Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montevideo and Sayulita

For one person, living is cheaper in Sayulita: $1,107 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Sayulita
Learn more

Sayulita Living Index

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Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Sayulita

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montevideo and in Sayulita

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

A single person spends $1,771 per month in Montevideo vs $1,107 in Sayulita, rent included.

Montevideo $1,771
Sayulita $1,107

A couple spends around $2,740 per month in Montevideo vs $1,769 in Sayulita, rent included.

Montevideo $2,740
Sayulita $1,769

A family of three spends $3,708 per month in Montevideo vs $2,430 in Sayulita, rent included.

Montevideo $3,708
Sayulita $2,430

Montevideo costs about 60% more than Sayulita, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montevideo sits 31% above the global median, while Sayulita is 18% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.16 UYU 609

$10.78 MX$199

40.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.2 UYU 2,776

$38.36 MX$709

80.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.65 UYU 588

$8.15 MX$151

79.75%

Cappuccino

$4.46 UYU 179

$3.34 MX$61.8

33.53%

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

$2.67 UYU 107

$1.24 MX$22.96

115.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.4

$0.98 MX$18.04

104.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.83 UYU 194

$2.18 MX$40.28

121.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.80 UYU 152

$3.86 MX$71.3

-1.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 UYU 54.8

$1.50 MX$27.66

-9.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 UYU 115

$2.64 MX$48.75

8.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 UYU 70.2

$1.56 MX$28.83

12.18%

Eggs

$4.68 UYU 188

$2.37 MX$43.83

97.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.88 UYU 557

$7.89 MX$146

75.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.98 UYU 481

$7.66 MX$142

56.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 UYU 480

$10.77 MX$199

11.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 111

$2.60 MX$47.97

6.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 UYU 110

$1.39 MX$25.65

97.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.2

$1.72 MX$31.81

2.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 UYU 130

$1.69 MX$31.17

91.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 UYU 79.2

$1.86 MX$34.29

5.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.07 UYU 83.1

$1.99 MX$36.86

4.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 UYU 55.1

$1.24 MX$22.96

10.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 UYU 75.3

$0.97 MX$17.95

93.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.59 UYU 224

$4.30 MX$79.5

30.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.78 UYU 352

$10.91 MX$202

-19.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 UYU 90.9

$1.59 MX$29.42

42.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 UYU 110

$2.79 MX$51.5

-1.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 UYU 61.5

$0.66 MX$12.19

131.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.91 UYU 76.7

$2.57 MX$47.56

-25.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 UYU 16.18

$1.54 MX$28.49

-74.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.33 UYU 415

$8.46 MX$156

22.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 UYU 85.6

$1.27 MX$23.41

67.72%

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

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

$21.5K MX$397.2K

26.12%

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

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

$22.1K MX$408.5K

64.04%

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

$188 UYU 7,557

$57.2 MX$1,057

229.08%

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

$20.54 UYU 824

$22.36 MX$413

-8.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.81 UYU 1,798

$28.67 MX$530

56.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 UYU 2,166

$36.71 MX$678

46.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

$15.94 MX$295

23.90%

Cinema Ticket

$11.95 UYU 480

$4.70 MX$86.8

154.26%

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

$634 UYU 25.5K

$206 MX$3,812

207.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

$3,640 MX$67.3K

203.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 UYU 4,099

$53.8 MX$995

89.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 UYU 2,309

$39.12 MX$723

47.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 UYU 5,079

$91.7 MX$1,694

38.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 UYU 5,131

$79.7 MX$1,473

60.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$719 UYU 28.8K

$506 MX$9,358

41.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 UYU 22.8K

$393 MX$7,269

44.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

$950 MX$17.6K

20.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

$774 MX$14.3K

32.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

$1,721 MX$31.8K

97.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

$1,160 MX$21.4K

68.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.74

11.48

-50.00%

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

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sayulita: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montevideo

$568 32.1%

Sayulita

$393 35.5% 30.7% $175

Groceries & Markets

Montevideo

$332 18.7%

Sayulita

$250 22.5% 24.7% $82

Eating Out

Montevideo

$269 15.2%

Sayulita

$178 16.1% 33.8% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montevideo

$254 14.3%

Sayulita

$108 9.8% 57.3% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Montevideo

$186 10.5%

Sayulita

$119 10.7% 36.2% $67

Getting Around

Montevideo

$84 4.8%

Sayulita

$13 * 1.2% 84.7% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Montevideo

$78 4.4%

Sayulita

$46 4.2% 40.8% $32

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 $506 in Sayulita. 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 $38.00 in Sayulita. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $250 – making Sayulita the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🇲🇽 Sayulita

🕒 Local time

03:06 3:06 AM

00:06 12:06 AM

3 h behind Montevideo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,319,108 Capital

5,000

💱 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 Sayulita 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Montevideo
Sayulita

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 Sayulita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 60%, 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 $1,661 in Sayulita. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sayulita, 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 $38.00 in Sayulita. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sayulita, where all-in costs run around $1,107, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Sayulita it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sayulita – 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 Sayulita. 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.