Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,282 a month against $2,067 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Montreal
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Montreal Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Arima
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Arima Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,067

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,282

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Arima

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Montreal and in Arima actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,067 per month in Montreal vs $1,282 in Arima, rent included.

Montreal $2,067
Arima $1,282

A couple spends around $3,179 per month in Montreal vs $2,166 in Arima, rent included.

Montreal $3,179
Arima $2,166

A family of three spends $4,291 per month in Montreal vs $3,051 in Arima, rent included.

Montreal $4,291
Arima $3,051

Montreal costs about 61% more than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montreal sits 53% above the global median, while Arima is 5% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.89 CA$26.48

$10.42 TTD 69.2

81.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.6 CA$102

$75.3 TTD 500

-3.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 CA$15.13

$9.05 TTD 60.1

19.23%

Cappuccino

$3.98 CA$5.58

$3.83 TTD 25.43

3.92%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 CA$2.83

$1.04 TTD 6.94

94.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 CA$2.29

$0.72 TTD 4.76

126.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.32 CA$8.86

$1.87 TTD 12.40

237.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.06 CA$9.90

$2.97 TTD 19.76

137.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 CA$3.27

$2.43 TTD 16.15

-4.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.25 CA$4.55

$2.40 TTD 15.94

35.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.58

$2.93 TTD 19.48

11.26%

Eggs

$3.48 CA$4.87

$4.29 TTD 28.48

-18.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.73 CA$19.25

$6.58 TTD 43.72

108.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.48 CA$16.09

$6.55 TTD 43.49

75.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.26 CA$19.99

$8.73 TTD 58.0

63.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.52 CA$4.94

$5.47 TTD 36.35

-35.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 CA$2.04

$2.32 TTD 15.40

-37.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.41 CA$4.78

$3.62 TTD 24.03

-5.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.49

$4.81 TTD 31.95

-33.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 CA$2.71

$1.31 TTD 8.71

48.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 CA$2.50

$1.02 TTD 6.77

74.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.52 CA$3.53

$1.39 TTD 9.24

81.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 CA$2.22

$0.98 TTD 6.52

61.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.51 CA$16.13

$4.59 TTD 30.52

150.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 CA$14.82

$19.38 TTD 129

-45.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 CA$3.29

$1.86 TTD 12.36

26.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 CA$4.06

$3.01 TTD 19.98

-3.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.61 CA$3.66

$1.07 TTD 7.10

143.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.5 CA$110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 CA$4.45

$0.75 TTD 5.00

322.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 CA$2.09

$0.76 TTD 5.05

96.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.49 CA$46.94

$14.64 TTD 97.2

128.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.91

$1.12 TTD 7.42

21.43%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.0K CA$39.3K

$27.3K TTD 181.2K

2.74%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.1K CA$29.6K

$35.4K TTD 235.3K

-40.33%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$77.6 CA$109

$91.0 TTD 604

-14.70%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$35.63 CA$49.94

$45.12 TTD 300

-21.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.73 CA$61.3

$56.6 TTD 376

-22.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.07 CA$42.16

$51.3 TTD 341

-41.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.97 CA$27.99

Cinema Ticket

$11.27 CA$15.80

$8.61 TTD 57.2

30.89%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$522 CA$732

$180 TTD 1,193

190.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K CA$24.9K

$16.6K TTD 110.1K

7.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.0 CA$82.7

$62.3 TTD 414

-5.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 CA$54.7

$45.06 TTD 299

-13.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 CA$140

$146 TTD 967

-31.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$154

$73.2 TTD 486

49.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,298 CA$1,820

$520 TTD 3,453

149.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 CA$1,360

$373 TTD 2,478

160.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,323 CA$3,257

$1,020 TTD 6,778

127.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,689 CA$2,368

$880 TTD 5,844

92.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,004 CA$7,014

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,736 CA$5,237

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,943 CA$4,125

$1,224 TTD 8,133

140.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

5.75

-21.57%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Montreal: November 3, 2026

Last update for Arima: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$970 47%

Arima

$373 29.1% 61.6% $597

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$357 17.3%

Arima

$313 24.4% 12.4% $44

Eating Out

Montreal

$292 14.1%

Arima

$179 14% 38.7% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$157 7.6%

Arima

$193 15% 22.8% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$138 6.7%

Arima

$147 11.5% 6.1% $8.4

Getting Around

Montreal

$100 4.8%

Arima

$8.8 * 0.7% 91.1% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$53 2.6%

Arima

$69 5.4% 30.2% $16

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,298 in Montreal versus $520 in Arima. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Montreal are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73 in Montreal versus $75 in Arima. Groceries tell a different story – $357 in Montreal vs $313 in Arima – so Arima wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

00:05 12:05 AM

01:05 1:05 AM

1 h ahead of Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

35,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

1 TTD = 0.151 USD

1 TTD = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.713 USD). 1 EUR = 1.57 CAD (1 CAD = 0.635 EUR).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 TTD (1 TTD = 0.151 USD). 1 EUR = 7.46 TTD (1 TTD = 0.134 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Arima 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Arima

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Montreal vs Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal costs about 61% more than Arima, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,100 per month in Montreal and $1,922 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $520 there versus $1,298 in Montreal.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,067 in Montreal and $1,282 in Arima. That makes Arima about 38% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $522 per month in Montreal and $180 in Arima. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,067 in Montreal and $1,282 in Arima. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Arima – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Arima. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Montreal makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.