Mercado Libre in Uruguay and the management company for a company network
A small market with high purchasing power. Uruguay's main value for us is different: it is one of the two jurisdictions where we open the management company for a company network.
Platform and customs conditions
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Selling fee | 11.5–17%3 |
| Free-shipping threshold | not confirmed — being verified |
| Fixed fee on low-priced items | UYU 9 at a price up to 400, UYU 16 up to 800, UYU 29 up to 1,2003 |
| VAT / IVA | 22%, or 20% when paid by card4 |
| Import duty | 0–35% under the MERCOSUR common external tariff, 0% inside the bloc; plus a consular fee of 3–5%4 |
| Mercado Libre's position | The No. 1 platform by awareness and traffic5 |
| Momentum | Mercado Libre does not disclose separate data for the country |
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Mercado Libre does not disclose the free-shipping threshold or sales momentum for Uruguay separately, and we found no verifiable data in open sources — so we do not publish them. The fees, VAT, and customs rates on this page are backed by the sources at the bottom.
How we work in this country
Entry route
The fastest route is Partnership: our company imports and sells the goods, and you do not need a legal entity. If the market takes off, we open a company in your name.
Logistics
We pick up the cargo at your supplier, ship it, clear customs, and put it in the warehouse. You choose the product and the supplier.
What you need to know about entering Mercado Libre in Uruguay
Uruguay is the smallest of the six countries: 3.38 million people. As a standalone sales market it is rarely the goal, but it is a convenient jurisdiction for a management company once the seller's trading companies are already operating in two or more countries in the region. That is the role in which Uruguay most often appears in our projects.
The tax side here is the heaviest of the six countries: VAT of 22% (20% when paid by card), duties under the MERCOSUR common external tariff from 0 to 35%, and 0% inside the bloc, plus a consular fee of 3–5%. That last one is often left out of the calculation, and it eats several percentage points of margin. The marketplace fee, on the other hand, is moderate — 11.5–17%.
If you have reached the stage where it makes sense to bring the management, marketing, logistics, and accounting of several companies together in one place, look at the "Company network" setup: it describes how the management company in Uruguay or Paraguay is structured and at what turnover it stops being excessive.
Other markets
- Fee
- 11.8–17.1%
- Shipping threshold
- ARS 33,000
- Population
- 46.0 million
- Presence
- we operate on the ground
- Fee
- 11–19%
- Shipping threshold
- R$ 79
- Population
- 213.6 million
- Presence
- team with local citizenship
- Fee
- 8–20.5%
- Shipping threshold
- MXN 299
- Population
- 133.0 million
- Presence
- opened on request
Let us calculate your product for Uruguay
Send us the category, purchase price, weight, and volume — we come back with the unit economics within 24 hours.
Sources
- Worldometer, population — data as of 2026
- ExchangeRate-API — data as of August 4, 2026
- Nubimetrics, fee breakdown — data as of August 28, 2025
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — data as of 2026
- Quartr, Mercado Libre overview — data as of November 20, 2025