Cost of living comparison

compared to

Uruguay vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Uruguay is 76.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Uruguay
Groceries: pay 71.8% more in Uruguay
Transportation: pay 58.6% more in Uruguay
Housing: pay 30.7% more in Uruguay
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in Uruguay
Entertainment and Sports: pay 75.5% more in Uruguay
Clothing: pay 51.5% more in Uruguay

The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Uruguay are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Uruguay.

Uruguay vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Uruguay instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	Uruguay
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$18.91 UYU749.83	+102.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$11.15 UYU442.15	+118.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$2.07 UYU82.04	+100.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.51 UYU59.67	+87.4%
Average			+102.2%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of restaurants

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pay 71.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	Uruguay
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$2.50 UYU98.92	+148.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$7.13 UYU282.69	+83.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$4.42 UYU175.06	+1.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$4.13 UYU163.75	+77.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$4.77 UYU189.06	+123.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.21 UYU47.94	+66.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.08 UYU42.91	+66.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.61 UYU24.23	-10.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.59 UYU63.04	+124.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.90 UYU35.63	+53.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.94 UYU37.31	+56.9%
Average			+71.8%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	Uruguay
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$7.29 UYU289.17	+48.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$50.38 UYU1,997.34	-10.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$35,912.71 UYU1,423,689.38	+67.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$21.33 UYU845.39	+128.4%
Average			+58.6%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.7% more for housing

	South Africa	Uruguay
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$39.55 UYU1,567.99	+0.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$657.18 UYU26,052.74	+62.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$493.59 UYU19,567.39	+36.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$108.50 UYU4,301.40	+23.1%
Average			+30.7%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Uruguay
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$485.40 UYU19,242.74	+179.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$8,353.42 UYU331,154.91	+110.8%
Average			+145.3%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of childcare

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pay 75.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Uruguay
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$3.70 UYU146.55	+69.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$4.13 UYU163.70	+101.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$5.51 UYU218.61	+86.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$53.33 UYU2,114.09	+76.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$9.86 UYU390.86	+44.0%
Average			+75.5%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.5% more for clothing

	South Africa	Uruguay
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$84.21 UYU3,338.42	+66.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$50.56 UYU2,004.52	+54.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$126.88 UYU5,029.90	+34.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$123.58 UYU4,899.10	+51.1%
Average			+51.5%

South Africa vs. Uruguay - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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