Cost of living comparison
compared to
Buenos Aires vs. Montevideo Cost of Living Summary
Buenos Aires is 16.5% cheaper than Montevideo.
- Restaurants
- pay 5.5% less in Buenos Aires
- Groceries
- pay 19.0% less in Buenos Aires
- Transportation
- pay 52.2% less in Buenos Aires
- Housing
- pay 18.6% less in Buenos Aires
- Childcare
- pay 31.6% less in Buenos Aires
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 18.2% less in Buenos Aires
- Clothing
- pay 29.4% more in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires vs. Montevideo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Buenos Aires instead of Montevideo, you would:
pay 5.5% less for restaurants
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $16.42 UYU660.53 | $18.00 ARS26,600.28 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $12.53 UYU504.22 | $12.00 ARS17,733.52 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.31 UYU92.86 | $2.18 ARS3,223.25 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.77 UYU71.31 | $1.39 ARS2,051.35 | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.0% less for groceries
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.94 UYU118.08 | $2.89 ARS4,271.98 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $7.00 UYU281.75 | $6.13 ARS9,063.80 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $4.80 UYU193.19 | $5.84 ARS8,626.20 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $4.94 UYU198.66 | $3.29 ARS4,860.45 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $5.07 UYU203.86 | $3.92 ARS5,792.21 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.43 UYU57.65 | $1.15 ARS1,700.86 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.18 UYU47.35 | $0.96 ARS1,420.57 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.68 UYU27.28 | $0.57 ARS836.94 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.69 UYU67.79 | $1.14 ARS1,684.10 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.01 UYU40.54 | $0.66 ARS973.36 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.94 UYU37.99 | $0.58 ARS855.45 | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of groceries
pay 52.2% less for transportation
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $7.23 UYU290.89 | $4.31 ARS6,373.50 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $63.92 UYU2,571.55 | $20.00 ARS29,555.87 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $36,550.20 UYU1M | $25,000.00 ARS37M | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $29.69 UYU1,194.51 | $9.51 ARS14,061.15 | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of transportation
pay 18.6% less for housing
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $49.85 UYU2,005.67 | $29.42 ARS43,480.16 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $629.84 UYU25,339.58 | $659.06 ARS974K | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $497.62 UYU20,020.02 | $463.75 ARS685K | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $146.70 UYU5,901.80 | $100.98 ARS149K | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of housing
pay 31.6% less for childcare
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $480.09 UYU19,314.84 | $367.39 ARS543K | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $9,099.48 UYU366K | $5,496.25 ARS8M | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of childcare
pay 18.2% less for entertainment and sports
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $4.51 UYU181.52 | $3.80 ARS5,615.62 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $4.39 UYU176.66 | $4.13 ARS6,096.77 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $5.26 UYU211.77 | $3.68 ARS5,438.28 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $56.36 UYU2,267.28 | $43.59 ARS64,412.40 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $10.78 UYU433.63 | $9.00 ARS13,300.14 | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.4% more for clothing
Montevideo | Buenos Aires | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $99.79 UYU4,014.90 | $112.87 ARS167K | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $49.02 UYU1,972.33 | $91.59 ARS135K | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $116.65 UYU4,692.96 | $129.33 ARS191K | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $126.41 UYU5,085.61 | $134.94 ARS199K | |
Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026
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