✦ Compare
Istanbul vs
Montreal
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
To keep the same standard of living in Montreal, CA, you'd need
$137,363 / year
Montreal, CA is 83% more expensive overall
Category breakdown (Montreal, CA vs Istanbul, TR)
- Housing+85%
- Food & groceries+104%
- Transport+100%
- Utilities+63%
- Healthcare+78%
- Goods & services+75%
◎ How Istanbul, TR and Montreal, CA compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Istanbul, TR | Montreal, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 54 | 99 |
| Housing | 55 | 102 |
| Food | 52 | 106 |
| Transport | 40 | 80 |
| Utilities | 60 | 98 |
| Healthcare | 45 | 80 |
| Goods & services | 60 | 105 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $650/mo | $1,150/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $400/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $1,300/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $2,500 | $5,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $1,852 | $1,011 |
| Inexpensive meal | $6 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $30 | $70 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 40% | 33% |
| VAT / sales tax | 20% | 5% |
| Social security (employee) | 15% | — |
| Corporate tax | 25% | 26.5% |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $700/mo | $3,300/mo |
| Minimum wage | $600/mo | $1,900/mo |
| GDP per capita | $15,666 | $55,698 |
| Inflation (annual) | 44% | 2.1% |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | Yes | Yes |
| English proficiency | Moderate | High |
| Coworking spaces | 50 | 50 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC-5 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Safety index | 58 | 72 |
| Healthcare index | 65 | 78 |
| Pollution index | 62 | 35 |
| Internet speed | 60 Mbps | 180 Mbps |
| Walkability | 70 | 78 |
| Public transport | 72 | 78 |
| Family-friendly | 60 | 74 |
| Tap water | Use caution | Safe to drink |
| Life expectancy | 78 yr | 82 yr |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | Low | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | +6 °C | -9 °C |
| July avg | +24 °C | +21 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 190 | 160 |
| Rainfall / year | 810 mm | 1,000 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 3 h | 2 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: Turkey vs Canada. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
Good to know before you move to Istanbul
The only megacity straddling two continents — 15 million people where Europe meets Asia. Big-city energy, deep history and world-class food at a fraction of Western-European prices, offset by a volatile lira and long cross-Bosphorus commutes.
- Currency
- Turkish lira (₺ TRY)
- Languages
- Turkish
- Time zone
- UTC+3
- Internet
- 60 Mbps
- English
- Fairly common
- Safety
- 58/100
- Climate
- ❄ 6°C · ☀ 24°C · 190 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Bottled recommended
- Power
- C/F · 230V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Kadıköy · Beşiktaş · Cihangir · Şişli
Good to know before you move to Montreal
A bilingual, European-flavoured metropolis and the most affordable of Canada's big cities — rents well below Toronto or Vancouver, a huge festival and food culture, and cheap universities. The catch is the long, brutally cold winter and Quebec's French-first bureaucracy.
- Currency
- Canadian dollar ($ CAD)
- Languages
- English, French
- Time zone
- UTC-5
- Internet
- 180 Mbps
- English
- Widely spoken
- Safety
- 72/100
- Climate
- ❄ -9°C · ☀ 21°C · 160 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Plateau-Mont-Royal · Mile End · Griffintown · Rosemont
Plan your move to Istanbul
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- Car rentalLocalrent
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- Tours & ticketsTiqets
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- MoreAvitoVIP
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Plan your move to Montreal
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- Car rentalEconomybookings
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
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? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Istanbul to Montreal: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Istanbul to Montreal, your cost of living will be roughly 83% more expensive. Montreal’s cost-of-living index is 99 versus 54 for Istanbul (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Istanbul cheaper than Montreal?
Montreal is about 83% more expensive than Istanbul overall — its cost-of-living index is 99 versus 54 for Istanbul.
How much do you need to earn in Montreal to live like in Istanbul?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Istanbul is worth about $137,363 in Montreal. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Istanbul or Montreal?
Canada has the lower top income-tax rate — 33% versus 40% in Turkey.
◷ More comparisons from Istanbul
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.