Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Philipsburg and Vancouver

For one person, living is cheaper in Vancouver: $2,684 a month against $3,149 in Philipsburg, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

148

Cost of Living Index in Philipsburg
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Philipsburg Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Vancouver
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Vancouver Living Index

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Philipsburg

🇸🇽 Sint Maarten

$3,149

/mo nomad

Vancouver

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,684

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Philipsburg and in Vancouver

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Philipsburg and in Vancouver actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,149 in Philipsburg versus $2,684 in Vancouver.

Philipsburg $3,149
Vancouver $2,684

Estimated couple costs with rent: $6,004 in Philipsburg versus $3,878 in Vancouver.

Philipsburg $6,004
Vancouver $3,878

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $8,859 in Philipsburg versus $5,072 in Vancouver.

Philipsburg $8,859
Vancouver $5,072

Living in Philipsburg is roughly 17% more expensive than in Vancouver, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Philipsburg 135% above, Vancouver 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.49 ANG 27.73

$17.30 CA$24.66

-10.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.8 ANG 127

$69.0 CA$98.3

2.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.04 ANG 14.39

$10.56 CA$15.05

-23.86%

Cappuccino

$4.38 ANG 7.83

$3.89 CA$5.54

12.60%

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

$2.90 ANG 5.19

$2.05 CA$2.93

41.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 ANG 7.35

$1.62 CA$2.31

153.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 ANG 5.31

$5.54 CA$7.90

-46.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.55 ANG 11.72

$6.33 CA$9.02

3.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.06 ANG 5.48

$2.31 CA$3.30

32.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 ANG 4.72

$2.50 CA$3.56

5.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ANG 4.53

$4.44 CA$6.33

-43.02%

Eggs

$6.54 ANG 11.70

$4.07 CA$5.80

60.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.69 ANG 33.46

$11.28 CA$16.08

65.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.75 ANG 24.61

$13.42 CA$19.13

2.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.89 ANG 26.66

$20.10 CA$28.65

-25.92%

Apples (1kg)

$5.07 ANG 9.07

$4.06 CA$5.78

24.88%

Banana (1kg)

$5.07 ANG 9.08

$1.33 CA$1.90

281.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$9.20 ANG 16.46

$3.91 CA$5.57

135.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$7.58 ANG 13.57

$4.05 CA$5.78

87.16%

Potato (1kg)

$4.06 ANG 7.27

$2.72 CA$3.88

49.26%

Onion (1kg)

$4.04 ANG 7.22

$2.89 CA$4.12

39.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.88 ANG 8.74

$2.53 CA$3.61

92.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 ANG 2.40

$1.62 CA$2.31

-17.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.16 ANG 14.61

$15.57 CA$22.19

-47.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.82 ANG 19.37

$14.05 CA$20.03

-22.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.13 ANG 9.19

$2.69 CA$3.83

90.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.99 CA$4.26

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 ANG 4.05

$2.44 CA$3.48

-7.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$1.47 ANG 2.63

$83.4 CA$119

-98.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$15.04 ANG 26.92

$2.71 CA$3.87

454.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 CA$2.24

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.39 CA$44.75

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 CA$1.96

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

$28.1K CA$40.0K

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

$19.8K CA$28.2K

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

$152 ANG 271

$81.2 CA$116

86.68%

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

$32.40 ANG 58.0

$37.45 CA$53.4

-13.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.8 ANG 118

$51.4 CA$73.2

28.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.7 ANG 112

$43.47 CA$62.0

44.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.53 CA$17.86

Cinema Ticket

$10.92 ANG 19.54

$12.54 CA$17.88

-12.92%

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

$248 ANG 443

$1,094 CA$1,560

-77.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.0K ANG 21.4K

$19.9K CA$28.4K

-39.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.0 CA$81.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.73 CA$46.66

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 CA$132

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.2 CA$134

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,145 ANG 3,840

$1,745 CA$2,488

22.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,994 ANG 3,570

$1,484 CA$2,115

34.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,614 ANG 11.8K

$2,998 CA$4,273

120.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$6,466 ANG 11.6K

$2,422 CA$3,453

166.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,002 CA$11.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,457 CA$9,204

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,132 ANG 2,026

$3,799 CA$5,416

-70.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.28

16.82%

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

Last update for Philipsburg: October 5, 2026

Last update for Vancouver: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Philipsburg

$2K 64.2%

Vancouver

$1.5K 56.6% 25.6% $511

Groceries & Markets

Philipsburg

$496 * 16%

Vancouver

$399 15.2% 19.7% $98

Eating Out

Philipsburg

$256 8.3%

Vancouver

$272 10.4% 6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Philipsburg

$250 8%

Vancouver

$170 6.5% 31.9% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Philipsburg

$85 2.7%

Vancouver

$69 2.6% 18.9% $16

Getting Around

Philipsburg

$26 * 0.8%

Vancouver

$104 4% 306% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Philipsburg

- * 0%

Vancouver

$124 4.8%

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 $2,145 in Philipsburg and $1,745 in Vancouver. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vancouver pays 236% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $71.0 in Philipsburg vs $69.0 in Vancouver for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $496 vs $399 per month, with Vancouver cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇽 Philipsburg

🇨🇦 Vancouver

🕒 Local time

03:32 3:32 AM

00:32 12:32 AM

3 h behind Philipsburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,900 Capital

631,486

💱 Currency

Netherlands Antillean Guilder ANG ƒ

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 ANG = 0.559 USD

1 ANG = 0.498 EUR

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to ANG – Netherlands Antillean Guilder Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Netherlands Antillean Guilder (ƒ)

Netherlands Antillean Guilder exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 ANG (1 ANG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 ANG (1 ANG = 0.498 EUR).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

USD to ANG in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Philipsburg Vancouver 6,340 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Philipsburg
Vancouver

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

Philipsburg vs Vancouver: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vancouver wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Philipsburg. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Vancouver the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 236% lower in Vancouver. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,145 in Philipsburg versus $1,745 in Vancouver. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Philipsburg. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Vancouver – a meal for two runs $69.0 versus $71.0 in Philipsburg. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Vancouver is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Vancouver gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Philipsburg. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.