Moving to Uruguay from Chile
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Chile to Uruguay — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Chile to Uruguay, you would find that Uruguay is 47.8% more expensive than Chile overall. A CLF1,900 salary in Chile would need to be roughly UYU4,560,000 in Uruguay to maintain the same lifestyle.
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How your spending power changes when you relocate from Chile to Uruguay.
What does your salary buy?
CLF1,900 → UYU4,560,000
To maintain the same standard of living in Uruguay
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 78.7% more
Groceries
pay 38.2% more
Transportation
pay 56.1% more
Housing
pay 42.4% more
Childcare
pay 20.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.8% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Uruguay cost about 58% more than cities in Chile.
Compare cities head-to-head
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Who Else Is Making This Move?
Real numbers on people moving from Chile to Uruguay, and how the trend has changed.
Key Indicator Comparison
How Chile and Uruguay stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
per 100,000 people per year
per 100,000 people per year
Chile performs better than Uruguay across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
annual government + private spending per person
affects wait times and access to care
WHO index from 0–100 measuring essential service access
share of adults with obesity
per 100,000 people — a proxy for mental health support
Uruguay generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Chile leads in health coverage index.
What about the environment?
deaths attributable to air pollution per 100k people
tonnes of CO₂ emitted per person per year
Uruguay performs significantly better than Chile across all environment metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
fixed broadband subscriptions — key for remote work
higher means greater strain on freshwater supply
annual consumption — reflects grid capacity
share of households with internet
Chile generally does better on infrastructure, though Uruguay leads in broadband per 100 people.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
the highest marginal rate on personal income
share of people below the poverty line
Uruguay generally does better on employment & economy, though Chile leads in poverty rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
deaths per 1,000 live births — lower is better
government spending on education as % of GDP
percentage of adults who can read and write
Chile generally does better on family life, though Uruguay leads in literacy rate.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), Chilean Tax Administration (2016), Dirección General Impositiva (2016), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Santiago | Montevideo |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 84°/55°F (29°/12°C) | 81°/63°F (27°/17°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/44°F (19°/7°C) | 65°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 63°/41°F (17°/5°C) | 61°/46°F (16°/8°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 79°/51°F (26°/10°C) | 75°/57°F (24°/14°C) |
View all months
| Month | Santiago | Montevideo |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 86°/56°F (30.1°/13.3°C) | 83°/64°F (28.4°/18.0°C) |
| Feb | 85°/55°F (29.5°/12.8°C) | 82°/64°F (27.5°/17.9°C) |
| Mar | 81°/53°F (27.4°/11.4°C) | 78°/61°F (25.5°/16.2°C) |
| Apr | 74°/47°F (23.1°/8.6°C) | 72°/55°F (22.0°/12.9°C) |
| May | 65°/44°F (18.5°/6.4°C) | 65°/50°F (18.6°/10.2°C) |
| Jun | 60°/41°F (15.7°/5.0°C) | 59°/46°F (15.1°/7.7°C) |
| Jul | 60°/39°F (15.3°/3.9°C) | 59°/45°F (15.0°/7.2°C) |
| Aug | 63°/41°F (17.1°/5.1°C) | 61°/46°F (16.2°/7.8°C) |
| Sep | 67°/44°F (19.4°/6.8°C) | 64°/48°F (18.0°/9.1°C) |
| Oct | 73°/47°F (22.9°/8.6°C) | 69°/53°F (20.5°/11.5°C) |
| Nov | 79°/51°F (26.1°/10.3°C) | 75°/58°F (23.7°/14.2°C) |
| Dec | 84°/54°F (28.8°/12.2°C) | 80°/61°F (26.5°/16.3°C) |
Data:
Dirección Meteorológica de Chile,
Instituto Uruguayo de Meteorologia
Visitor Visa Requirements
Short-stay tourist visa rules between Chile and Uruguay. To live, work, or study long-term in Uruguay, you'll need a separate residence or work visa — check Uruguay's immigration authority.
Chile passport holder visiting Uruguay
Visa Free
Uruguay passport holder visiting Chile
Visa FreeData: Henley Passport Index. Check with the destination country's embassy for the most current requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Uruguay than Chile?
Day-to-day costs in Uruguay run about 48% higher than Chile on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Uruguay?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a CLF1,900 comparable salary, that's around UYU1,140,000 in Uruguay for everyday spending, before flights, shipping, a rental deposit, and visa fees.
Can I work remotely from Uruguay?
With 33.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Uruguay can support video calls in major cities. The hard part is paperwork — visa category, employer policy on overseas staff, and tax residency in Chile and Uruguay.
Is Uruguay safe for expats?
Chile performs better than Uruguay across all safety metrics. The homicide rate in Uruguay is 11.2 per 100,000 people, compared to 6.3 in Chile.
How is healthcare in Uruguay compared to Chile?
Uruguay generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Chile leads in health coverage index. There are 46.7 doctors per 10,000 people in Uruguay, compared to 33.3 in Chile. Uruguay scores 82 on the WHO universal health coverage index (Chile: 82).
What's the weather like in Uruguay compared to Chile?
The average high temperature in Montevideo is 71°F, compared to 73°F in Santiago. Montevideo receives around 43.3 in of rainfall per year, while Santiago gets 13.5 in.
What language do they speak in Uruguay?
Both Chile and Uruguay share the same official language: Spanish.
