Juan de Pasto it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward San Juan de Pasto – 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 de Pasto. 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.