Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Athlone

For one person, living is cheaper in Montreal: $2,018 a month against $2,542 in Athlone, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Athlone outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

99

Cost of Living Index in Montreal
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Montreal Living Index
124

Cost of Living Index in Athlone
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Athlone Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,018

/mo nomad

Athlone

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,542

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Athlone

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 Athlone actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,018 in Montreal versus $2,542 in Athlone.

Montreal $2,018
Athlone $2,542

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,085 in Montreal versus $3,749 in Athlone.

Montreal $3,085
Athlone $3,749

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,152 in Montreal versus $4,956 in Athlone.

Montreal $4,152
Athlone $4,956

Living in Montreal costs roughly 21% less than in Athlone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montreal 49% above, Athlone 88% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.82 CA$26.61

$22.37 €19.90

-15.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$99.4

$91.0 €80.9

-22.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 CA$15.06

$12.63 €11.23

-15.60%

Cappuccino

$3.84 CA$5.43

$4.32 €3.84

-11.11%

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

$1.92 CA$2.71

$2.92 €2.60

-34.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.18

$1.84 €1.64

-16.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.23 CA$8.81

$7.41 €6.59

-15.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 CA$10.03

$6.55 €5.82

8.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 CA$3.27

$1.46 €1.30

58.22%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$1.26 €1.12

149.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 CA$4.54

$1.66 €1.48

93.37%

Eggs

$3.52 CA$4.97

$3.91 €3.48

-9.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.81 CA$18.11

$10.73 €9.55

19.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.20

$11.27 €10.02

1.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 CA$18.92

$11.85 €10.53

13.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.43

$2.55 €2.27

23.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.03

$1.56 €1.39

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.91

$2.41 €2.14

43.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.34

$2.85 €2.53

7.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.69

$2.29 €2.03

-17.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 CA$2.50

$1.81 €1.61

-2.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CA$3.31

$1.44 €1.28

62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.19

$1.90 €1.69

-18.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.38 CA$16.09

$17.88 €15.90

-36.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 CA$15.03

$11.10 €9.87

-4.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$3.44 €3.06

-34.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$3.58 €3.18

-21.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 CA$3.76

$2.06 €1.83

29.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.3 CA$109

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 CA$4.53

$5.08 €4.52

-37.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.09

$1.49 €1.32

-0.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 CA$46.48

$27.77 €24.70

18.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CA$1.90

$2.03 €1.80

-33.99%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$39.6K €35.2K

-28.89%

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

$19.6K CA$27.8K

$36.8K €32.7K

-46.67%

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

$76.0 CA$107

$241 €214

-68.46%

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

$33.95 CA$48.00

$21.86 €19.45

55.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 CA$59.8

$49.22 €43.78

-14.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.76 CA$42.07

$58.5 €52.1

-49.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.28 CA$28.67

$34.69 €30.85

-41.54%

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 CA$15.77

$10.95 €9.74

1.83%

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

$507 CA$717

$1,001 €891

-49.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K CA$22.7K

$5,365 €4,772

199.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 CA$81.4

$92.9 €82.6

-38.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.58 CA$53.1

$40.88 €36.36

-8.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$83.6 €74.4

9.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$77.7 €69.1

40.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 CA$1,782

$1,468 €1,306

-14.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 CA$1,340

$1,353 €1,203

-29.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 CA$3,021

$2,529 €2,249

-15.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 CA$2,281

$2,254 €2,005

-28.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,960 CA$7,011

$3,294 €2,930

50.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,838 CA$5,425

$3,340 €2,971

14.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,827 CA$3,997

$3,153 €2,804

-10.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

3.73

20.11%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 12, 2026

Last update for Athlone: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$948 47%

Athlone

$1.4K 53.2% 42.8% $405

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$346 17.2%

Athlone

$305 12% 11.9% $41

Eating Out

Montreal

$288 14.3%

Athlone

$338 13.3% 17.4% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$152 7.5%

Athlone

$312 12.3% 105% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.6%

Athlone

$133 5.2% 0.5% $0.7

Getting Around

Montreal

$99 4.9%

Athlone

$21 * 0.8% 78.9% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$52 2.6%

Athlone

$80 3.2% 54.5% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,260 in Montreal and $1,468 in Athlone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athlone pays 12% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $70.0 in Montreal vs $91.0 in Athlone. Groceries flip the comparison at $346 vs $305, with Athlone cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇮🇪 Athlone

🕒 Local time

06:32 6:32 AM

11:32 11:32 AM

5 h ahead of Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

21,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Montreal Athlone 4,650 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Athlone

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 Athlone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Athlone. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Montreal the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 12% lower in Athlone. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,260 in Montreal versus $1,468 in Athlone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Athlone pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,018 per month in Montreal versus $2,542 in Athlone – a 26% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,018 in Montreal versus $2,542 in Athlone, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Montreal but tight or insufficient in Athlone. The gap between the two cities makes Montreal the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Montreal delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,018 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Montreal hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Montreal and Athlone are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Montreal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Athlone. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.