Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Queretaro and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Queretaro: $1,458 a month against $1,813 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Queretaro
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Queretaro Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Queretaro

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,458

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,813

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Queretaro and in Montevideo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Queretaro and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,458 per month in Queretaro vs $1,813 in Montevideo, rent included.

Queretaro $1,458
Montevideo $1,813

A couple spends around $2,209 per month in Queretaro vs $2,782 in Montevideo, rent included.

Queretaro $2,209
Montevideo $2,782

A family of three spends $2,960 per month in Queretaro vs $3,750 in Montevideo, rent included.

Queretaro $2,960
Montevideo $3,750

Queretaro is about 20% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Queretaro and Montevideo sit above the global median – Queretaro by 9%, Montevideo by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.24 MX$204

$15.26 UYU 613

-26.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.3 MX$1,169

$67.4 UYU 2,707

-4.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.59 MX$174

$14.37 UYU 577

-33.26%

Cappuccino

$3.59 MX$65.3

$4.64 UYU 186

-22.63%

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

$1.61 MX$29.27

$2.73 UYU 110

-41.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.10 MX$20.01

$2.09 UYU 83.9

-47.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 MX$59.2

$4.75 UYU 191

-31.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 MX$101

$3.67 UYU 147

51.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 MX$35.64

$1.38 UYU 55.4

42.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.77 MX$50.4

$2.77 UYU 111

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 MX$37.03

$1.69 UYU 67.7

20.71%

Eggs

$2.70 MX$49.12

$4.52 UYU 182

-40.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.21 MX$168

$14.17 UYU 569

-35.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 MX$161

$12.07 UYU 485

-26.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.80 MX$251

$12.16 UYU 488

13.49%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 MX$61.8

$2.87 UYU 115

18.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 MX$30.49

$2.75 UYU 110

-38.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 MX$39.28

$1.73 UYU 69.4

24.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.92 MX$35.00

$3.24 UYU 130

-40.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 MX$33.75

$2.07 UYU 83.0

-10.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 MX$33.12

$2.07 UYU 83.0

-12.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 MX$28.11

$1.38 UYU 55.4

12.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 MX$22.78

$1.85 UYU 74.4

-32.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.64 MX$84.5

$5.57 UYU 224

-16.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.28 MX$332

$8.89 UYU 357

105.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 MX$39.85

$2.29 UYU 92.1

-4.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 MX$71.2

$2.70 UYU 108

44.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 MX$10.90

$1.52 UYU 61.2

-60.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.03 MX$473

$73.7 UYU 2,958

-64.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 MX$59.0

$1.82 UYU 73.3

78.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 MX$46.67

$0.40 UYU 16.02

542.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.88 MX$198

$10.66 UYU 428

2.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 MX$28.80

$2.22 UYU 89.0

-28.83%

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

$21.5K MX$391.3K

$26.7K UYU 1.1M

-19.57%

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

$24.4K MX$443.3K

$36.7K UYU 1.5M

-33.67%

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

$58.0 MX$1,055

$191 UYU 7,662

-69.62%

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

$27.03 MX$492

$20.40 UYU 819

32.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.66 MX$449

$44.14 UYU 1,772

-44.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.1 MX$1,039

$54.1 UYU 2,174

5.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.02 MX$455

$19.68 UYU 790

27.13%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 MX$137

$12.33 UYU 495

-38.85%

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

$269 MX$4,888

$613 UYU 24.6K

-56.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,127 MX$93.3K

$11.0K UYU 443.6K

-53.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 MX$960

$103 UYU 4,128

-48.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.39 MX$807

$56.1 UYU 2,251

-20.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MX$1,853

$124 UYU 4,993

-18.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 MX$1,828

$130 UYU 5,207

-22.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$850 MX$15.5K

$705 UYU 28.3K

20.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$574 MX$10.4K

$575 UYU 23.1K

-0.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 MX$26.6K

$1,139 UYU 45.7K

28.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$849 MX$15.4K

$1,016 UYU 40.8K

-16.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,208 MX$40.2K

$3,349 UYU 134.4K

-34.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,244 MX$22.6K

$1,942 UYU 78.0K

-35.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$943 MX$17.2K

$1,229 UYU 49.4K

-23.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.99

5.74

108.89%

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

Last update for Queretaro: October 3, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Queretaro

$574 39.7%

Montevideo

$575 32.3% 0.3% $1.9

Groceries & Markets

Queretaro

$311 21.5%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 7% $22

Eating Out

Queretaro

$200 13.8%

Montevideo

$271 15.2% 35.6% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Queretaro

$135 9.3%

Montevideo

$186 10.4% 37.8% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Queretaro

$110 7.6%

Montevideo

$255 14.3% 133% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Queretaro

$72 5%

Montevideo

$79 4.4% 9.2% $6.6

Getting Around

Queretaro

$45 3.1%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 87.8% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $850 in Queretaro versus $705 in Montevideo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 30% higher in Montevideo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $64.0 in Queretaro versus $67.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $311 vs $332 – making Queretaro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Queretaro

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

21:46 9:46 PM

00:46 12:46 AM

3 h ahead of Queretaro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

804,663

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

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).

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).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Queretaro Montevideo 7,740 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Queretaro
Montevideo

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

Queretaro vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 24%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,187 per month in Queretaro and $2,720 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $269 per month in Queretaro and $613 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 7% 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 Queretaro, where all-in costs run around $1,458, than in Montevideo at $1,813. In Queretaro it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Queretaro – 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 Queretaro. 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.