Cost of living comparison

Uruguay

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Montevideo Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 6.2% more expensive than Montevideo.

Restaurants: pay 16.4% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 23.9% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 10.6% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 13.9% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 56.1% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.6% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 8.1% less in San Jose

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

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San Jose vs. Montevideo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Montevideo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.4% less for restaurants

	Montevideo	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 UYU604.72	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	-18.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.46 UYU583.02	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	-19.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 UYU108.81	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	-0.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 UYU82.66	$1.89 CRC858.35	-8.0%
Average			-16.4%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.9% more for groceries

	Montevideo	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$2.84 UYU114.69	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+8.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.03 UYU283.55	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-24.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.10 UYU205.48	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	+75.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.57 UYU184.15	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-23.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46 UYU220.10	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	-13.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 UYU51.67	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+80.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 UYU51.03	$0.73 CRC330.88	-42.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 UYU32.15	$2.15 CRC979.64	+169.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 UYU58.00	$1.76 CRC799.36	+22.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 UYU37.22	$1.73 CRC787.71	+87.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 UYU38.73	$1.66 CRC755.96	+72.9%
Average			+23.9%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% less for transportation

	Montevideo	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.25 UYU332.50	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	-29.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.80 UYU3,015.63	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	-12.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,990.00 UYU1M	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-18.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.27 UYU212.50	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	+187.1%
Average			-10.6%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.9% more for housing

	Montevideo	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.58 UYU1,797.10	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+32.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.61 UYU28,486.90	$942.15 CRC429K	+33.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.28 UYU23,514.79	$758.77 CRC345K	+30.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.76 UYU5,836.03	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	-50.0%
Average			+13.9%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 56.1% more for childcare

	Montevideo	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$626.83 UYU25,270.58	$980.95 CRC446K	+56.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,986.11 UYU443K	$17,102.76 CRC8M	+55.7%
Average			+56.1%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Montevideo	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.92 UYU198.53	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	-33.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.59 UYU184.84	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	-3.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.49 UYU221.15	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+7.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.39 UYU2,192.54	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+34.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.22 UYU492.55	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	-37.3%
Average			-11.6%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.1% less for clothing

	Montevideo	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.85 UYU4,146.32	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	-30.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.61 UYU2,282.30	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	-1.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$124.46 UYU5,017.67	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+3.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.21 UYU5,249.43	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+0.9%
Average			-8.1%

Montevideo vs. San Jose - 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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