Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

Finland

Helsinki vs. Montreal Cost of Living Summary

Helsinki is 10.9% more expensive than Montreal.

Restaurants: pay 18.5% more in Helsinki
Groceries: pay 8.4% less in Helsinki
Transportation: pay 43.2% more in Helsinki
Housing: pay 1.7% more in Helsinki
Childcare: pay 13.8% less in Helsinki
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.0% more in Helsinki
Clothing: pay 29.3% more in Helsinki

The cost of entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, restaurants, and housing in Helsinki are more expensive than in Montreal. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in Helsinki.

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Helsinki vs. Montreal Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Helsinki instead of Montreal, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.5% more for restaurants

	Montreal	Helsinki
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.94 CA$27.01	$17.92 €15.99	-5.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.52 CA$15.01	$13.44 €11.99	+27.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 CA$2.80	$3.45 €3.08	+75.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.52 CA$2.17	$2.59 €2.31	+69.9%
Average			+18.5%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.4% less for groceries

	Montreal	Helsinki
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 CA$4.44	$2.76 €2.46	-11.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.56 CA$9.36	$4.96 €4.42	-24.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.60 CA$12.27	$5.08 €4.54	-40.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.57 CA$5.09	$3.93 €3.51	+10.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.10 CA$7.28	$6.02 €5.37	+18.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.50 CA$2.14	$1.26 €1.12	-16.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.66 CA$0.94	$0.99 €0.88	+49.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.08	$1.12 €1.00	-23.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 CA$1.90	$1.77 €1.58	+32.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 CA$1.22	$0.55 €0.49	-35.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.81 CA$1.16	$0.74 €0.66	-9.2%
Average			-8.4%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.2% more for transportation

	Montreal	Helsinki
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 CA$7.15	$8.89 €7.93	+77.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$76.45 CA$109.05	$81.74 €72.96	+6.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,760.48 CA$39,598.93	$36,622.07 €32,689.52	+31.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.66 CA$20.91	$26.34 €23.51	+79.7%
Average			+43.2%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.7% more for housing

	Montreal	Helsinki
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.08 CA$60.03	$24.77 €22.11	-41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,253.33 CA$1,787.81	$1,207.26 €1,077.62	-3.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$968.97 CA$1,382.18	$904.00 €806.93	-6.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$59.09 CA$84.29	$104.89 €93.62	+77.5%
Average			+1.7%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of housing

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pay 13.8% less for childcare

	Montreal	Helsinki
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$506.92 CA$723.10	$476.51 €425.34	-6.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,061.08 CA$22,910.33	$12,685.20 €11,323.04	-21.0%
Average			-13.8%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Montreal	Helsinki
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.31 CA$9.00	$10.08 €9.00	+59.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.82 CA$5.45	$5.23 €4.67	+36.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.22 CA$16.01	$14.00 €12.49	+24.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.79 CA$41.07	$46.96 €41.92	+63.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.22 CA$16.01	$18.48 €16.49	+64.6%
Average			+53.0%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.3% more for clothing

	Montreal	Helsinki
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.11 CA$82.90	$92.46 €82.53	+59.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.34 CA$54.69	$43.55 €38.87	+13.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.86 CA$133.89	$104.85 €93.59	+11.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.90 CA$153.92	$149.45 €133.40	+38.5%
Average			+29.3%

Montreal vs. Helsinki - Cost of clothing

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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

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Size Comparison · See true size

Montreal is about 2 times bigger than Helsinki.

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