Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sterling and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Montevideo: $1,771 a month against $2,824 in Sterling, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

137

Cost of Living Index in Sterling
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Sterling Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Sterling

🇺🇸 United States

$2,824

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,771

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,824 per month in Sterling vs $1,771 in Montevideo, rent included.

Sterling $2,824
Montevideo $1,771

A couple spends around $4,327 per month in Sterling vs $2,740 in Montevideo, rent included.

Sterling $4,327
Montevideo $2,740

A family of three spends $5,831 per month in Sterling vs $3,708 in Montevideo, rent included.

Sterling $5,831
Montevideo $3,708

Sterling costs about 59% more than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Sterling and Montevideo sit above the global median – Sterling by 109%, Montevideo by 31%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.32 $19.32

$15.16 UYU 609

27.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.4 $75.4

$69.2 UYU 2,776

9.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.84 $11.84

$14.65 UYU 588

-19.18%

Cappuccino

$5.90 $5.90

$4.46 UYU 179

32.29%

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

$2.98 $2.98

$2.67 UYU 107

11.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 $2.48

$2.00 UYU 80.4

24.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.42 $5.42

$4.83 UYU 194

12.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 $7.91

$3.80 UYU 152

108.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.36 UYU 54.8

-22.79%

White Bread (500g)

$4.01 $4.01

$2.87 UYU 115

39.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.11 $5.11

$1.75 UYU 70.2

192.00%

Eggs

$5.61 $5.61

$4.68 UYU 188

19.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.11 $17.11

$13.88 UYU 557

23.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.54 $14.54

$11.98 UYU 481

21.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.87 $18.87

$11.97 UYU 480

57.64%

Apples (1kg)

$5.58 $5.58

$2.78 UYU 111

100.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.34 $2.34

$2.74 UYU 110

-14.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.05 $5.05

$1.77 UYU 71.2

185.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.88 $5.88

$3.24 UYU 130

81.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.82 $2.82

$1.97 UYU 79.2

43.15%

Onion (1kg)

$3.83 $3.83

$2.07 UYU 83.1

85.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 $2.26

$1.37 UYU 55.1

64.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 $2.64

$1.88 UYU 75.3

40.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.90 $9.90

$5.59 UYU 224

77.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.96 $13.96

$8.78 UYU 352

59.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.32 $2.32

$2.26 UYU 90.9

2.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.54 $5.54

$2.75 UYU 110

101.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.96 $4.96

$1.53 UYU 61.5

224.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 UYU 2,980

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.98 $2.98

$1.91 UYU 76.7

56.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 $1.41

$0.40 UYU 16.18

252.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.86 $22.86

$10.33 UYU 415

121.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 $1.04

$2.13 UYU 85.6

-51.17%

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

$36.0K $36.0K

$27.1K UYU 1.1M

32.64%

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

$25.1K $25.1K

$36.3K UYU 1.5M

-30.82%

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

$156 $156

$188 UYU 7,557

-16.99%

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

$50.5 $50.5

$20.54 UYU 824

146.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$79.1 $79.1

$44.81 UYU 1,798

76.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.37 $29.37

$54.0 UYU 2,166

-45.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.75 UYU 793

Cinema Ticket

$18.12 $18.12

$11.95 UYU 480

51.63%

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

$1,918 $1,918

$634 UYU 25.5K

202.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.2K $32.2K

$11.1K UYU 443.6K

191.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.8 $52.8

$102 UYU 4,099

-48.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.11 $45.11

$57.5 UYU 2,309

-21.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.7 $87.7

$127 UYU 5,079

-30.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 $107

$128 UYU 5,131

-16.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 $1,255

$719 UYU 28.8K

74.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,512 $1,512

$568 UYU 22.8K

166.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,025 $2,025

$1,145 UYU 46.0K

76.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,875 $2,875

$1,023 UYU 41.1K

180.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,239 $3,239

$3,392 UYU 136.1K

-4.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,372 $2,372

$1,949 UYU 78.2K

21.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,714 $3,714

$1,245 UYU 50.0K

198.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.63

5.74

15.51%

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

Last update for Sterling: October 12, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sterling

$1.5K 53.6%

Montevideo

$568 32.1% 62.4% $944

Groceries & Markets

Sterling

$473 16.8%

Montevideo

$332 18.7% 29.9% $141

Eating Out

Sterling

$326 11.5%

Montevideo

$269 15.2% 17.4% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sterling

$286 10.1%

Montevideo

$254 14.3% 11.3% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Sterling

$132 4.7%

Montevideo

$186 10.5% 41.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Sterling

$66 2.3%

Montevideo

$78 4.4% 18.7% $12

Getting Around

Sterling

$30 * 1.1%

Montevideo

$84 4.8% 182% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,255 in Sterling 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 198% higher in Sterling, 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 $75.0 in Sterling versus $69.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $473 vs $332 – making Montevideo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇸 Sterling

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

07:13 7:13 AM

09:13 9:13 AM

2 h ahead of Sterling

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

14,782

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 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 18, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

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).

UYU to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Sterling Montevideo 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sterling
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

Sterling vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sterling is pricier by about 59%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,236 per month in Sterling 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 Montevideo, 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 $75.0 in Sterling and $69.0 in Montevideo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Sterling, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Montevideo, where all-in costs run around $1,771, than in Sterling at $2,824. In Montevideo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sterling it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Montevideo – 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 Montevideo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sterling makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.