Cost of living comparison
compared to
Montreal vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary
Montreal is 9.9% cheaper than Helsinki.
Montreal vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Montreal instead of Helsinki, you would:
pay 15.6% less for restaurants
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.92
€15.99
|
$18.94
CA$27.01
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
$10.52
CA$15.01
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.45
€3.08
|
$1.97
CA$2.80
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
€2.31
|
$1.52
CA$2.17
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.1% more for groceries
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.76
€2.46
|
$3.11
CA$4.44
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.96
€4.42
|
$6.56
CA$9.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.08
€4.54
|
$8.60
CA$12.27
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.93
€3.51
|
$3.57
CA$5.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.02
€5.37
|
$5.10
CA$7.28
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.12
|
$1.50
CA$2.14
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.99
€0.88
|
$0.66
CA$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.12
€1.00
|
$1.46
CA$2.08
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
€1.58
|
$1.33
CA$1.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.55
€0.49
|
$0.86
CA$1.22
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.74
€0.66
|
$0.81
CA$1.16
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of groceries
pay 30.2% less for transportation
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.89
€7.93
|
$5.01
CA$7.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$81.74
€72.96
|
$76.45
CA$109.05
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,622.07
€32,689.52
|
$27,760.48
CA$39,598.93
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.34
€23.51
|
$14.66
CA$20.91
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of transportation
pay 1.7% less for housing
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$24.77
€22.11
|
$42.08
CA$60.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,207.26
€1,077.62
|
$1,253.33
CA$1,787.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$904.00
€806.93
|
$968.97
CA$1,382.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$104.89
€93.62
|
$59.09
CA$84.29
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of housing
pay 16.1% more for childcare
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$476.51
€425.34
|
$506.92
CA$723.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,685.20
€11,323.04
|
$16,061.08
CA$22,910.33
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of childcare
pay 34.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.08
€9.00
|
$6.31
CA$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.23
€4.67
|
$3.82
CA$5.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
€12.49
|
$11.22
CA$16.01
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.96
€41.92
|
$28.79
CA$41.07
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.48
€16.49
|
$11.22
CA$16.01
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.7% less for clothing
|
Helsinki
|
Montreal
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$92.46
€82.53
|
$58.11
CA$82.90
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.55
€38.87
|
$38.34
CA$54.69
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.85
€93.59
|
$93.86
CA$133.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.45
€133.40
|
$107.90
CA$153.92
|
|
Helsinki vs. Montreal - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Helsinki vs. Montreal
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Finland vs. Canada.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Finland and Canada.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Montreal or Helsinki. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.