Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Cuauhtémoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuauhtémoc: $1,133 a month against $2,059 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Cuauhtémoc
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Cuauhtémoc Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,059

/mo nomad

Cuauhtémoc

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,133

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Cuauhtémoc

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

A single person spends $2,059 per month in Montreal vs $1,133 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Montreal $2,059
Cuauhtémoc $1,133

A couple spends around $3,123 per month in Montreal vs $1,825 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Montreal $3,123
Cuauhtémoc $1,825

A family of three spends $4,187 per month in Montreal vs $2,517 in Cuauhtémoc, rent included.

Montreal $4,187
Cuauhtémoc $2,517

Montreal costs about 82% more than Cuauhtémoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montreal sits 52% above the global median, while Cuauhtémoc is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.84 CA$26.63

$11.03 MX$204

70.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.2 CA$104

$44.20 MX$817

65.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.90

$8.32 MX$154

26.68%

Cappuccino

$3.97 CA$5.61

$3.51 MX$64.9

13.11%

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

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.40 MX$25.79

38.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 CA$2.22

$1.06 MX$19.65

48.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.42 CA$9.08

$2.49 MX$45.98

157.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 CA$10.19

$3.91 MX$72.3

84.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.32 CA$3.28

$1.58 MX$29.15

46.84%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 CA$4.51

$2.67 MX$49.41

19.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.19 CA$4.50

$1.65 MX$30.58

93.33%

Eggs

$3.68 CA$5.20

$2.42 MX$44.72

52.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.24 CA$18.72

$8.06 MX$149

64.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.69 CA$16.53

$8.23 MX$152

42.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.98 CA$19.76

$11.42 MX$211

22.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$2.81 MX$51.8

11.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 CA$2.05

$1.51 MX$27.90

-3.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 CA$4.78

$1.93 MX$35.75

75.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.11 CA$4.40

$1.83 MX$33.84

69.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 CA$2.72

$2.01 MX$37.06

-3.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 CA$2.58

$1.81 MX$33.47

1.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 CA$3.34

$1.42 MX$26.20

66.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$1.09 MX$20.14

37.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.12 CA$15.73

$4.47 MX$82.6

148.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.60 CA$14.98

$10.53 MX$195

0.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 CA$3.14

$1.82 MX$33.71

21.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 CA$4.01

$3.09 MX$57.0

-8.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.62 CA$3.71

$0.67 MX$12.46

291.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 CA$112

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 CA$4.56

$2.67 MX$49.30

20.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.10

$1.93 MX$35.58

-23.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.22 CA$45.55

$10.95 MX$202

194.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.92

$1.45 MX$26.74

-6.21%

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

$27.6K CA$39.1K

$21.5K MX$397.0K

28.68%

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

$21.2K CA$30.0K

$24.5K MX$453.0K

-13.56%

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

$77.0 CA$109

$58.5 MX$1,080

31.80%

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

$34.14 CA$48.26

$22.66 MX$419

50.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.19 CA$59.7

$29.34 MX$542

43.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.81 CA$43.56

$33.58 MX$621

-8.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.66 CA$27.79

$19.88 MX$367

-1.11%

Cinema Ticket

$11.47 CA$16.22

$5.24 MX$96.8

118.89%

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

$506 CA$716

$218 MX$4,023

132.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$23.0K

$4,546 MX$84.0K

257.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.3 CA$81.0

$55.4 MX$1,023

3.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.10 CA$53.9

$41.12 MX$760

-7.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$102 MX$1,876

-9.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$90.0 MX$1,664

21.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,237 CA$1,748

$601 MX$11.1K

105.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$977 CA$1,381

$385 MX$7,114

153.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,180 CA$3,082

$1,056 MX$19.5K

106.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 CA$2,273

$758 MX$14.0K

112.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,113 CA$7,228

$1,904 MX$35.2K

168.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,744 CA$5,293

$1,153 MX$21.3K

224.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,957 CA$4,180

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.3

-60.35%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 20, 2026

Last update for Cuauhtémoc: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$977 47.4%

Cuauhtémoc

$385 34% 60.6% $592

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$351 17.1%

Cuauhtémoc

$263 23.2% 25% $88

Eating Out

Montreal

$290 14.1%

Cuauhtémoc

$185 16.4% 36.2% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$153 7.5%

Cuauhtémoc

$110 9.8% 28% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$134 6.5%

Cuauhtémoc

$130 11.4% 3% $4

Getting Around

Montreal

$100 4.9%

Cuauhtémoc

$15 * 1.3% 85.1% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$54 2.6%

Cuauhtémoc

$44 3.9% 18% $9.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,237 in Montreal versus $601 in Cuauhtémoc. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Montreal versus $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $351 vs $263 – making Cuauhtémoc the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇲🇽 Cuauhtémoc

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

08:44 8:44 AM

2 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

545,884

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Cuauhtémoc 3,730 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Cuauhtémoc

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 Cuauhtémoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montreal is pricier by about 82%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,089 per month in Montreal and $1,699 in Cuauhtémoc. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cuauhtémoc, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Montreal and $44.00 in Cuauhtémoc. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Montreal, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cuauhtémoc, where all-in costs run around $1,133, than in Montreal at $2,059. In Cuauhtémoc it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montreal it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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