Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Grecia

For one person, living is cheaper in Grecia: $1,505 a month against $2,018 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
73

Cost of Living Index in Grecia
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Grecia Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,018

/mo nomad

Grecia

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,505

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Grecia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,018 in Montreal versus $1,505 in Grecia.

Montreal $2,018
Grecia $1,505

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,085 in Montreal versus $2,083 in Grecia.

Montreal $3,085
Grecia $2,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,152 in Montreal versus $2,660 in Grecia.

Montreal $4,152
Grecia $2,660

Living in Montreal is roughly 34% more expensive than in Grecia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Montreal 49% above, Grecia 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.82 CA$26.61

$10.60 ₡4,754

77.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$99.4

$53.5 ₡24.0K

31.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 CA$15.06

$11.68 ₡5,236

-8.73%

Cappuccino

$3.84 CA$5.43

$3.36 ₡1,507

14.29%

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

$1.92 CA$2.71

$1.80 ₡809

6.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.18

$1.84 ₡824

-16.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.23 CA$8.81

$2.70 ₡1,210

130.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 CA$10.03

$2.91 ₡1,305

143.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 CA$3.27

$1.99 ₡893

16.08%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$1.11 ₡499

182.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 CA$4.54

$2.42 ₡1,086

32.64%

Eggs

$3.52 CA$4.97

$3.49 ₡1,563

0.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.81 CA$18.11

$6.52 ₡2,926

96.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.20

$4.32 ₡1,938

165.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 CA$18.92

$13.74 ₡6,164

-2.55%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.43

$2.43 ₡1,088

29.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.03

$1.58 ₡709

-8.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.91

$1.35 ₡608

157.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.34

$1.36 ₡608

125.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.69

$1.72 ₡773

10.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 CA$2.50

$1.56 ₡698

13.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CA$3.31

$1.13 ₡505

107.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.19

$2.13 ₡957

-27.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.38 CA$16.09

$5.87 ₡2,634

93.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 CA$15.03

$12.81 ₡5,747

-17.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$2.10 ₡944

8.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$1.58 ₡709

78.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 CA$3.76

$1.89 ₡849

40.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.3 CA$109

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 CA$4.53

$1.98 ₡890

61.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.09

$1.62 ₡728

-8.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 CA$46.48

$8.86 ₡3,974

271.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CA$1.90

$1.55 ₡693

-13.55%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

29.29%

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

$19.6K CA$27.8K

$34.7K ₡15.6M

-43.47%

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

$76.0 CA$107

$87.9 ₡39.4K

-13.60%

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

$33.95 CA$48.00

$26.87 ₡12.1K

26.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 CA$59.8

$59.3 ₡26.6K

-28.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.76 CA$42.07

$48.76 ₡21.9K

-38.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.28 CA$28.67

$11.93 ₡5,349

69.99%

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 CA$15.77

$7.50 ₡3,364

48.67%

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

$507 CA$717

$994 ₡446.0K

-49.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K CA$22.7K

$17.4K ₡7.8M

-7.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 CA$81.4

$71.3 ₡32.0K

-19.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.58 CA$53.1

$56.5 ₡25.3K

-33.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$128 ₡57.2K

-27.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$134 ₡60.0K

-18.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 CA$1,782

$446 ₡200.0K

182.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 CA$1,340

$632 ₡283.4K

49.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 CA$3,021

$776 ₡347.9K

175.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 CA$2,281

$677 ₡303.6K

138.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,960 CA$7,011

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,838 CA$5,425

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,827 CA$3,997

$667 ₡299.1K

323.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

8.62

-48.03%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 12, 2026

Last update for Grecia: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$948 47%

Grecia

$632 42% 33.3% $316

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$346 17.2%

Grecia

$249 16.5% 28.2% $98

Eating Out

Montreal

$288 14.3%

Grecia

$194 12.9% 32.6% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$152 7.5%

Grecia

$174 11.6% 14.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.6%

Grecia

$175 11.6% 31.2% $42

Getting Around

Montreal

$99 4.9%

Grecia

$18 * 1.2% 82.1% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$52 2.6%

Grecia

$64 4.2% 22.5% $12

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 $446 in Grecia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Montreal pays 324% 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 $53.0 in Grecia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $346 vs $249 per month, with Grecia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇨🇷 Grecia

🕒 Local time

23:35 11:35 PM

21:35 9:35 PM

2 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

16,700

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal Grecia 4,070 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Grecia

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 Grecia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grecia wins on cost – living expenses run 34% lower than in Montreal. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Grecia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 324% 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 $446 in Grecia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $507 in Montreal versus $994 in Grecia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Grecia – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $70.0 in Montreal. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,505 in Grecia versus $2,018 in Montreal, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Grecia but tight or insufficient in Montreal. The gap between the two cities makes Grecia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Grecia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,505 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Grecia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Montreal and Grecia 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 Grecia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Montreal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.