Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and San Fernando

For one person, living is cheaper in San Fernando: $1,130 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 San Fernando
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San Fernando Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,059

/mo nomad

San Fernando

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,130

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Montreal and in San Fernando

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

A single person spends $2,059 per month in Montreal vs $1,130 in San Fernando, rent included.

Montreal $2,059
San Fernando $1,130

A couple spends around $3,123 per month in Montreal vs $1,832 in San Fernando, rent included.

Montreal $3,123
San Fernando $1,832

A family of three spends $4,187 per month in Montreal vs $2,534 in San Fernando, rent included.

Montreal $4,187
San Fernando $2,534

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

Montreal sits 52% above the global median, while San Fernando is 17% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.84 CA$26.63

$10.75 MX$199

75.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.2 CA$104

$43.30 MX$800

69.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.90

$8.42 MX$156

25.18%

Cappuccino

$3.97 CA$5.61

$3.63 MX$67.0

9.37%

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

$1.94 CA$2.74

$1.42 MX$26.21

36.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 CA$2.22

$1.06 MX$19.52

48.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.42 CA$9.08

$2.42 MX$44.65

165.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 CA$10.19

$4.15 MX$76.7

73.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.32 CA$3.28

$1.60 MX$29.59

45.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 CA$4.51

$2.68 MX$49.57

19.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.19 CA$4.50

$1.71 MX$31.53

86.55%

Eggs

$3.68 CA$5.20

$2.53 MX$46.78

45.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.24 CA$18.72

$8.19 MX$151

61.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.69 CA$16.53

$8.27 MX$153

41.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.98 CA$19.76

$11.60 MX$214

20.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.44

$2.67 MX$49.25

17.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 CA$2.05

$1.60 MX$29.50

-9.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.38 CA$4.78

$1.97 MX$36.32

71.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.11 CA$4.40

$1.84 MX$33.96

69.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 CA$2.72

$1.97 MX$36.36

-2.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.83 CA$2.58

$1.82 MX$33.57

0.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.36 CA$3.34

$1.43 MX$26.41

65.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 CA$2.12

$1.14 MX$21.00

31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.12 CA$15.73

$4.32 MX$79.9

157.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.60 CA$14.98

$10.48 MX$194

1.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.22 CA$3.14

$1.79 MX$33.11

24.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 CA$4.01

$3.20 MX$59.2

-11.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.62 CA$3.71

$0.64 MX$11.85

309.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.1 CA$112

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 CA$4.56

$2.56 MX$47.39

26.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.10

$2.01 MX$37.15

-26.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.22 CA$45.55

$10.82 MX$200

197.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 CA$1.92

$1.49 MX$27.45

-8.72%

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

$27.6K CA$39.1K

$21.0K MX$387.5K

31.82%

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

$21.2K CA$30.0K

$23.7K MX$438.6K

-10.72%

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

$77.0 CA$109

$57.0 MX$1,054

35.11%

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

$34.14 CA$48.26

$22.91 MX$423

49.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.19 CA$59.7

$29.54 MX$546

42.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.81 CA$43.56

$33.60 MX$621

-8.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.66 CA$27.79

$20.12 MX$372

-2.29%

Cinema Ticket

$11.47 CA$16.22

$5.23 MX$96.6

119.31%

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

$506 CA$716

$220 MX$4,060

130.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$23.0K

$4,534 MX$83.8K

258.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.3 CA$81.0

$54.3 MX$1,003

5.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.10 CA$53.9

$40.69 MX$752

-6.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$130

$98.8 MX$1,825

-6.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$155

$90.3 MX$1,669

21.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,237 CA$1,748

$612 MX$11.3K

101.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$977 CA$1,381

$383 MX$7,076

155.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,180 CA$3,082

$1,030 MX$19.0K

111.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 CA$2,273

$779 MX$14.4K

106.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,113 CA$7,228

$1,910 MX$35.3K

167.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,744 CA$5,293

$1,160 MX$21.4K

222.84%

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 San Fernando: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$977 47.4%

San Fernando

$383 33.9% 60.8% $594

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$351 17.1%

San Fernando

$266 23.5% 24.3% $85

Eating Out

Montreal

$290 14.1%

San Fernando

$185 16.4% 36.3% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$153 7.5%

San Fernando

$109 9.7% 28.6% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$134 6.5%

San Fernando

$128 11.3% 4.4% $5.8

Getting Around

Montreal

$100 4.9%

San Fernando

$15 * 1.3% 84.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$54 2.6%

San Fernando

$44 3.9% 18.1% $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 $612 in San Fernando. 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 $43.00 in San Fernando. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $351 vs $266 – making San Fernando the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇲🇽 San Fernando

🕒 Local time

11:38 11:38 AM

09:38 9:38 AM

2 h behind Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

11,867

💱 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 San Fernando 3,670 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
San Fernando

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 San Fernando: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal costs about 82% more than San Fernando, 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 $3,089 per month in Montreal and $1,695 in San Fernando. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Fernando, 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 $43.00 in San Fernando. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 32% 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 San Fernando, where all-in costs run around $1,130, than in Montreal at $2,059. In San Fernando it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montreal it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. San Fernando costs $1,130 versus $2,059 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 San Fernando. 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.