Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tapachula and Montevideo

For one person, living is cheaper in Tapachula: $1,164 a month against $1,784 in Montevideo, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Tapachula
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Tapachula Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Montevideo
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Montevideo Living Index

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Tapachula

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,164

/mo nomad

Montevideo

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,164 per month in Tapachula vs $1,784 in Montevideo, rent included.

Tapachula $1,164
Montevideo $1,784

A couple spends around $1,828 per month in Tapachula vs $2,756 in Montevideo, rent included.

Tapachula $1,828
Montevideo $2,756

A family of three spends $2,493 per month in Tapachula vs $3,728 in Montevideo, rent included.

Tapachula $2,493
Montevideo $3,728

Tapachula is about 35% cheaper than Montevideo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Tapachula sits 14% below the global median, while Montevideo is 32% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.44 MX$193

$14.82 UYU 595

-29.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.58 MX$750

$69.7 UYU 2,797

-41.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 MX$146

$14.68 UYU 589

-46.19%

Cappuccino

$3.71 MX$68.6

$4.65 UYU 186

-20.22%

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

$1.27 MX$23.45

$2.74 UYU 110

-53.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 MX$21.35

$2.07 UYU 82.9

-43.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.41 MX$44.58

$4.79 UYU 192

-49.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.75 MX$69.3

$3.63 UYU 146

3.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 MX$28.77

$1.39 UYU 55.8

12.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.65 MX$49.05

$2.89 UYU 116

-8.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MX$29.96

$1.70 UYU 68.1

-4.71%

Eggs

$2.43 MX$44.94

$4.62 UYU 185

-47.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.09 MX$149

$14.22 UYU 571

-43.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 MX$154

$11.62 UYU 466

-28.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 MX$212

$12.23 UYU 491

-6.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 MX$42.72

$2.77 UYU 111

-16.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 MX$29.23

$2.85 UYU 114

-44.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.08 MX$38.50

$1.81 UYU 72.5

14.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.83 MX$33.81

$3.20 UYU 129

-42.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 MX$34.94

$1.94 UYU 77.8

-2.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.81 MX$33.37

$2.16 UYU 86.5

-16.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.62 MX$29.91

$1.43 UYU 57.3

13.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 MX$20.12

$1.94 UYU 77.9

-43.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.27 MX$79.0

$5.47 UYU 219

-21.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 MX$170

$8.95 UYU 359

2.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 MX$31.66

$2.26 UYU 90.8

-24.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 MX$56.4

$2.81 UYU 113

8.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 MX$11.19

$1.56 UYU 62.6

-60.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 UYU 2,962

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.66 MX$49.11

$1.90 UYU 76.2

40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 MX$31.45

$0.43 UYU 17.36

295.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.99 MX$185

$10.59 UYU 425

-5.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 MX$24.73

$2.12 UYU 85.2

-36.79%

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

$25.3K MX$467.0K

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

-5.67%

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

$23.0K MX$424.7K

$37.0K UYU 1.5M

-37.87%

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

$54.4 MX$1,006

$193 UYU 7,727

-71.72%

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

$23.70 MX$438

$20.91 UYU 839

13.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.93 MX$498

$44.89 UYU 1,802

-40.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.17 MX$687

$50.8 UYU 2,038

-26.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.73 MX$346

$19.73 UYU 792

-5.07%

Cinema Ticket

$5.01 MX$92.6

$12.30 UYU 494

-59.27%

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

$245 MX$4,528

$629 UYU 25.2K

-61.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,825 MX$89.2K

$10.9K UYU 437.3K

-55.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 MX$1,060

$104 UYU 4,166

-44.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.06 MX$759

$57.4 UYU 2,305

-28.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 MX$1,820

$125 UYU 5,010

-21.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.8 MX$1,696

$132 UYU 5,315

-30.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 MX$12.4K

$713 UYU 28.6K

-5.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$428 MX$7,904

$575 UYU 23.1K

-25.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 MX$20.0K

$1,164 UYU 46.7K

-7.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$770 MX$14.2K

$1,033 UYU 41.5K

-25.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,952 MX$36.1K

$3,418 UYU 137.2K

-42.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,087 MX$20.1K

$1,760 UYU 70.6K

-38.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,244 UYU 49.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.3

5.74

96.86%

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

Last update for Tapachula: October 18, 2026

Last update for Montevideo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tapachula

$428 36.8%

Montevideo

$575 32.2% 34.5% $148

Groceries & Markets

Tapachula

$259 22.3%

Montevideo

$334 18.7% 28.8% $75

Eating Out

Tapachula

$181 15.6%

Montevideo

$269 15.1% 48.5% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Tapachula

$130 11.2%

Montevideo

$188 10.6% 45% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tapachula

$105 9%

Montevideo

$258 14.5% 146% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Tapachula

$47 4.1%

Montevideo

$75 4.2% 59.7% $28

Getting Around

Tapachula

$14 * 1.2%

Montevideo

$84 4.7% 519% $71

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $673 in Tapachula versus $713 in Montevideo. 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 $41.00 in Tapachula versus $70.0 in Montevideo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $259 vs $334 – making Tapachula the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Tapachula

🇺🇾 Montevideo

🕒 Local time

04:11 4:11 AM

07:11 7:11 AM

3 h ahead of Tapachula

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,550

1,319,108 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tapachula Montevideo 6,720 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Tapachula
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

Tapachula vs Montevideo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montevideo is pricier by about 53%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,745 per month in Tapachula and $2,676 in Montevideo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tapachula, 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 $41.00 in Tapachula and $70.0 in Montevideo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Tapachula, where all-in costs run around $1,164, than in Montevideo at $1,784. In Tapachula it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montevideo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Tapachula – 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 Tapachula. 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.