Montreal vs Ottawa: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Montreal and Ottawa score similarly on the metrics that matter most for short-term rental returns. The right pick depends on whether you optimise for yield (lower regulation risk, higher RevPAR) or capital growth.

Head-to-head metrics

	Montreal	Ottawa
Median occupancy	62%	60%
Median daily rate	£61	£64
Median RevPAR	£24	£24
Active listings	6,430	1,888
YoY occupancy	+20.9 pts	+25.5 pts
YoY daily rate	+1%	+2.8%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Montreal vs Ottawa

There is no clean winner between Montreal and Ottawa. Montreal posts 62% occupancy and £24 RevPAR; Ottawa posts 60% occupancy and £24 RevPAR. Weighted together with regulation risk the two finish inside the margin we are willing to call, which is the honest answer rather than an evasive one — a scoring gap this small would flip on the next data refresh. When markets are this close the decision stops being about the market and starts being about the deal: what you pay, what it costs to run, and how quickly you could exit.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Ottawa is the rate market: £64 a night against £61, some 3.8% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 60% occupancy. Montreal is the volume market, filling 62% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £24 in Ottawa against £24. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

A tie does not mean the two are interchangeable — it means each holds something the other does not. Montreal is the deeper market at 6,430 active listings against 1,888, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. The twelve-month direction favours Ottawa too: occupancy there moved +25.5 points while Montreal moved +20.9 points. Pick the one whose advantage matches how you intend to operate, because the composite score will not do that job for you.

Neither Montreal nor Ottawa currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Montreal peaks in November at 55.9% and bottoms in February at 26.6%; Ottawa runs from 53.8% in September down to 29.6% in February. Ottawa is the steadier of the two at 24.2 points peak-to-trough against 29.3 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Montreal concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Montreal suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Ottawa answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 2,169 active Montreal listings and 707 in Ottawa.

Frequently asked questions

Is Montreal or Ottawa better for Airbnb investment?

Neither pulls clearly ahead. Montreal runs 62% occupancy and £61 a night; Ottawa runs 60% occupancy and £64 a night. Once occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk are weighted together the two finish within a couple of points of each other, so the decision turns on purchase price, how far you are willing to travel, and which rulebook you would rather work under.

Which has higher occupancy, Montreal or Ottawa?

Montreal, at 62% median occupancy against 60% in Ottawa — a gap of 2 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Ottawa can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Montreal gained 20.9 points and Ottawa gained 25.5 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Montreal or Ottawa?

Ottawa, at £64 a night against £61 in Montreal — roughly 3.8% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £24 in Ottawa against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Montreal or Ottawa?

Ottawa, on occupancy: +25.5 points over the last twelve months against +20.9 points in Montreal. Nightly rates rose 1% in Montreal and rose 2.8% in Ottawa over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Montreal or Ottawa?

Montreal, with 6,430 active listings against 1,888 in Ottawa. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Montreal vs Ottawa?

Ottawa earns more: roughly £8,770 a year for a median listing against £8,629 in Montreal. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Montreal →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Ottawa →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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