Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Belo Horizonte

For one person, living is cheaper in Belo Horizonte: $984 a month against $2,003 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Montreal
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Montreal Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Belo Horizonte
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Belo Horizonte Living Index

Jump to prices

Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,003

/mo nomad

Belo Horizonte

🇧🇷 Brazil

$984

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Belo Horizonte

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,003 in Montreal versus $984 in Belo Horizonte.

Montreal $2,003
Belo Horizonte $984

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,048 in Montreal versus $1,589 in Belo Horizonte.

Montreal $3,048
Belo Horizonte $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,092 in Montreal versus $2,193 in Belo Horizonte.

Montreal $4,092
Belo Horizonte $2,193

Living in Montreal is roughly 104% more expensive than in Belo Horizonte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montreal is 49% above, Belo Horizonte is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.31 CA$27.52

$5.90 R$29.46

227.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.5 CA$108

$37.35 R$186

102.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 CA$15.15

$8.86 R$44.22

19.98%

Cappuccino

$3.93 CA$5.60

$2.27 R$11.36

73.13%

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

$1.92 CA$2.73

$1.43 R$7.13

34.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$0.81 R$4.05

82.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.30 CA$8.98

$2.12 R$10.60

197.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 CA$10.24

$3.67 R$18.32

95.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 CA$3.17

$0.95 R$4.72

133.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.06 CA$4.36

$1.82 R$9.09

68.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.94 CA$4.19

$2.08 R$10.39

41.35%

Eggs

$3.53 CA$5.03

$2.22 R$11.07

59.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.19 CA$18.79

$9.91 R$49.47

33.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.24 CA$16.02

$4.33 R$21.63

159.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.81 CA$19.69

$7.63 R$38.10

81.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 CA$4.85

$1.93 R$9.66

76.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.06

$1.15 R$5.75

25.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 CA$4.65

$1.20 R$5.98

171.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 CA$4.10

$1.65 R$8.23

74.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CA$2.65

$1.15 R$5.74

61.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 CA$2.60

$0.97 R$4.86

87.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.43 CA$3.46

$0.85 R$4.23

185.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 CA$2.17

$0.92 R$4.58

65.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.45 CA$16.32

$2.47 R$12.33

363.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 CA$14.76

$8.23 R$41.09

25.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$1.43 R$7.15

55.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$4.02

$2.74 R$13.68

2.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.58 CA$3.67

$1.25 R$6.26

106.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.9 CA$110

$68.0 R$339

13.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.25 CA$4.64

$1.02 R$5.10

218.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.11

$0.77 R$3.84

92.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.04 CA$47.09

$6.32 R$31.53

422.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.94

$1.32 R$6.58

3.03%

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

$27.4K CA$39.1K

$24.0K R$119.9K

14.20%

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

$20.0K CA$28.5K

$32.5K R$162.1K

-38.48%

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

$76.1 CA$109

$76.1 R$380

0.04%

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

$34.68 CA$49.43

$10.33 R$51.6

235.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.69 CA$60.9

$21.02 R$105

103.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.94 CA$41.26

$28.07 R$140

3.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.33 CA$28.97

$46.30 R$231

-56.09%

Cinema Ticket

$11.21 CA$15.98

$7.90 R$39.41

41.90%

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

$505 CA$720

$459 R$2,292

10.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K CA$22.8K

$13.8K R$69.0K

15.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.5 CA$83.4

$62.0 R$309

-5.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.00 CA$54.2

$48.86 R$244

-22.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 CA$132

$97.6 R$487

-5.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 CA$151

$71.5 R$357

47.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 CA$1,768

$590 R$2,945

110.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$986 CA$1,405

$292 R$1,456

238.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 CA$2,996

$890 R$4,440

136.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,615 CA$2,302

$591 R$2,950

173.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,043 CA$7,188

$2,358 R$11.8K

113.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,830 CA$5,459

$1,121 R$5,598

241.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 CA$4,163

$613 R$3,062

376.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.46

11.25

-60.36%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 6, 2026

Last update for Belo Horizonte: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$986 47.9%

Belo Horizonte

$292 30% 70.4% $694

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$344 16.7%

Belo Horizonte

$198 20.3% 42.5% $146

Eating Out

Montreal

$293 14.2%

Belo Horizonte

$128 13.2% 56.3% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$154 7.5%

Belo Horizonte

$107 11.1% 30% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.5%

Belo Horizonte

$126 13% 5.1% $6.8

Getting Around

Montreal

$98 4.8%

Belo Horizonte

$78 8% 20.4% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$51 2.5%

Belo Horizonte

$44 4.5% 14.6% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,240 in Montreal and $590 in Belo Horizonte. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreal pays 376% 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: $75.0 in Montreal vs $37.00 in Belo Horizonte for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $198 per month, with Belo Horizonte cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇧🇷 Belo Horizonte

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

1 h ahead of Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

2,315,560

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.59 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Belo Horizonte 7,870 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
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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 Belo Horizonte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal and Belo Horizonte differ by about 104% in total monthly costs ($2,003 vs $984 including rent). Belo Horizonte is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 376% higher in Montreal, 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: $1,240 in Montreal versus $590 in Belo Horizonte. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $505 in Montreal versus $459 in Belo Horizonte. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Montreal. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $984 in Belo Horizonte versus $2,003 in Montreal, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Belo Horizonte but tight or insufficient in Montreal. The gap between the two cities makes Belo Horizonte the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Belo Horizonte 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 Belo Horizonte gentler on the wallet – expenses run 104% less than in Montreal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.