Ottawa vs Quebec City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Ottawa	Quebec City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2096	$1632
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4619	$3776
🏠 One person rent	$1231	$826
🏘️ Family rent	$1937	$1323
🍽️ Food expenses	$576	$538
🚐 Transport expenses	$166	$136
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3333	$2731
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	50	38
😀 Quality of life	92	88
🏙️ Population	1.02M	549K

The cost of living in Ottawa is 28% more expensive than in Quebec City. Cities ranked 1744th and 3402nd ($2096 vs $1632) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 24th and 116th in Canada.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Ottawa compared to 1.7 months in Quebec City. Ranked 11th vs 25th best cities to live in Canada, and 129th vs 300th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Ottawa vs Quebec City infographic

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Prices in Ottawa vs Quebec City

Prices for goods and services in Ottawa and Quebec City are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Ottawa	Quebec City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.1	$15.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$63.6	$64.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.8	$10.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$5.52	$4.99
☕ Cappuccino	$3.81	$3.82
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2	$1.85
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1295	$788
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1036	$714
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2109	$1419
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1647	$1141
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$95.9	$52.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$150	$82.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$47.4	$44.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.23%	5.88%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$4937	$9628
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3196	$3472
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.84	$2.66
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$95.2	$67.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.2	$22.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.04	$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.35	$2.17
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.55	$3.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.89	$4.05
🥚 Eggs, x12	$3.53	$3.04
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.6	$11.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$10.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$12.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.9	$3.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.6	$4.17
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.88	$3.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.59	$1.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.16	$2.44
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.99	$1.01
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.77	$1.86
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$13.5	$10.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.61	$3.14
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.9	$11.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.6	$6.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.18	$3.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.9	$2.24
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.76	$1.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$42.4	$41.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$10.7	$10
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$66	$79
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.8	$16.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$56.4	$55.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$89	$102
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$783	$816
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15527	$6103

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Ottawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
7.4 km or 4.6 mi	Gatineau	$1802
19 km or 12 mi	Kanata	$2166
87 km or 54 mi	Cornwall	$1660
94 km or 58 mi	Brockville	$1836
124 km or 77 mi	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield	$1935
128 km or 80 mi	Mirabel	$1782
130 km or 81 mi	Vaudreuil-Dorion	$1850
138 km or 86 mi	Saint-Jerome	$1753
141 km or 87 mi	Saint-Eustache	$1806
143 km or 89 mi	Kirkland	$1835
144 km or 89 mi	Blainville	$1780
146 km or 90 mi	Sainte-Therese	$1785
147 km or 91 mi	Pointe-Claire	$1838
147 km or 91 mi	Boisbriand	$1763
147 km or 91 mi	Dollard-des-Ormeaux	$1829
147 km or 91 mi	Kingston	$1437
150 km or 93 mi	Le Ray	$1822
152 km or 94 mi	Dorval	$1853
152 km or 94 mi	Chateauguay	$1867
153 km or 95 mi	Laval	$1930
157 km or 98 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1719
158 km or 98 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1835
160 km or 100 mi	Mount Royal	$1820
162 km or 101 mi	Watertown	$1649
163 km or 102 mi	Terrebonne	$1805
163 km or 102 mi	Westmount	$1814
166 km or 103 mi	Saint-Constant	$1864
167 km or 104 mi	Montreal	$1903
167 km or 104 mi	Mascouche	$1766
170 km or 106 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1828
170 km or 106 mi	Candiac	$1892
170 km or 106 mi	Longueuil	$1842
171 km or 106 mi	La Prairie	$1911
175 km or 109 mi	Brossard	$2055
176 km or 109 mi	Boucherville	$1820
177 km or 110 mi	Repentigny	$1767
178 km or 111 mi	Varennes	$1786
183 km or 114 mi	L'Assomption	$1671
183 km or 114 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1869
185 km or 115 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1822

Cities near Quebec City

Distance	City	Cost of living
3.6 km or 2.2 mi	Levis	$1622
80 km or 50 mi	Thetford Mines	$1019
89 km or 55 mi	Saint-Georges	$1470
102 km or 64 mi	Victoriaville	$1265
114 km or 71 mi	Trois-Rivieres	$1136
120 km or 74 mi	Shawinigan	$1388
142 km or 88 mi	Drummondville	$1363
166 km or 103 mi	Sherbrooke	$1420
169 km or 105 mi	Sorel-Tracy	$1549
170 km or 106 mi	Riviere-du-Loup	$1455
178 km or 111 mi	Saguenay	$1077
180 km or 112 mi	Chicoutimi	$1223
187 km or 116 mi	Magog	$1486
188 km or 117 mi	Saint-Hyacinthe	$1586
192 km or 120 mi	Joliette	$1449
195 km or 121 mi	Alma	$1304
196 km or 122 mi	Granby	$1120
201 km or 125 mi	L'Assomption	$1671
206 km or 128 mi	Beloeil	$1776
210 km or 131 mi	Repentigny	$1767
211 km or 131 mi	Varennes	$1786
212 km or 132 mi	Sainte-Julie	$1822
217 km or 135 mi	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville	$1869
218 km or 135 mi	Mascouche	$1766
218 km or 136 mi	Boucherville	$1820
220 km or 136 mi	Chambly	$1853
223 km or 138 mi	Saint-Lin-Laurentides	$1719
223 km or 139 mi	Terrebonne	$1805
227 km or 141 mi	Longueuil	$1842
228 km or 142 mi	Brossard	$2055
229 km or 142 mi	Saint-Lambert	$1828
229 km or 143 mi	Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	$1805
231 km or 144 mi	Montreal	$1903
234 km or 146 mi	La Prairie	$1911
236 km or 146 mi	Westmount	$1814
236 km or 146 mi	Mount Royal	$1820
238 km or 148 mi	Laval	$1930
238 km or 148 mi	Candiac	$1892
241 km or 150 mi	Cote-Saint-Luc	$1835
241 km or 150 mi	Boisbriand	$1763