Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Cucuta

For one person, living is cheaper in Cucuta: $1,335 a month against $2,018 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Cucuta
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Cucuta Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,018

/mo nomad

Cucuta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,335

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Cucuta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,018 in Montreal versus $1,335 in Cucuta.

Montreal $2,018
Cucuta $1,335

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,085 in Montreal versus $2,003 in Cucuta.

Montreal $3,085
Cucuta $2,003

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,152 in Montreal versus $2,670 in Cucuta.

Montreal $4,152
Cucuta $2,670

Living in Montreal is roughly 51% more expensive than in Cucuta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Montreal is 49% above, Cucuta is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.82 CA$26.61

$7.44 COP 23.6K

152.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$99.4

$48.54 COP 153.9K

44.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 CA$15.06

$9.16 COP 29.1K

16.38%

Cappuccino

$3.84 CA$5.43

$2.91 COP 9,235

31.96%

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

$1.92 CA$2.71

$1.43 COP 4,544

34.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.18

$1.08 COP 3,420

42.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.23 CA$8.81

$3.09 COP 9,785

101.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 CA$10.03

$3.70 COP 11.7K

91.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 CA$3.27

$1.61 COP 5,112

43.48%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$2.47 COP 7,844

27.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 CA$4.54

$1.54 COP 4,893

108.44%

Eggs

$3.52 CA$4.97

$2.99 COP 9,488

17.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.81 CA$18.11

$9.00 COP 28.5K

42.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.20

$8.58 COP 27.2K

33.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 CA$18.92

$11.41 COP 36.2K

17.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.43

$3.54 COP 11.2K

-11.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.03

$1.60 COP 5,061

-10.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.91

$2.07 COP 6,574

67.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.34

$1.94 COP 6,139

58.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.69

$1.28 COP 4,071

48.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 CA$2.50

$1.31 COP 4,149

35.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CA$3.31

$1.10 COP 3,497

112.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.19

$1.02 COP 3,221

51.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.38 CA$16.09

$4.35 COP 13.8K

161.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 CA$15.03

$14.74 COP 46.7K

-27.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$1.65 COP 5,217

37.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$2.29 COP 7,271

23.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 CA$3.76

$1.19 COP 3,783

123.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.3 CA$109

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 CA$4.53

$1.52 COP 4,830

110.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.09

$2.09 COP 6,624

-29.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 CA$46.48

$9.90 COP 31.4K

232.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CA$1.90

$1.28 COP 4,055

4.69%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$28.7K COP 90.9M

-1.77%

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

$19.6K CA$27.8K

$40.2K COP 127.6M

-51.22%

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

$76.0 CA$107

$126 COP 397.9K

-39.47%

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

$33.95 CA$48.00

$13.88 COP 44.0K

144.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 CA$59.8

$29.14 COP 92.4K

45.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.76 CA$42.07

$33.45 COP 106.1K

-11.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.28 CA$28.67

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 CA$15.77

$6.95 COP 22.0K

60.43%

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

$507 CA$717

$647 COP 2.1M

-21.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K CA$22.7K

$6,396 COP 20.3M

150.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 CA$81.4

$86.4 COP 273.8K

-33.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.58 CA$53.1

$49.97 COP 158.4K

-24.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$154 COP 489.8K

-40.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$102 COP 323.2K

7.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 CA$1,782

$643 COP 2.0M

96.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 CA$1,340

$497 COP 1.6M

90.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 CA$3,021

$1,017 COP 3.2M

110.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 CA$2,281

$792 COP 2.5M

103.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,960 CA$7,011

$1,980 COP 6.3M

150.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,838 CA$5,425

$1,498 COP 4.7M

156.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,827 CA$3,997

$565 COP 1.8M

400.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

11.58

-61.31%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cucuta: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$948 47%

Cucuta

$497 37.2% 47.5% $450

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$346 17.2%

Cucuta

$274 20.5% 21% $73

Eating Out

Montreal

$288 14.3%

Cucuta

$155 11.6% 46.2% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$152 7.5%

Cucuta

$169 12.6% 10.7% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.6%

Cucuta

$177 13.2% 32.4% $43

Getting Around

Montreal

$99 4.9%

Cucuta

$17 * 1.3% 83% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$52 2.6%

Cucuta

$47 3.6% 9% $4.7

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 $643 in Cucuta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreal pays 401% 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 $49.00 in Cucuta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $346 vs $274 per month, with Cucuta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇨🇴 Cucuta

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

19:50 7:50 PM

1 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

777,106

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Cucuta 4,180 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Cucuta

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 Cucuta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cucuta is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 401% 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: $1,260 in Montreal versus $643 in Cucuta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $507 in Montreal versus $647 in Cucuta. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cucuta – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $70.0 in Montreal. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,335 in Cucuta versus $2,018 in Montreal, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cucuta but tight or insufficient in Montreal. The gap between the two cities makes Cucuta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cucuta is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Montreal, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Montreal and Cucuta 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 Cucuta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Montreal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.