Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toronto and San Francisco

For one person, living is cheaper in San Francisco: $1,672 a month against $2,561 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
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Toronto Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco
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San Francisco Living Index

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Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,561

/mo nomad

San Francisco

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,672

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toronto and in San Francisco

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,561 in Toronto versus $1,672 in San Francisco.

Toronto $2,561
San Francisco $1,672

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,694 in Toronto versus $2,668 in San Francisco.

Toronto $3,694
San Francisco $2,668

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,826 in Toronto versus $3,664 in San Francisco.

Toronto $4,826
San Francisco $3,664

Living in Toronto is roughly 53% more expensive than in San Francisco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Toronto 90% above, San Francisco 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.18 CA$24.29

$10.08 ₡4,520

70.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$76.0 CA$107

$61.8 ₡27.7K

22.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 CA$14.89

$11.03 ₡4,947

-4.44%

Cappuccino

$4.02 CA$5.68

$4.33 ₡1,941

-7.16%

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

$2.12 CA$3.00

$1.30 ₡582

63.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 CA$2.48

$1.81 ₡810

-3.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.24 CA$8.83

$3.35 ₡1,504

86.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.09 CA$10.02

$4.31 ₡1,932

64.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 CA$3.45

$2.32 ₡1,039

5.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.68 CA$3.78

$3.03 ₡1,360

-11.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.24 CA$3.17

$2.44 ₡1,095

-8.20%

Eggs

$3.56 CA$5.03

$3.51 ₡1,575

1.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 CA$12.85

$10.83 ₡4,859

-16.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 CA$16.01

$10.43 ₡4,677

8.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.53 CA$20.55

$13.81 ₡6,192

5.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 CA$5.12

$5.00 ₡2,241

-27.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$1.64 ₡735

-26.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.60 CA$5.09

$4.85 ₡2,177

-25.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.21 CA$5.96

$3.96 ₡1,777

6.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 CA$2.53

$3.75 ₡1,683

-52.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 CA$2.25

$3.59 ₡1,609

-55.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 CA$3.21

$1.08 ₡483

110.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 CA$1.77

$3.20 ₡1,435

-60.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.82 CA$19.53

$5.80 ₡2,601

138.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.27 CA$20.18

$20.33 ₡9,119

-29.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.10

$2.81 ₡1,262

-21.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 CA$3.44

$3.66 ₡1,642

-33.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.39 CA$3.38

$1.34 ₡602

78.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 CA$157

$65.2 ₡29.3K

70.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 CA$4.12

$1.78 ₡800

63.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 CA$1.69

$1.63 ₡732

-26.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.38 CA$30.23

$8.91 ₡3,994

139.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.71

$1.49 ₡667

-18.79%

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

$28.2K CA$39.8K

$22.0K ₡9.9M

28.19%

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

$20.3K CA$28.6K

$35.0K ₡15.7M

-42.18%

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

$120 CA$170

$76.3 ₡34.2K

57.73%

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

$32.26 CA$45.60

$33.48 ₡15.0K

-3.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.93 CA$67.8

$48.18 ₡21.6K

-0.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.48 CA$54.4

$74.2 ₡33.3K

-48.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.96 CA$32.46

Cinema Ticket

$12.38 CA$17.50

$7.52 ₡3,373

64.63%

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

$830 CA$1,173

$973 ₡436.4K

-14.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K CA$32.6K

$16.8K ₡7.5M

37.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.7 CA$71.7

$71.1 ₡31.9K

-28.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.02 CA$56.6

$55.2 ₡24.8K

-27.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.0 CA$139

$66.7 ₡29.9K

46.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 CA$171

$53.8 ₡24.1K

124.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,592 CA$2,251

$808 ₡362.4K

97.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,410 CA$1,994

$629 ₡282.0K

124.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 CA$3,775

$1,914 ₡858.5K

39.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,152 CA$3,042

$1,267 ₡568.0K

69.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,945 CA$11.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,542 CA$9,249

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,727 CA$5,269

$892 ₡400.1K

317.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.47

8.62

-48.14%

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

Last update for Toronto: October 12, 2026

Last update for San Francisco: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toronto

$1.4K 55.1%

San Francisco

$629 37.6% 55.4% $782

Groceries & Markets

Toronto

$340 13.3%

San Francisco

$401 24% 17.9% $61

Eating Out

Toronto

$278 10.9%

San Francisco

$203 12.2% 26.9% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toronto

$201 7.8%

San Francisco

$158 9.5% 21.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Toronto

$139 5.4%

San Francisco

$111 6.6% 20.2% $28

Getting Around

Toronto

$129 5.1%

San Francisco

$81 4.8% 37.8% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Toronto

$63 2.5%

San Francisco

$89 5.3% 41.2% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,592 in Toronto and $808 in San Francisco. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toronto pays 318% 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: $76.0 in Toronto vs $62.0 in San Francisco. Groceries flip the comparison at $340 vs $401, with Toronto cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Toronto

🇨🇷 San Francisco

🕒 Local time

09:18 9:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

2 h behind Toronto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,731,571

55,923

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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

Toronto San Francisco 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Toronto
San Francisco

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

Toronto vs San Francisco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Toronto. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San Francisco the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 318% higher in Toronto, 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: $1,592 in Toronto versus $808 in San Francisco. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in San Francisco runs roughly 70% less than in Toronto. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $830 in Toronto versus $973 in San Francisco. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,672 in San Francisco versus $2,561 in Toronto, a $2,000 budget is realistic in San Francisco but tight or insufficient in Toronto. The gap between the two cities makes San Francisco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Toronto and San Francisco 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 San Francisco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Toronto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.