The Cheapest Coffee In Canada (2024)
A double double was (and arguably still is) a classic part of a Canadian’s morning routine. However, in 2014 Tim Hortons was bought by a Brazilian investment firm and it was never the same since. This led a lot of people to look elsewhere for their morning coffee.
However, with rampant inflation over the last few years, I was curious to see where one could find the cheapest coffee in Canada.
I made a list of all the coffee chains I could find to see which of them had the cheapest coffee in Canada. I only looked at the basic coffee and did not include any add-ons to make the comparison equal. I was really surprised when I realized where the cheapest coffee in Canada was. It was the city that was surprising and less so the chain.
As part of my research I was curious to see how many locations each of these chains had. What I did not anticipate was the insane number of locations Tim Hortons had. They had three times the number of locations that McDonald’s did, and more than everyone in the list combined.
Number of locations per chain:
Tim Hortons: 4,600 (estimate based on total locations, end of 2022)
McDonald’s: 1,462 (end of 2022)
Country Style: 480 (end of 2022)
Second Cup: 244 (end of 2019)
Robin’s: 140 (end of 2022)
Good Earth Coffeehouse: 68 (November 2019)
Cafe Van Houtte: 51 (end of 2022)
Blenz Coffee: 50 (November 2023)
Cafe Depot: 48 (end of 2022)
Coffee Time: 30 (November 2023)
Coffee Culture: 26 (November 2023)
Bridgehead: 21 locations (end of 2021)
Timothy’s: 20 (November 2023)
To start things off, I looked at the average prices of coffee across Canada. I then looked at the cheapest and most expensive.
The average price of a cup of coffee in Canada:
Small: $1.99
Medium: $2.27
Large: $2.58
Extra Large: $2.36*
*The reason the Extra Large is cheaper than the Large is because a lot of smaller chains didn’t have Extra Large. This lower price is primarily driven by Tim Hortons and McDonald’s.
The cheapest coffee in Canada:
Small: $1.39
Medium: $1.69
Large: $1.89
Extra Large: $2.09
These were all at McDonald’s in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.
The most expensive cup of coffee in Canada:
Small: $2.75 (Second Cup in multiple cities, Blenz Coffee in Vancouver and Edmonton)
Medium: $3.05 (Cafe Depot in Montreal)
Large: $3.5 (Good Earth Coffee in multiple cities)
Extra Large: $3.45 (Bridge Head in Ottawa)
Before we get into the detailed list of all the prices, I wanted to point out that sometimes it is worth avoiding the cheapest coffee (but I’ll leave that for another post).
Bridge Head
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Ottawa (multiple locations):
Small: $2.50
Medium: $2.60
Large: $2.95
Extra Large: 3.45
Coffee Culture
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Winnipeg:
Small: $1.99
Medium: $2.35
Large: $2.65
Toronto (multiple locations):
Small: $2.39
Medium: $2.69
Coffee Time
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Toronto (multiple locations including GTA):
Small: $1.69
Medium: $1.96
Large: $2.09
Extra Large: $2.39
Cafe Depot
Ordering options: Online, In-Person
Montreal (multiple locations):
Small: $2.60
Medium: $3.05
Large: $3.40
Blenz Coffee
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Vancouver (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.15
Edmonton (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.15
Cafe Van Houtte
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Ottawa
Small: $2.59
Medium: $2.99
Large: $3.29
Montreal
Small: $2.59
Medium: $2.99
Large: $3.29
Good Earth Coffee
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Vancouver (multiple locations)
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Victoria (multiple locations):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Calgary (multiple locations):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Edmonton (multiple locations):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Winnipeg (multiple locations):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Regina (multiple locations):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Toronto (multiple locations including GTA):
Small: $2.70
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.50
Halifax (multiple locations):
Small: $2.35
Medium: $2.75
Large: $3.25
Robin’s
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Regina (multiple locations):
Small: $1.69
Medium: $1.99
Large: $2.09
Extra Large: $2.39
Winnipeg (multiple locations):
Small: $1.69
Medium: $1.99
Large: $2.09
Extra Large: $2.39
Thunder Bay (multiple locations):
Small: $1.69
Medium: $1.99
Large: $2.09
Extra Large: $2.39
Second Cup
Ordering options: Mobile App, In-Person
Vancouver (Surrey)
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Calgary (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Edmonton (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Winnipeg (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Regina (multiple locations):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Toronto (multiple locations including GTA):
Small: $2.75
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Montreal (multiple locations):
Small: $2.55
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Fredericton (multiple locations):
Small: $2.55
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Halifax (multiple locations):
Small: $2.35
Medium: $2.75
Large: $3.25
St. John’s (multiple locations):
Small: $2.55
Medium: $2.95
Large: $3.45
Country Style
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Toronto
Small: $1.79
Medium: $1.99
Large: $2.19
Extra Large: $2.49
McDonald’s
Ordering options: Mobile App, In-Person
Vancouver (multiple locations):
Small: $1.39
Medium: $1.69
Large: $1.89
Extra Large: $2.09
Victoria (multiple locations):
Small: $1.39
Medium: $1.69
Large: $1.89
Extra Large: $2.09
Calgary (multiple locations):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $1.97, $1.99 (one store only outside of city centre)
Extra Large: $2.26, $2.19 (one store only outside of city centre)
Edmonton (multiple locations):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $1.99
Extra Large: $2.29
Winnipeg (multiple locations):
Small: $1.49
Medium: $1.83
Large: $1.98, $2.07 (one location east of the city centre)
Extra Large: $2.25, $2.35 (one location east of the city centre)
Regina (multiple locations):
Small: $1.46
Medium: $1.73
Large: $2.00
Extra Large: $2.23
Toronto (multiple locations including GTA):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.07
Extra Large: $2.35
Montreal (multiple locations):
Small: $1.69, $1.62 (one location east of the river)
Medium: $1.89, $1.93 (one location east of the river)
Large: $2.29, $2.12 (one location east of the river)
Extra Large: $2.49, $2.34 (one location east of the river)
Fredericton (multiple locations):
Small: $1.49
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.30
Halifax (multiple locations):
Small: $1.48
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.00, $2.10 (west of city centre)
Extra Large: $2.23
Charlottetown (multiple locations):
Small: $1.52
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.32
St. John’s (multiple locations):
Small: $1.48
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.00
Extra Large: $2.23
Tim Hortons
Ordering options: Mobile App, Online, In-Person
Vancouver (multiple locations):
Small: $1.62
Medium: $1.92
Large: $2.16
Extra Large: $2.45
Victoria (multiple locations):
Small: $1.62
Medium: $1.92
Large: $2.16
Extra Large: $2.45
Calgary (multiple locations):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.07
Extra Large: $2.35
Edmonton (multiple locations):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.07
Extra Large: $2.35
Winnipeg (multiple locations):
Small: $1.49
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.07
Extra Large: $2.36
Regina (multiple locations):
Small: $1.46
Medium: $1.73
Large: $2.09
Extra Large: $2.34
Toronto (multiple locations including GTA):
Small: $1.59
Medium: $1.83
Large: $2.07
Extra Large: $2.35
Montreal (multiple locations):
Small: $1.63
Medium: $1.93
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.35
Fredericton (multiple locations):
Small: $1.49
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.30
Halifax (multiple locations):
Small: $1.48
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.32
Charlottetown (multiple locations):
Small: $1.48
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.32
St. John’s (multiple locations):
Small: $1.48
Medium: $1.80
Large: $2.10
Extra Large: $2.32
Conclusion
Surprisingly, Vancouver had the cheapest coffee in Canada, which was quite surprising to me. Nonetheless, there is a lot of variety in Canada thankfully and I think that the cheapest might not be the best. It is definitely worth exploring which you like because they all taste very different.
Unfortunately, with how expensive everything has gotten, the cheapest might be the only option.
Keywords: cheapest coffee in Canada
