Cost of living comparison

Uruguay

compared to

Switzerland

Zurich vs. Montevideo Cost of Living Summary

Zurich is 2.2 times more expensive than Montevideo.

Restaurants: pay 86.9% more in Zurich
Groceries: pay 50.8% more in Zurich
Transportation: pay 54.8% more in Zurich
Housing: pay 3.3 times more in Zurich
Childcare: pay 4.7 times more in Zurich
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.8% more in Zurich
Clothing: pay 38.2% more in Zurich

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in Zurich are more expensive than in Montevideo. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Zurich.

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Zurich vs. Montevideo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zurich instead of Montevideo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 86.9% more for restaurants

	Montevideo	Zurich
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 UYU602.99	$34.80 CHF28.67	+132.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.46 UYU581.35	$18.00 CHF14.83	+24.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 UYU108.50	$5.76 CHF4.75	+113.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.05 UYU82.42	$5.27 CHF4.34	+157.1%
Average			+86.9%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.8% more for groceries

	Montevideo	Zurich
Bread 1 loaf	$2.84 UYU114.36	$3.88 CHF3.20	+36.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.03 UYU282.74	$13.44 CHF11.08	+91.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.10 UYU204.89	$8.14 CHF6.71	+59.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.57 UYU183.62	$8.45 CHF6.96	+84.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.46 UYU219.47	$12.65 CHF10.43	+131.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 UYU51.53	$1.86 CHF1.53	+45.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.27 UYU50.88	$1.25 CHF1.03	-1.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 UYU32.06	$1.56 CHF1.29	+96.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 UYU57.83	$2.06 CHF1.70	+43.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.92 UYU37.12	$1.14 CHF0.94	+23.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 UYU38.62	$0.99 CHF0.81	+2.9%
Average			+50.8%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.8% more for transportation

	Montevideo	Zurich
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.25 UYU331.54	$8.85 CHF7.29	+7.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.80 UYU3,006.97	$105.60 CHF87.00	+41.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,990.00 UYU1M	$39,298.98 CHF32,376.11	+45.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.27 UYU211.89	$44.58 CHF36.73	+745.7%
Average			+54.8%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3 times more for housing

	Montevideo	Zurich
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.58 UYU1,791.94	$55.12 CHF45.41	+23.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$706.61 UYU28,405.12	$2,960.13 CHF2,438.68	+318.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.28 UYU23,447.28	$2,334.69 CHF1,923.41	+300.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.76 UYU5,819.28	$211.70 CHF174.41	+46.2%
Average			+230.5%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of housing

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pay 4.7 times more for childcare

	Montevideo	Zurich
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$626.83 UYU25,198.03	$3,558.83 CHF2,931.91	+467.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,986.11 UYU442K	$42,145.57 CHF34,721.25	+283.6%
Average			+366.7%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare

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pay 79.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Montevideo	Zurich
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.92 UYU197.96	$9.60 CHF7.91	+94.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.59 UYU184.31	$6.99 CHF5.76	+52.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.49 UYU220.51	$10.80 CHF8.90	+96.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.39 UYU2,186.24	$90.03 CHF74.17	+65.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.22 UYU491.14	$24.60 CHF20.27	+101.3%
Average			+79.8%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.2% more for clothing

	Montevideo	Zurich
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.85 UYU4,134.41	$141.16 CHF116.29	+37.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.61 UYU2,275.75	$58.43 CHF48.14	+3.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$124.46 UYU5,003.26	$163.33 CHF134.56	+31.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.21 UYU5,234.35	$255.33 CHF210.35	+96.1%
Average			+38.2%

Montevideo vs. Zurich - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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