Cost of living comparison

Uruguay

compared to

Argentina

Buenos Aires vs. Montevideo Cost of Living Summary

Buenos Aires is 11.6% cheaper than Montevideo.

Restaurants: pay 1.4% more in Buenos Aires
Groceries: pay 23.7% less in Buenos Aires
Transportation: pay 28.1% less in Buenos Aires
Housing: pay 2.0% less in Buenos Aires
Childcare: pay 22.5% less in Buenos Aires
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% less in Buenos Aires
Clothing: pay 18.3% more in Buenos Aires

The cost of clothing and restaurants in Buenos Aires are more expensive than in Montevideo. Expenses including transportation, groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Buenos Aires.

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Buenos Aires vs. Montevideo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Buenos Aires instead of Montevideo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.4% more for restaurants

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 UYU604.72	$19.02 ARS28,866.32	+26.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.46 UYU583.02	$12.96 ARS19,665.62	-10.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 UYU108.81	$2.01 ARS3,045.90	-25.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 UYU82.66	$1.59 ARS2,416.05	-22.4%
Average			+1.4%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.7% less for groceries

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Bread 1 loaf	$2.84 UYU114.69	$2.48 ARS3,759.89	-12.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.03 UYU283.55	$5.25 ARS7,963.26	-25.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.10 UYU205.48	$5.52 ARS8,376.92	+8.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.57 UYU184.15	$2.81 ARS4,263.15	-38.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46 UYU220.10	$4.60 ARS6,980.53	-15.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 UYU51.67	$1.28 ARS1,941.83	-0.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 UYU51.03	$0.97 ARS1,476.48	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 UYU32.15	$0.65 ARS986.80	-18.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 UYU58.00	$0.92 ARS1,393.13	-36.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 UYU37.22	$0.56 ARS848.63	-39.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 UYU38.73	$0.56 ARS844.64	-42.1%
Average			-23.7%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.1% less for transportation

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.25 UYU332.50	$5.28 ARS8,007.28	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.80 UYU3,015.63	$27.50 ARS41,738.12	-63.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,990.00 UYU1M	$28,500.00 ARS43M	+5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.27 UYU212.50	$9.60 ARS14,570.40	+82.1%
Average			-28.1%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0% less for housing

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.58 UYU1,797.10	$31.11 ARS47,219.03	-30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.61 UYU28,486.90	$770.79 ARS1M	+9.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.28 UYU23,514.79	$509.75 ARS774K	-12.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.76 UYU5,836.03	$162.43 ARS247K	+12.2%
Average			-2.0%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of housing

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pay 22.5% less for childcare

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$626.83 UYU25,270.58	$464.87 ARS706K	-25.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,986.11 UYU443K	$8,896.36 ARS14M	-19.0%
Average			-22.5%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.92 UYU198.53	$3.95 ARS6,000.47	-19.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.59 UYU184.84	$3.86 ARS5,864.06	-15.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.49 UYU221.15	$4.21 ARS6,386.17	-23.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.39 UYU2,192.54	$49.97 ARS75,848.75	-8.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.22 UYU492.55	$10.38 ARS15,757.84	-15.0%
Average			-15.3%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.3% more for clothing

	Montevideo	Buenos Aires
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.85 UYU4,146.32	$120.49 ARS183K	+17.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.61 UYU2,282.30	$95.69 ARS145K	+69.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$124.46 UYU5,017.67	$115.94 ARS176K	-6.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.21 UYU5,249.43	$138.37 ARS210K	+6.3%
Average			+18.3%

Montevideo vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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