NavoyNostos

Brussels vs Montréal

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Montréal edges it, 70 to 69, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Brussels is stronger on nothing outright; Montréal on nothing outright. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 2.3 of 69 points (scores 21/100)Safety: 8.1 of 69 points (scores 73/100)Healthcare: 9.7 of 69 points (scores 87/100)Internet: 8.2 of 69 points (scores 74/100)Visa ease: 6.7 of 69 points (scores 61/100)Getting there & around: 9.4 of 69 points (scores 85/100)Climate: 3.7 of 69 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 10.5 of 69 points (scores 94/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 69 points (scores 96/100)69
Brussels
out of 100

EU capital with a multilingual job market

Full Brussels profile →Where to stay in Brussels →
Cost of living: 3.1 of 70 points (scores 28/100)Safety: 8.5 of 70 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 10.1 of 70 points (scores 91/100)Internet: 8.4 of 70 points (scores 75/100)Visa ease: 6.4 of 70 points (scores 58/100)Getting there & around: 9.0 of 70 points (scores 81/100)Climate: 3.7 of 70 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 10.2 of 70 points (scores 92/100)Quality of life: 10.6 of 70 points (scores 95/100)70
Montréal
out of 100

Bilingual, cultural and affordable for North America

Full Montréal profile →Where to stay in Montréal →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Cost of living2128 ✓
Safety7376 ✓
Healthcare8791 ✓
Internet7475 ✓
Visa ease61 ✓58
Getting there & around85 ✓81
Climate3333
Air quality94 ✓92
Quality of life96 ✓95

Cost

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Monthly cost, one person$2,715$2,293 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent$1,269 ✓$1,354

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Homicides per 100k1.08 ✓1.98
Political stability (0–100)68.679.8 ✓
UHC service coverage (0–100)8692 ✓
Life expectancy81.5 yrs81.6 yrs ✓

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Download52.3 Mbps57.1 Mbps ✓
Upload12.9 Mbps ✓12.2 Mbps

Visa

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passport90 days180 days ✓
Entry, EU passportunlimited ✓eTA required (online, before travel)
Entry, UK passport90 days ✓eTA required (online, before travel)

Getting there and around

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Non-stop airport destinations248 ✓178
Walkability (1–5, editorial)44
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricBrusselsMontréal
Comfortable months per year44
Annual mean PM2.57.6 µg/m³ ✓8.6 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Brussels or Montréal?
Montréal is cheaper: about $2,293 per month versus $2,715 for one person.
Is Brussels or Montréal safer?
Montréal scores higher on safety (76 vs 73), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Brussels or Montréal?
Montréal: a measured median of 57.1 Mbps versus 52.3 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.