Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Barbados

For one person, living is cheaper in Barbados: $1,854 a month against $2,067 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Montreal outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

100

Cost of Living Index in Montreal
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Montreal Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Barbados
Learn more

Barbados Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,067

/mo nomad

Barbados

🇧🇧 Barbados

$1,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Barbados

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Montreal versus $1,854 in Barbados.

Montreal $2,067
Barbados $1,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,179 in Montreal versus $4,117 in Barbados.

Montreal $3,179
Barbados $4,117

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,291 in Montreal versus $6,379 in Barbados.

Montreal $4,291
Barbados $6,379

Living in Montreal is roughly 11% more expensive than in Barbados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montreal 53% above, Barbados 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.89 CA$26.48

$24.77 BBD 49.54

-23.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.6 CA$102

$113 BBD 225

-35.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.79 CA$15.13

$12.34 BBD 24.67

-12.56%

Cappuccino

$3.98 CA$5.58

$4.68 BBD 9.35

-14.96%

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

$2.02 CA$2.83

$2.16 BBD 4.33

-6.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 CA$2.29

$1.70 BBD 3.40

-4.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.32 CA$8.86

$2.95 BBD 5.90

114.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.06 CA$9.90

$3.90 BBD 7.80

81.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.33 CA$3.27

$3.60 BBD 7.20

-35.28%

White Bread (500g)

$3.25 CA$4.55

$2.63 BBD 5.27

23.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.58

$3.93 BBD 7.86

-17.05%

Eggs

$3.48 CA$4.87

$5.97 BBD 11.94

-41.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.73 CA$19.25

$6.69 BBD 13.38

105.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.48 CA$16.09

$10.25 BBD 20.50

12.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.26 CA$19.99

$11.11 BBD 22.22

28.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.52 CA$4.94

$5.04 BBD 10.08

-30.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 CA$2.04

$4.28 BBD 8.57

-65.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.41 CA$4.78

$5.65 BBD 11.31

-39.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.49

$5.98 BBD 11.96

-46.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.94 CA$2.71

$6.64 BBD 13.28

-70.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 CA$2.50

$4.78 BBD 9.57

-62.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.52 CA$3.53

$2.68 BBD 5.35

-5.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 CA$2.22

$2.74 BBD 5.49

-42.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.51 CA$16.13

$7.17 BBD 14.35

60.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 CA$14.82

$15.89 BBD 31.77

-33.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 CA$3.29

$1.71 BBD 3.42

37.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 CA$4.06

$2.99 BBD 5.97

-3.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.61 CA$3.66

$1.80 BBD 3.60

45.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.5 CA$110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 CA$4.45

$5.03 BBD 10.07

-36.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 CA$2.09

$3.52 BBD 7.04

-57.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.49 CA$46.94

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.91

$2.08 BBD 4.17

-34.62%

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

$28.0K CA$39.3K

$50.8K BBD 101.5K

-44.81%

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

$21.1K CA$29.6K

$39.7K BBD 79.4K

-46.77%

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

$77.6 CA$109

$102 BBD 203

-23.74%

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

$35.63 CA$49.94

$50.1 BBD 100

-28.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.73 CA$61.3

$87.7 BBD 175

-50.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.07 CA$42.16

$76.5 BBD 153

-60.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.97 CA$27.99

Cinema Ticket

$11.27 CA$15.80

$8.82 BBD 17.64

27.78%

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

$522 CA$732

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K CA$24.9K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.0 CA$82.7

$46.05 BBD 92.1

28.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.01 CA$54.7

$20.18 BBD 40.35

93.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.8 CA$140

$60.6 BBD 121

64.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$154

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,298 CA$1,820

$672 BBD 1,344

93.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$970 CA$1,360

$675 BBD 1,350

43.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,323 CA$3,257

$1,881 BBD 3,762

23.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,689 CA$2,368

$3,468 BBD 6,936

-51.29%

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

$1,303 BBD 2,606

125.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.51

-59.00%

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

Last update for Montreal: November 3, 2026

Last update for Barbados: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$970 47%

Barbados

$675 36.4% 30.5% $296

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$357 17.3%

Barbados

$429 23.2% 20.2% $72

Eating Out

Montreal

$292 14.1%

Barbados

$329 17.8% 12.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$157 7.6%

Barbados

$240 12.9% 52.7% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$138 6.7%

Barbados

$57 * 3.1% 58.7% $81

Getting Around

Montreal

$100 4.8%

Barbados

$30 * 1.6% 70% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$53 2.6%

Barbados

$94 5.1% 78.9% $42

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 $1,298 in Montreal and $672 in Barbados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreal pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $73 in Montreal vs $113 in Barbados for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $357 vs $429 per month, with Montreal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇧🇧 Barbados

🕒 Local time

03:45 3:45 AM

04:45 4:45 AM

1 h ahead of Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

623

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Barbados Dollar BBD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.713 USD

1 CAD = 0.635 EUR

1 BBD = 0.5 USD

1 BBD = 0.445 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BBD, 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).

Barbados Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BBD (1 BBD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.25 BBD (1 BBD = 0.445 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Barbados 3,830 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Barbados

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 Barbados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,067 in Montreal and $1,854 in Barbados, so Barbados is about 10% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Montreal is about 2.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,298 in Montreal versus $672 in Barbados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Montreal – a meal for two runs $73 versus $113 in Barbados. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,067 per month in Montreal versus $1,854 in Barbados – Barbados is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Barbados gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Montreal and Barbados are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Barbados wins on affordability, Montreal on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.