Cost of Utilities in Toronto (2026 Guide)

Cost of Utilities in Toronto

A typical Toronto household spends $210 to $480 a month on utilities in 2026, before phone and internet are added. A single newcomer in a small downtown condo lands near the bottom of that range. A family of four in a detached house north of Bloor with gas heat lands near the top. This guide breaks down what every line on a Toronto utility bill actually costs in 2026, what changes month to month with the seasons, and what you can do to keep the number down. Every rate cited below is current as of May 2026 and pulled from Toronto Hydro, Enbridge Gas, and the City of Toronto directly.

The reason newcomers get blindsided in their first year is structural. Toronto utilities are split across three or four different bills (hydro, gas, water, garbage, internet, mobile), each from a different provider, each with its own delivery and regulatory charges layered on top of usage. The headline rate per kilowatt-hour or per cubic metre is only half the bill. The rest is fixed charges that show up whether you use anything or not.

Key Takeaways

All-in monthly utilities for a single in a 1-bedroom condo: $80 to $150, plus internet and mobile.

All-in monthly utilities for a couple in a 1-bedroom or small 2-bedroom: $130 to $230.

All-in monthly utilities for a family of four in a detached or semi-detached house: $320 to $580 in winter, $250 to $400 in summer, plus garbage bin fees billed annually.

Toronto Hydro TOU off-peak rate: 9.8¢/kWh. On-peak: 20.3¢/kWh. Tiered Tier 1: 12.0¢/kWh up to 600 kWh, then 14.2¢/kWh. ULO overnight: 3.9¢/kWh between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Source: Toronto Hydro.

Enbridge Gas customer charge: $27.69/month, plus usage and delivery. Source: Enbridge Gas.

Toronto water Block 1 rate: $4.8629/m³ (on-time payment), effective January 1, 2026. Source: City of Toronto.

The Ontario Electricity Rebate is a 23.5% reduction applied automatically to every residential hydro bill. You do not need to apply.

What Counts as a “Utility” in Toronto

A Toronto utility bill is not one bill. It is up to seven separate line items, each set up the day you move in.

Utility	Who You Pay	Billing Frequency	Renter or Owner
Electricity (hydro)	Toronto Hydro	Monthly or every 60 days	Both, unless rent is “all-in”
Natural gas	Enbridge Gas	Monthly	Both, unless heat is included in rent
Water and wastewater	City of Toronto Utility Bill	Quarterly (or monthly bundled)	Owner pays, often passed to tenant
Garbage and recycling	City of Toronto Utility Bill	Annually with your tax or utility bill	Single-family owner only (apartments and condos use building service)
Internet	Bell, Rogers, Beanfield, TekSavvy, Rally, others	Monthly	Both
Mobile phone	Rogers, Bell, Telus, Freedom, Public Mobile, others	Monthly	Both
TV / streaming	Bell, Rogers, Netflix, Crave, etc.	Monthly	Both, optional

A renter in a downtown condo often pays only hydro plus internet plus mobile, because heat, water, and waste are bundled into condo fees and absorbed into the rent. A homeowner in Etobicoke or Scarborough pays every line on this list. Read your lease before you assume anything is included.

Average Cost of Utilities in Toronto by Household Type

The numbers below assume average usage in a typical Toronto building. Your actual bill will swing 20% to 40% with the season, your insulation, and your habits.

Utility	Single in 1-BR Condo	Couple in 1-BR or Small 2-BR	Family of 4 in House
Electricity	$45 to $80	$70 to $120	$130 to $230
Natural gas (where applicable)	Often $0 (electric heat in many condos)	$30 to $80	$90 to $260 (winter peak)
Water and wastewater	$20 to $35 (usually in condo fees)	$30 to $50	$75 to $110
Garbage	$0 (building service)	$0 (building service)	$26 to $51/month equivalent (annual bin fee)
Subtotal: hydro + gas + water + waste	$80 to $150	$130 to $230	$320 to $580 (winter), $250 to $400 (summer)
Internet	$40 to $90	$60 to $100	$75 to $110
Mobile phone (per line)	$35 to $55	$70 to $110 (2 lines)	$140 to $220 (4 lines)
All-in monthly total	$155 to $295	$260 to $440	$535 to $910

Two notes on this table. First, condo fees in most Toronto buildings already cover water, waste, common-area heat, and often basic gas. Your “utility bill” in a condo is usually hydro plus internet plus mobile, with everything else baked into the monthly fee. Second, many Toronto rental units have electric baseboard heating, which means no gas bill at all but a much higher hydro bill from November through March. Confirm what’s installed before you lock in a budget.

Toronto Hydro: Electricity Rates and Plan Choice in 2026

Toronto Hydro is the sole electricity distributor for the old City of Toronto and most of Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, and York. Rates are regulated by the Ontario Energy Board, which means the energy portion of your bill is the same regardless of distributor. The delivery charge, however, varies between utilities.

In 2026, residential customers can choose from three Regulated Price Plans:

Time-of-Use (TOU)

This is the default for most customers and the right plan for anyone with a flexible schedule (work-from-home, retired, off-shift). Summer TOU rates effective May 1, 2026:

Off-peak: 9.8¢/kWh, weekdays 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. plus all weekends and statutory holidays
Mid-peak: 15.7¢/kWh, weekdays 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
On-peak: 20.3¢/kWh, weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Winter TOU shifts the on-peak window to 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with mid-peak at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tiered Pricing

The Tiered plan charges one flat rate up to a monthly threshold and a higher rate above it. As of November 1, 2025, the threshold dropped to 600 kWh per month for the summer season. Summer 2026 rates:

Tier 1: 12.0¢/kWh, first 600 kWh
Tier 2: 14.2¢/kWh, every kWh after that

Tiered makes sense for households with no flexibility on when they use power and average monthly usage under 600 kWh, which is most one-bedroom condos.

Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO)

ULO rewards heavy overnight usage (EV charging, heat pump pre-heat, laundry) with the lowest electricity rate in Ontario.

Ultra-low overnight: 3.9¢/kWh, every day 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Weekend off-peak: 9.8¢/kWh, weekends and stat holidays 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Mid-peak: 15.7¢/kWh, weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
On-peak: 39.1¢/kWh, weekdays 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

ULO is the best plan for EV owners and households with battery storage. It is the worst plan for anyone who is home and using power between 4 and 9 p.m. on weekdays, because the on-peak rate is nearly four times the off-peak rate.

What’s actually on your hydro bill

The energy charge above is the headline number. Your actual bill also includes:

Delivery charge: roughly $51.18 per 30-day billing period for residential customers, plus $0.02241 per kWh transmission charge as of January 1, 2026 (Toronto Hydro Bill Breakdown).
Regulatory charges: small fixed and per-kWh fees that fund the IESO and OEB.
HST (13%) on the subtotal.
Ontario Electricity Rebate: a 23.5% credit applied to the line above HST, effective November 1, 2025. The rebate is significant: for a typical $130 pre-rebate bill, it returns about $30 before tax.

What this looks like in practice

A single tenant in a 1-bedroom downtown condo using around 250 kWh a month (no electric heat, gas stove) lands at $45 to $70 a month all-in. A couple in a small house with electric water heating and central AC, using 800 to 1,000 kWh a month, lands at $110 to $170 a month. A family of four in a detached home using 1,200 to 1,500 kWh a month with central AC in summer or electric supplemental heating in winter can hit $200 to $260 a month.

Natural Gas in Toronto: Enbridge Rates and Heating Costs

Enbridge Gas is the sole regulated distributor for Toronto. Almost every detached, semi-detached, and townhouse in the city uses gas for heating, hot water, and often the stove. Many low-rise apartments and older walk-ups also have gas heat. Newer downtown condos increasingly skip gas entirely in favour of electric or central building systems.

Your gas bill has three layers:

Customer charge: $27.69 per month for Toronto-area Rate 1 customers as of January 1, 2026 (Enbridge Gas). This is fixed; you pay it whether you use gas or not.
Gas supply charge: the commodity cost per cubic metre, adjusted quarterly by the Ontario Energy Board.
Delivery and storage: transportation cost from the supply hub to your meter.

The OEB approved a residential rate decrease effective April 1, 2026, dropping average bills by $56 to $136 per year (4.6% to 13.6%) depending on location. Toronto-area customers see the smaller end of that decrease.

What a real gas bill looks like across the year

Gas usage in Toronto is wildly seasonal. A typical detached single-family home uses 2,500 to 3,500 m³ of gas across a full heating season. The same home uses almost nothing in July and August.

Month	Typical Detached House	Typical 2-BR Condo or Apartment with Gas
January	$230 to $310	$50 to $90
April	$90 to $140	$30 to $50
July	$35 to $55 (just hot water and stove)	$28 (close to customer charge floor)
October	$80 to $120	$30 to $45

Total annual gas spend for a detached home: roughly $1,500 to $2,000. Total for a small unit with gas hot water and stove only: $400 to $600 a year, almost entirely the customer charge plus minor consumption.

The equal-billing option

Enbridge offers an Equal Monthly Billing Plan that averages your projected annual consumption into 12 equal payments, then trues up at the end of the year. Most homeowners find this easier to budget against than a $260 January bill followed by a $40 July bill. Enrol through your Enbridge online account.

Toronto Water and Wastewater Rates

The City of Toronto bills water, wastewater, and stormwater together on the Utility Bill that arrives quarterly (or monthly if you opt in). Renters in detached or rental houses sometimes get this bill directly; most condo and apartment renters see it folded into rent or condo fees.

Effective January 1, 2026:

Block 1 rate (residential): $4.8629 per cubic metre on-time, $5.1188 if paid late (City of Toronto Water Rates).
Block 2 rate (high-volume, over 5,000 m³): $3.3219 per cubic metre on-time. This block applies almost exclusively to industrial users; a normal household will never approach Block 2.
The 2026 increase was 3.75% for Block 1 and 1.25% for Block 2.

The rate per cubic metre includes both water supply and the wastewater (sewer) charge, which in Toronto is calculated as a percentage of water consumption.

What this looks like in real consumption

The City of Toronto’s reference figure for an average household is 230 m³ per year, which produces an annual bill of roughly $1,118 in 2026, or about $93 a month spread evenly. A single tenant in a one-bedroom apartment uses closer to 50 to 80 m³ a year and runs $20 to $35 a month. A family of four with a dishwasher, two showers a day per person, laundry twice a week, and any outdoor watering in summer can hit $90 to $130 a month.

Toronto offers a Water Rebate Program for low-income seniors and adults with disabilities, plus the Water Service Line Warranty Program (optional, separate billing) and a free annual flow test you can request if you suspect a leak.

Garbage, Recycling, and Solid Waste Fees

Toronto charges single-family households for garbage collection based on the size of bin you choose. The fee is billed annually and shows up on your Utility Bill. Apartments, condos, and most townhouse complexes are not affected, because building management pays a commercial service.

2026 annual garbage bin fees (effective January 1, 2026, after a 3.75% increase):

Bin Size	Annual Fee	Monthly Equivalent
Small	$317.85	$26.49
Medium	$385.86	$32.16
Large	$524.06	$43.67
Extra-Large	$607.86	$50.66
Bag-only (approved laneways)	$203.50	$16.96

Source: City of Toronto Solid Waste Rates.

The smaller the bin, the lower the bill. Toronto deliberately structures the fee to push residents toward composting and recycling, both of which have no per-volume charge. Switching from a Large to a Medium bin saves $138 a year.

Internet in Toronto: 2026 Plans and What to Pay

Internet is the line where Toronto newcomers overspend the most. The default move is to call Bell or Rogers, accept the first quote, and pay $90 to $120 a month. The savvy move is to check what infrastructure your building has, then compare independent providers using the same wires.

What’s available in your building

Bell Fibe runs fibre-to-the-home in most parts of Toronto. Speeds up to 1.5 to 3 Gbps. Promotional pricing $50 to $75/month for 12 months, then jumps.
Rogers Ignite runs hybrid coax (DOCSIS) plus fibre in select neighbourhoods. Speeds up to 2.5 Gbps. Promotional pricing $55 to $85/month.
Beanfield builds and operates its own fibre network in select downtown and midtown condo and apartment buildings. Symmetrical 1 Gbps for around $58/month, no contract, no promo pricing trick. If your building has Beanfield, take it.
TekSavvy resells Bell and Rogers infrastructure at lower prices, no contracts. 100 Mbps cable around $50, fibre 500 around $70.
Rally and other condo-specific fibre providers offer Fibre 500 from around $35/month and Fibre 1000 from $50/month in select buildings.

Average Toronto internet plan price in 2026 sits around $74/month, with most households fine on a 100 to 500 Mbps tier costing $60 to $90. Gigabit fibre is overkill for most renters and worth it for households with multiple heavy streamers, gamers, or remote workers on video.

How to actually save money

Skip the rental modem. Bell and Rogers charge $10 to $15/month for equipment. A purchased modem pays itself back in under a year.
Negotiate at month 13. When the promotional rate ends, call to cancel. Almost every newcomer who does this is offered a similar rate for another 12 months.
Avoid bundling unless the math is real. Internet plus TV plus mobile bundles often look cheaper but include line items you wouldn’t otherwise buy.
Check if your building is on Beanfield, Rally, or another condo-fibre network before signing a 24-month Bell or Rogers contract.

Mobile Phone Plans in Toronto

Wireless prices in Canada have come down sharply since the federal price-cap policy of 2023, but Toronto still pays Big Three premiums by default. The May 2026 market average is $47/month for an unlimited 5G plan with substantial data (WhistleOut Canada).

What the Big Three charge

Bell: $55 for 80GB, $60 for 100GB, $65 for 175GB Canada-US-Mexico, $85 for 250GB Global as of April 2026.
Rogers: competitive 5G plans in the $55 to $80 range, with higher prices than at the start of 2026.
Telus: $55 to $90 range depending on data and roaming.

What the discount and flanker brands charge

Freedom Mobile: $35 for 25GB + 1GB roaming, $40 for 75GB + 5GB roaming, $50 for 100GB + 10GB roaming. All plans include Canada-US-Mexico talk, text, and data and a price-freeze guarantee.
Public Mobile, Fido, Koodo, Lucky, Virgin Plus: flanker brands of the Big Three. Plans typically run $34 to $50 for 30 to 75GB.
Chatr and PC Mobile sit at the value end with prepaid plans starting around $25.

What to do as a newcomer

If you are new to Canada, sign up for a Public Mobile, Fido, or Freedom plan in your first month and use it on a 30-day cycle. Wait three to six months before committing to any 24-month contract from the Big Three. Carriers run their best new-customer offers around Black Friday, Boxing Day, and back-to-school. A typical single newcomer’s mobile spend should sit at $35 to $50/month.

TV, Streaming, and Optional Services

Cable TV is now optional and increasingly skipped. The rough lay of the land in 2026:

Basic cable (regulated minimum): $25/month plus equipment, available from Bell, Rogers, and Beanfield.
Mid-tier cable bundle (60+ channels): $60 to $90/month.
Premium with sports and movies: $100 to $160/month.
Streaming-only stack (Netflix Standard + Crave + Disney+ + one sports streamer like DAZN or TSN+): $50 to $80/month total.

Most cord-cut Toronto households pay $40 to $70/month across two or three streaming services. Add a TVAntenna for free over-the-air CBC, CTV, Global, and CityTV in HD if you live within Toronto reception range.

Seasonal Variation: What Changes in Winter and Summer

Toronto has one of the wider seasonal cost swings in any major Canadian city because winters are cold enough to demand serious heating and summers are hot enough to demand serious AC.

Winter (November to March)

Gas bills triple or quadruple versus summer. A $50 July bill becomes a $230 January bill in a detached home.
Hydro increases for electric-heat units. A condo on baseboard heat that runs $55 in October can hit $150 in January.
Total winter peak (typical detached house): $480 to $620 a month for hydro + gas + water + waste combined.
Plug-in cars add 200 to 350 kWh/month to the hydro bill in cold weather.

Summer (June to September)

Hydro spikes for AC users. Central AC adds $40 to $90 a month to a detached home.
Water bills creep up for anyone with a lawn, garden, or kiddie pool.
Gas drops to the customer charge plus hot water, generally $35 to $60 a month.
Total summer peak (typical detached house): $300 to $400 a month.

Shoulder months (April, May, October)

Cheapest months of the year. Heating and cooling both off most of the time.
Total (detached house): $200 to $290 a month.

The practical takeaway: budget on the annual average, not a single month. Set up Equal Monthly Billing with Enbridge and use auto-pay across all utilities so a $260 January bill doesn’t surprise you in the middle of winter.

How to Cut Your Toronto Utility Bill (Tactics That Actually Work)

Some of these are five-minute changes. Some are one-time installations that pay back over a year or two.

Switch to ULO if you have an EV. The 3.9¢ overnight rate is roughly one-fifth of the on-peak rate. Saves $15 to $40 a month for an average EV driver.
Switch to Tiered if you use under 600 kWh/month and you are home during the day. You pay the same flat 12.0¢/kWh whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m.
Set the thermostat smart. Lowering your winter setpoint from 22°C to 20°C cuts gas heat consumption by roughly 8% to 12%. A programmable or smart thermostat (Ecobee, Nest) typically pays back within one heating season.
Apply for the Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate Plus if you own. Up to $10,000 in combined federal and Enbridge rebates for insulation, air sealing, heat pumps, and windows.
Use the Toronto Hydro Heat Pump Assistance Program if you are converting from gas. Reduces installation cost on cold-climate heat pumps.
Downsize the garbage bin. Switch from Large to Medium and bank $138 a year. Compost is free.
Buy your modem. Pays back in 8 to 14 months versus rental.
Cancel and re-sign internet annually. New-customer pricing is almost always better than retention pricing, but retention works if you commit to actually leaving.
Move heavy electric loads to off-peak hours. Run dishwasher and laundry after 7 p.m. on weekdays or anytime on weekends if you’re on TOU.
Confirm you are getting the Ontario Electricity Rebate. It is automatic for residential accounts, but check the line on your bill. It should be 23.5% as of November 2025.

Setting Up Utilities When You First Arrive in Toronto

A short newcomer checklist for moving day:

Hydro: Contact Toronto Hydro 5 to 7 days before move-in to open an account. You’ll need ID, your new address, and proof of tenancy or ownership. There is no security deposit for tenants with a Canadian credit history; newcomers without one may need to provide a $200 to $400 deposit, refunded after a year of on-time payments.
Gas: Open an Enbridge account online or by phone. Same deposit rules apply for newcomers without a credit history.
Water and waste: No setup needed if you rent. If you own, the City of Toronto generates a Utility Bill account automatically once your land transfer registers.
Internet: Order 7 to 10 days before move-in. Bell and Rogers offer self-install kits; Beanfield and most condo-fibre providers schedule a technician. Confirm building infrastructure first.
Mobile: Walk into any carrier store with ID. SIM activation is same-day. International newcomers can use Public Mobile, Freedom, or Fido without Canadian credit history.
Autopay everything. Set up pre-authorized debit from your Canadian chequing account (see our guide to Canadian banking) to avoid late fees on every bill.

How Toronto Utilities Compare to Other Canadian Cities

Toronto utilities are roughly mid-pack within Canada. Cheaper than Halifax and St. John’s, more expensive than Montreal and Winnipeg.

City	All-In Average Monthly Utilities (single in 1-BR)
Montreal	$90 to $135 (Hydro-Québec rates are the lowest in Canada)
Winnipeg	$100 to $150
Toronto	$155 to $295 (with internet and mobile)
Calgary	$160 to $300
Vancouver	$170 to $310
Halifax	$180 to $320 (Nova Scotia Power rates are the highest east of Yukon)

The biggest swing factor between cities is electricity. Quebec’s regulated Hydro-Québec rate sits around 7.6¢/kWh flat, less than half of Toronto’s mid-peak. Nova Scotia’s regulated rate is closer to 17¢/kWh flat. Toronto’s TOU and Tiered structure puts a typical user in the 12¢ to 15¢ range on average.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do utilities cost per month in Toronto?

A single in a one-bedroom condo pays $80 to $150 a month for hydro, gas, water, and waste combined, before internet and mobile. Add roughly $75 to $145 for internet and a single mobile line. A family of four in a detached house pays $320 to $580 a month for utilities in winter and $250 to $400 a month in summer, with internet and four mobile lines adding another $215 to $330.

Are utilities included in Toronto rent?

Sometimes. Most downtown condo rentals include water, waste, and central building heat in the rent or condo fees, but tenants pay hydro and internet separately. Older houses and walk-ups in Toronto usually have all utilities billed separately. Always confirm with the landlord and read the lease before signing.

What is the Ontario Electricity Rebate?

The Ontario Electricity Rebate is a 23.5% discount applied automatically to every residential and small-business hydro bill in Ontario, effective November 1, 2025. It appears as a credit line above HST on your Toronto Hydro bill. There is no application required for residential accounts.

Should I choose Time-of-Use, Tiered, or Ultra-Low Overnight?

If you can shift dishwashing, laundry, and cooking to evenings and weekends, Time-of-Use is the standard fit. If you use less than 600 kWh a month and want a flat rate, Tiered makes sense. If you own an electric vehicle and charge overnight, Ultra-Low Overnight (3.9¢/kWh between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.) saves the most money. You can switch plans for free through your Toronto Hydro account once every 12 months.

How much does it cost to heat a house in Toronto?

A typical Toronto detached or semi-detached home spends $1,500 to $2,000 on natural gas across a full heating season (November to April). Peak monthly bills in January and February run $230 to $310. Smaller well-insulated homes and townhouses with newer high-efficiency furnaces fall at the lower end. Older brick homes north of the Danforth or in the Annex with original windows fall at the higher end.

Is internet in Toronto more expensive than the rest of Canada?

Toronto internet pricing is in line with the national average of around $74 per month for 100 to 500 Mbps. Larger cities have more competition than rural Canada, which keeps prices slightly lower. Independent providers like TekSavvy, Beanfield, and Rally offer significantly cheaper plans than Bell or Rogers in buildings where they operate.

How much does water cost per month in Toronto?

The City of Toronto charges $4.8629 per cubic metre for residential water and wastewater (Block 1 rate, 2026). An average household using 230 m³ per year spends about $93 a month. A single in a one-bedroom typically uses far less and pays $20 to $35 a month, often included in condo fees.

What’s the cheapest mobile plan in Toronto?

Public Mobile, Lucky Mobile, and Chatr offer prepaid plans from $25 a month with smaller data allowances. Freedom Mobile’s $35 plan includes 25 GB plus Canada-US-Mexico talk and text. New Canadian arrivals can sign up with any flanker brand without Canadian credit history.

Do I have to pay for garbage in Toronto?

Single-family homeowners pay an annual garbage fee billed on the City of Toronto Utility Bill. The 2026 fees range from $203.50 (bag-only) to $607.86 (Extra-Large bin). Apartment, condo, and townhouse residents do not pay separately, because building management arranges collection through the property’s commercial service.

Final Word for Newcomers

Budget $250 a month for combined utilities (hydro, gas, water, waste, internet, mobile) if you’re a single in a downtown one-bedroom. Budget $700 to $900 a month for a family of four in a house, with the high end hitting in deep winter. Set up auto-pay on every bill, sign up for Enbridge equal billing, and confirm the Ontario Electricity Rebate is on your hydro bill. If you do those four things in your first month, you’ve eliminated 90% of the surprises.

For the bigger budget picture, our cost of living in Toronto guide covers rent, groceries, transit, and the income you need to live comfortably as a newcomer.