Cost of Living in Istanbul, 🇹🇷 Turkey - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 8 9 10 $1,453 $908 $1,917 $676 $95

Utilities 25 1 — $85 $110 $54 —

Internet & Mobile 6 7 22 $14 $30 $44 $30 $1

Groceries 21 27 1 $125 $290 $780 $225 $10

Transportation 2 3 4 $168 $105 $260 $90 $28

Dining Out 27 28 1 $984 $257 $520 $138 $48

Leisure Activities 29 30 24 13 15 $165 $125 $1,570 $71 $32

Health Insurance 11 $68 $85 $260 — $2

Visa & Legal Fees 16 17 18 $28 $55 $140 — —

Total $3,005 $1,940 $5,601 $1,284 $216

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 8 9 $676.00 $444 – $1,049 per month

Coworking Space 12 $337.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 10 $1,453.00 $1,110 – $1,857 per month

Coliving Space 10 $767.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 33 $4.94 per cup

Beer 21 1 $4.56 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 27 $13.13 per meal

Fast Food Combo 28 $16.15 per meal

Apples 21 1 $1.92 per kg

Bread 21 1 $0.73 per loaf

Milk 21 $0.86 per liter

Rice 21 1 $1.49 per kg

Chicken Fillets 21 1 $8.14 per kg

Beef 21 1 $21.50 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 21 1 $12.20 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 27 28 $34.31 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 32 1 $0.18 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 4 $1.45 per trip

Taxi per km 3 4 $0.97 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 2 20 $73.22 per month

Gasoline 23 5 $1.54 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 3 4 $6.29 per trip

Scooter Rental 14 $14.11 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 $14.13 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 22 $15.94 per month

Gym Membership 29 30 $68.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 13 $10.09 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 7 $36.33 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 24 1 $3.43 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 1 $55.60 per pair

Summer Dress 1 $48.00 per dress

Running Shoes 32 $26.03 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 1 $9.59 per visit

Laundry 19 $1.72 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 26 1 $14.45 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 1 $3.02 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 49.5525 TRY on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Tbilisi, Sofia, Lisbon, Fethiye

Livingcost Istanbul groceries, restaurants, rents, utilities (Jun 2026)Index
İstanbul Mavi Kart tam abonman 3.628 ₺/180 geçişOfficial
İstanbul sarı taksi açılış 71,94 ₺, 47,92 ₺/km (Jul 2026)Official
İBB UKOME taksi tarifesi PDF (20 Jul 2026)Official
Turkey Octane-95 ₺79.56/litre (19 Oct 2026)Index
Turkcell Hazır Kart Fırsat 10 GB 700 ₺/28 günOfficial
Turkcell Tourist Welcome Pack 1.800 ₺/28 günOfficial
Beyoğlu 1+1 kiralık 22.000 ₺/ay (Aug 2026)Listings
Kadıköy 1+1 residence 52.000 ₺/ay (Oct 2026)Listings
Furnished 1BR monthly asks 55.000–92.000 ₺ (Sep 2026)Listings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Workinton dedicated desk from €300/monthSecondary
TTF İstanbul Tenis Eğitim Merkezi kort 500 ₺/saatOfficial
HEY! Scooter aylık paket 699 ₺Secondary
Istanbul International School tuition USD 21.500–32.750/yearOfficial
UK FCDO Turkey 90/180-day visa-free visitsOfficial
GoTürkiye digital nomad certificate and consular visa routeOfficial
Houston consulate digital nomad visa fee schedule (Jul 2026 PDF)Official
Residential wash-and-fold 70–100 TL/kg (4 kg minimum), Istanbul 2026Secondary
İstanbulkart tam single ride 46,20 ₺ (archived metro.istanbul, Aug 2026)Official
BİM aktüel süt 42,50 ₺/L, Baldo pirinç 5 kg 369 ₺, çıtır tavuk bonfile 320 g 129 ₺Official
Turkcell Superbox Dijitale Özel 100 GB 790 ₺/ayOfficial
EPDK kurşunsuz 95 oktan 76,27 ₺/L (25 Eki 2026)Secondary
Paribu Cineverse 2D bilet 160–170 ₺ (2026 kampanya sayfası)Official
EPDK mesken ~3,24 TL/kWh (KDV dahil, kademe 1)Secondary
ADÜ hastanesi İç Hastalıkları özel muayene 716 ₺ (1 Oca 2026)Official
HMC Kebap pide menüsü 650–900 ₺Official
HMC Kebap burger menüsü 800–1.100 ₺Official
MACFit üyelik taban 1.799 ₺/ay (en ucuz kulüp)Official
MACFit İstanbul Buyaka Classic 3.369 ₺/ay (Ekim 2025 tablo)Secondary
Migros Toptan Kardelen su 1,5 L 8,90 ₺Official
Decathlon Kiprun Jogflow 100.1 1.290 ₺Official
Starbucks Türkiye menü — Cappuccino Grande 245 ₺ (24 Eyl 2026 güncelleme)Secondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1534.88 1453
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 733.58 676
- Apples 1.24 1.92
- Beef 19.19 21.5
- Beer 3.61 4.56
40 more changes
- Bread 0.56 0.73
- Chicken Fillets 7.67 8.14
- Cinema Ticket 7.22 3.43
- Coffee 2.6 4.94
- Coliving Space 857.73 767
- Coworking Space 169.29 337
- Dining Out local 101.57, nomad 722.29, expat 316, family 496.58, tourist 72.23 local 138, nomad 984, expat 257, family 520, tourist 48
- Doctor Visit (GP) 49.66 14.45
- Fast Food Combo 8.58 16.15
- Gasoline 1.53 1.54
- Groceries local 270.86, nomad 180.57, expat 406.29, family 857.73, tourist 9.03 local 225, nomad 125, expat 290, family 780, tourist 10
- Gym Membership 49.66 68
- Haircut 16.93 9.59
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 63.2, expat 79, family 203.15, tourist 4.51 local 0, nomad 68, expat 85, family 260, tourist 2.27
- Housing local 496.58, nomad 1467.16, expat 948.01, family 1534.88, tourist 101.57 local 676, nomad 1453, expat 908, family 1917, tourist 95
- Internet & Mobile local 19.19, nomad 40.63, expat 31.6, family 49.66, tourist 2.71 local 30.07, nomad 14.13, family 44.2, tourist 1.21
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 17.61 15.94
- Jeans 63.2 55.6
- Laundry 10.16 1.72
- Leisure Activities local 56.43, nomad 270.86, expat 191.86, family 338.58, tourist 40.63 local 71.43, nomad 165, expat 125, family 1570, tourist 32
- Meal (Inexpensive) 10.16 13.13
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 54.17 34.31
- Milk 1.17 0.86
- Mobile Plan 14.67 14.13
- Monthly Transport Pass 47.4 73.22
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 7 3.02
- Rice 1.92 1.49
- Ride-hailing (5km) 6.55 6.29
- Running Shoes 94.8 26.03
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 31.6 36.33
- Scooter Rental 3.61 14.11
- Summer Dress 39.5 48
- Taxi Start 1.02 1.45
- Taxi per km 0.72 0.97
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 21.44 10.09
- Transportation local 41.76, nomad 79, expat 72.23, family 191.86, tourist 21.44 local 90, nomad 168, expat 105, family 260, tourist 28
- Utilities local 72.23, nomad 0, expat 108.34, family 169.29, tourist 0 local 54, nomad 0, expat 85, family 110, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 27.09, expat 56.43, family 146.72 local 0, nomad 28, expat 55, family 140
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.41 0.18
- Wine (Mid-range) 16.25 12.2
Coffee moved to Starbucks Cappuccino Grande 245 ₺ (yemek.com); Running Shoes source index corrected to Decathlon [32]

Istanbul cost of living