Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and Popayan

For one person, living is cheaper in Popayan: $1,340 a month against $2,018 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Popayan
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Popayan Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,018

/mo nomad

Popayan

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in Popayan

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

A single person spends $2,018 per month in Montreal vs $1,340 in Popayan, rent included.

Montreal $2,018
Popayan $1,340

A couple spends around $3,085 per month in Montreal vs $2,023 in Popayan, rent included.

Montreal $3,085
Popayan $2,023

A family of three spends $4,152 per month in Montreal vs $2,706 in Popayan, rent included.

Montreal $4,152
Popayan $2,706

Montreal costs about 51% more than Popayan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montreal sits 49% above the global median, while Popayan is 1% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.82 CA$26.61

$6.55 COP 20.8K

187.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$99.4

$45.13 COP 143.1K

55.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 CA$15.06

$8.71 COP 27.6K

22.39%

Cappuccino

$3.84 CA$5.43

$2.80 COP 8,877

37.14%

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

$1.92 CA$2.71

$1.20 COP 3,793

60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.18

$1.02 COP 3,234

50.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.23 CA$8.81

$3.45 COP 10.9K

80.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 CA$10.03

$4.02 COP 12.8K

76.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 CA$3.27

$1.65 COP 5,224

40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$2.49 COP 7,898

26.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 CA$4.54

$1.68 COP 5,338

91.07%

Eggs

$3.52 CA$4.97

$3.13 COP 9,927

12.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.81 CA$18.11

$6.94 COP 22.0K

84.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.20

$11.05 COP 35.0K

3.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 CA$18.92

$10.39 COP 32.9K

28.87%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.43

$3.49 COP 11.1K

-10.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.03

$1.64 COP 5,209

-12.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.91

$1.83 COP 5,805

89.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.34

$1.59 COP 5,031

93.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.69

$1.33 COP 4,232

42.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 CA$2.50

$1.49 COP 4,714

18.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CA$3.31

$1.13 COP 3,572

107.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.19

$1.00 COP 3,183

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.38 CA$16.09

$3.81 COP 12.1K

198.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 CA$15.03

$11.86 COP 37.6K

-10.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$1.41 COP 4,485

60.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$3.99

$2.62 COP 8,304

7.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 CA$3.76

$1.05 COP 3,332

153.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.3 CA$109

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 CA$4.53

$1.71 COP 5,413

87.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.09

$2.27 COP 7,194

-34.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 CA$46.48

$9.26 COP 29.4K

255.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CA$1.90

$1.29 COP 4,091

3.88%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$25.7K COP 81.4M

9.61%

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

$19.6K CA$27.8K

$35.5K COP 112.5M

-44.70%

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

$76.0 CA$107

$136 COP 431.3K

-44.16%

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

$33.95 CA$48.00

$11.34 COP 35.9K

199.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 CA$59.8

$26.78 COP 84.9K

57.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.76 CA$42.07

$34.41 COP 109.1K

-13.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.28 CA$28.67

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 CA$15.77

$5.91 COP 18.8K

88.66%

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

$507 CA$717

$539 COP 1.7M

-5.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K CA$22.7K

$7,384 COP 23.4M

117.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 CA$81.4

$78.9 COP 250.1K

-27.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.58 CA$53.1

$59.9 COP 189.8K

-37.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$131 COP 414.9K

-29.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$115 COP 363.3K

-4.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 CA$1,782

$554 COP 1.8M

127.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 CA$1,340

$513 COP 1.6M

84.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 CA$3,021

$903 COP 2.9M

136.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 CA$2,281

$874 COP 2.8M

84.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,960 CA$7,011

$2,101 COP 6.7M

136.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,838 CA$5,425

$1,896 COP 6.0M

102.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,827 CA$3,997

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 Popayan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$948 47%

Popayan

$513 38.3% 45.9% $435

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$346 17.2%

Popayan

$270 20.2% 22.1% $77

Eating Out

Montreal

$288 14.3%

Popayan

$146 10.9% 49.2% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$152 7.5%

Popayan

$174 13% 14.4% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.6%

Popayan

$173 12.9% 29.5% $39

Getting Around

Montreal

$99 4.9%

Popayan

$17 * 1.3% 82.5% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$52 2.6%

Popayan

$46 3.5% 11.2% $5.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,260 in Montreal versus $554 in Popayan. 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 $70.0 in Montreal versus $45.00 in Popayan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $346 vs $270 – making Popayan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇨🇴 Popayan

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

00:22 12:22 AM

1 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

318,059

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Popayan 4,800 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
Popayan

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 Popayan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal costs about 51% more than Popayan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,027 per month in Montreal and $2,009 in Popayan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Popayan, 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 $70.0 in Montreal and $45.00 in Popayan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 28% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Popayan, where all-in costs run around $1,340, than in Montreal at $2,018. In Popayan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montreal it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Popayan costs $1,340 versus $2,018 in Montreal. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 Popayan. 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.