🇺🇾 Uruguay vs 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Side by side on the data that actually changes your life: prices, taxes, climate, air, safety. Every number has a source and a date.
Climate (capital)
Open-Meteo historical weather
Jan 22° · Jul 10° · Montevideo
Jan 20° · Jul 21° · San José
Sunny days (capital)
Open-Meteo, days with over 4.5h of sunshine
331 days / yr
341 days / yr
Air quality (capital)
WAQI, capital station
—
AQI 21 · Good
Big Mac price
The Economist Big Mac index (euro-area countries share one euro-area price)
$8.76
$6.04
Employment taxes (not your rate)
OECD tax wedge, single average worker
—
~28% of what a job costs goes to tax (2025)
Special tax regimes
Official tax authorities, verified June 2026
New-resident tax holiday
Territorial taxation
Inflation
World Bank
4.7% / yr (2025)
-0.1% / yr (2025)
Unemployment
World Bank, ILO-modelled estimate
7.5% (2025)
6.8% (2025)
Messenger apps
OONI network measurements, last 6 months
Issues: Facebook Messenger
No known issues
Safety advisory
U.S. State Department travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Population
World Bank total population
3.4M (2025)
5.2M (2025)
Population density
World Bank, people per km²
19 / km² (2023)
100 / km² (2023)
Foreign-born residents
World Bank migrant stock
4.7% of population (2024)
12.2% of population (2024)
Life expectancy
WHO
75 yrs
79 yrs
Currency
ISO 4217
UYU
CRC
Timezone (capital)
Open-Meteo
UTC-3
UTC-6
Crypto-friendly
Crypto-friendly
Short-term gains
0%
0%
Long-term gains
0%
0%
Long-term holding period
—
—
Staking income
25%
—
Mining income
25%
—
General rates, not personal tax advice.
Climate, inflation and life expectancy verified 12 July 2026. Prices, taxes and air quality verified 7 July 2026. Sources shown per row.
Bottom line: which should you choose?
Pick 🇨🇷 Costa Rica if you want
lower day-to-day costs and more sunshine.
Based only on the sourced metrics above. Visa eligibility and paperwork depend on your passport — build a free plan for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Uruguay or Costa Rica cheaper?
Costa Rica is the cheaper of the two on our comparable cost measure (Big Mac $6.04 vs $8.76). Your real cost depends on the city and lifestyle — see the full table above, then generate a free plan for a budget matched to your exact move.
Special tax regimes, verified
Regimes change often and many sites still advertise closed ones. We link the official source for each.
🇺🇾 Uruguay
Foreign dividends & interest tax-free for ~11 years (or 7% flat forever)
Verified June 2026 · DGI (tax authority)
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Foreign-source income untaxed
Verified June 2026 · Ministerio de Hacienda
Numbers are half the story
Your visa route, paperwork and deadlines depend on where you hold a passport. Get a free checklist personalized to your exact move.