Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Montreal and San Luis

For one person, living is cheaper in San Luis: $1,175 a month against $2,018 in Montreal, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 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
56

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
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San Luis Living Index

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Montreal

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,018

/mo nomad

San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,175

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $2,018 per month in Montreal vs $1,175 in San Luis, rent included.

Montreal $2,018
San Luis $1,175

A couple spends around $3,085 per month in Montreal vs $1,962 in San Luis, rent included.

Montreal $3,085
San Luis $1,962

A family of three spends $4,152 per month in Montreal vs $2,749 in San Luis, rent included.

Montreal $4,152
San Luis $2,749

Montreal costs about 72% more than San Luis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Montreal sits 49% above the global median, while San Luis is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.82 CA$26.81

$8.42 ARS 12.8K

123.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.3 CA$100

$50.1 ARS 76.0K

40.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.66 CA$15.18

$8.72 ARS 13.2K

22.25%

Cappuccino

$3.84 CA$5.47

$2.10 ARS 3,180

82.86%

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

$1.92 CA$2.73

$2.36 ARS 3,585

-18.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 CA$2.19

$1.88 ARS 2,852

-18.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.23 CA$8.88

$3.25 ARS 4,926

91.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.10 CA$10.11

$4.54 ARS 6,881

56.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 CA$3.30

$1.23 ARS 1,863

87.80%

White Bread (500g)

$3.14 CA$4.48

$2.04 ARS 3,090

53.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.21 CA$4.58

$1.06 ARS 1,602

202.83%

Eggs

$3.52 CA$5.01

$3.05 ARS 4,623

15.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.81 CA$18.25

$14.72 ARS 22.3K

-12.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.33

$6.40 ARS 9,702

79.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 CA$19.07

$11.02 ARS 16.7K

21.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 CA$4.47

$2.34 ARS 3,552

34.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 CA$2.05

$2.14 ARS 3,244

-32.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.47 CA$4.95

$1.35 ARS 2,045

157.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 CA$4.38

$3.18 ARS 4,825

-3.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 CA$2.71

$0.98 ARS 1,484

93.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 CA$2.52

$1.45 ARS 2,197

22.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CA$3.34

$1.93 ARS 2,933

21.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 CA$2.21

$2.44 ARS 3,697

-36.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.38 CA$16.21

$2.81 ARS 4,254

304.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 CA$15.14

$5.11 ARS 7,749

108.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 CA$3.24

$1.70 ARS 2,581

33.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 CA$4.02

$2.98 ARS 4,514

-5.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 CA$3.79

$0.63 ARS 949

322.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.3 CA$110

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 CA$4.56

$0.66 ARS 1,003

384.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 CA$2.10

$1.02 ARS 1,550

45.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.88 CA$46.83

$4.75 ARS 7,210

592.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 CA$1.92

$1.21 ARS 1,838

10.74%

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

$28.2K CA$40.1K

$27.3K ARS 41.3M

3.28%

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

$19.6K CA$28.0K

$33.4K ARS 50.6M

-41.20%

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

$76.0 CA$108

$39.37 ARS 59.7K

92.94%

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

$33.95 CA$48.36

$16.91 ARS 25.6K

100.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.31 CA$60.3

$24.67 ARS 37.4K

71.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.76 CA$42.38

$33.15 ARS 50.3K

-10.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.28 CA$28.89

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 CA$15.88

$5.46 ARS 8,274

104.21%

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

$507 CA$722

$176 ARS 266.4K

188.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.1K CA$22.9K

$4,167 ARS 6.3M

285.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 CA$82.0

$126 ARS 191.6K

-54.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.58 CA$53.5

$142 ARS 215.1K

-73.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 CA$131

$144 ARS 218.5K

-36.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 CA$156

$161 ARS 243.7K

-31.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,260 CA$1,795

$446 ARS 676.9K

182.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$948 CA$1,350

$351 ARS 532.6K

169.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,137 CA$3,044

$1,077 ARS 1.6M

98.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,614 CA$2,298

$781 ARS 1.2M

106.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,960 CA$7,064

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,838 CA$5,466

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,827 CA$4,027

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

-92.41%

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

Last update for Montreal: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Luis: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Montreal

$948 47%

San Luis

$351 29.9% 62.9% $596

Groceries & Markets

Montreal

$346 17.2%

San Luis

$272 23.1% 21.6% $75

Eating Out

Montreal

$288 14.3%

San Luis

$161 13.7% 44.1% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Montreal

$152 7.5%

San Luis

$81 6.9% 46.8% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Montreal

$133 6.6%

San Luis

$258 21.9% 93.2% $124

Getting Around

Montreal

$99 4.9%

San Luis

$8.3 * 0.7% 91.6% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Montreal

$52 2.6%

San Luis

$44 3.8% 15.3% $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 $446 in San Luis. 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 $50.0 in San Luis. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $346 vs $272 – making San Luis the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Montreal

🇦🇷 San Luis

🕒 Local time

15:54 3:54 PM

16:54 4:54 PM

1 h ahead of Montreal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,762,949

204,019

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,693 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.91 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Montreal San Luis 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Montreal
San Luis

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 Luis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Montreal costs about 72% more than San Luis, 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 $1,762 in San Luis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Luis, 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 $50.0 in San Luis. 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Luis, where all-in costs run around $1,175, than in Montreal at $2,018. In San Luis 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 Luis costs $1,175 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 San Luis. 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.