Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Riobamba and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Riobamba: $574 a month against $1,771 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Riobamba
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Riobamba Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Riobamba

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$574

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Riobamba 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 Riobamba and in Montevideo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $574 per month in Riobamba vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Riobamba $574
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $914 per month in Riobamba vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

Riobamba $914
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $1,253 per month in Riobamba vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

Riobamba $1,253
Montevideo $3,708

Riobamba is about 68% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Riobamba sits 57% below the global median, while Montevideo is 31% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.43 $3.43

$15.16 UYU 610

-77.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.99 $15.99

$69.2 UYU 2,780

-76.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.48 $6.48

$14.65 UYU 589

-55.77%

Cappuccino

$2.49 $2.49

$4.46 UYU 179

-44.17%

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

$0.78 $0.78

$2.67 UYU 107

-70.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 $0.74

$2.00 UYU 80.5

-63.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 $1.95

$4.83 UYU 194

-59.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 $3.06

$3.80 UYU 153

-19.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.36 UYU 54.9

-27.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.08 $2.08

$2.87 UYU 115

-27.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.75 UYU 70.3

-50.29%

Eggs

$1.70 $1.70

$4.68 UYU 188

-63.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$1.96 $1.96

$13.88 UYU 558

-85.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.20 $3.20

$11.98 UYU 482

-73.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.86 $4.86

$11.97 UYU 481

-59.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 $1.73

$2.78 UYU 112

-37.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$2.74 UYU 110

-81.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 $1.35

$1.77 UYU 71.3

-23.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.01 $1.01

$3.24 UYU 130

-68.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 $0.79

$1.97 UYU 79.3

-59.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 $0.91

$2.07 UYU 83.2

-56.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 $0.46

$1.37 UYU 55.2

-66.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.88 UYU 75.4

-47.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.20 $5.20

$5.59 UYU 225

-6.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.71 $5.71

$8.78 UYU 353

-34.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

$2.26 UYU 91.0

-33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 $3.02

$2.75 UYU 111

9.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 $0.27

$1.53 UYU 61.6

-82.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.65 $15.65

$74.3 UYU 2,985

-78.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.91 UYU 76.8

-36.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 $1.13

$0.40 UYU 16.21

182.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.14 $11.14

$10.33 UYU 415

7.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 $0.88

$2.13 UYU 85.7

-58.69%

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

$25.4K $25.4K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

-6.33%

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

$29.3K $29.3K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-19.16%

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

$20.13 $20.13

$188 UYU 7,570

-89.31%

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

$7.06 $7.06

$20.54 UYU 826

-65.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.44 $26.44

$44.81 UYU 1,801

-41.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.23 $25.23

$54.0 UYU 2,169

-53.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.97 $16.97

$19.75 UYU 794

-14.08%

Cinema Ticket

$5.95 $5.95

$11.95 UYU 481

-50.21%

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

$81.4 $81.4

$634 UYU 25.5K

-87.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,420 $1,420

$11.1K UYU 444.3K

-87.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.0 $51.0

$102 UYU 4,106

-50.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.07 $47.07

$57.5 UYU 2,313

-18.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 $105

$127 UYU 5,088

-16.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.3 $72.3

$128 UYU 5,139

-43.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$114 $114

$719 UYU 28.9K

-84.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$94.8 $94.8

$568 UYU 22.8K

-83.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$228 $228

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

-80.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 $188

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

-81.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,173 $1,173

$3,392 UYU 136.4K

-65.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$738 $738

$1,949 UYU 78.4K

-62.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$330 $330

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

-73.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.16

5.74

94.43%

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

Last update for Riobamba: October 11, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Riobamba

$142 24.8%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 133% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Riobamba

$124 21.6%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 50.2% $62

Eating Out

Riobamba

$99 17.2%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 173% $170

Accommodation & Living

Riobamba

$95 16.5%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 499% $473

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Riobamba

$54 9.3%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 373% $200

Sport & Entertainment

Riobamba

$37 6.5%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 110% $41

Getting Around

Riobamba

$24 4.1%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 258% $61

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $114 in Riobamba versus $719 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 277% 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 $16.00 in Riobamba versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $332 – making Riobamba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Riobamba

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

13:55 1:55 PM

15:55 3:55 PM

2 h ahead of Riobamba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

170,000

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.893 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 40.2 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.02 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

UYU to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Riobamba Montevideo 4,370 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Riobamba
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

Riobamba vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 208%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $861 per month in Riobamba and $2,656 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $81.4 per month in Riobamba and $634 in Montevideo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 133% 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 Riobamba, where all-in costs run around $574, than in Montevideo at $1,771. In Riobamba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Riobamba – 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 Riobamba. 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.