Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Istanbul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aalst and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Aalst $2,067
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Aalst $3,086
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Aalst $4,105
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Aalst is roughly 33% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Aalst 53% above, Istanbul 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$12.30 ₺607

83.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$54.7 ₺2,700

93.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$9.22 ₺455

45.66%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$4.40 ₺217

0.68%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 €3.24

$1.68 ₺82.8

116.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$0.59 ₺29.31

437.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$4.70 ₺232

18.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$5.91 ₺292

-6.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.21 ₺59.8

8.26%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$0.89 ₺43.97

215.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$2.19 ₺108

-2.74%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$2.35 ₺116

62.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$10.42 ₺514

66.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$5.65 ₺279

110.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$20.94 ₺1,033

6.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.90 ₺93.8

57.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$2.31 ₺114

5.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.28 ₺63.0

108.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$1.80 ₺88.7

79.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$0.65 ₺32.07

280.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.64 ₺31.82

204.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.25 ₺61.9

23.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$0.56 ₺27.50

87.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$2.37 ₺117

445.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$13.42 ₺662

-34.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$2.40 ₺119

-28.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$3.48 ₺172

-40.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$0.89 ₺43.70

247.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,328

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$1.29 ₺63.9

121.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.92 ₺45.56

155.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$10.96 ₺541

268.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.47 ₺72.7

44.22%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €30.9K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-31.75%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.8K €29.3K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-26.31%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 €181

$88.6 ₺4,374

128.87%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$21.94 €19.58

$11.59 ₺572

89.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$15.81 ₺781

221.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$77.2 ₺3,809

-53.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$22.74 ₺1,122

-7.52%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$8.14 ₺402

86.49%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,605 €1,433

$1,008 ₺49.8K

59.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

31.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$54.0 ₺2,663

109.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$40.83 ₺2,015

13.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$98.9 ₺4,881

3.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$96.6 ₺4,768

69.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$985 ₺48.6K

-7.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$650 ₺32.1K

24.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$1,983 ₺97.9K

-30.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$1,180 ₺58.2K

-6.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$3,138 ₺154.9K

32.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$1,780 ₺87.9K

62.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$1,205 ₺59.5K

130.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

40.92

-91.54%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 19.5% $158

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 27.9% $100

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 34.3% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 57.9% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 31.6% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Istanbul

$93 6% 40.4% $27

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Istanbul

$77 5% 185% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 131% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Aalst vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $260 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

05:58 5:58 AM

06:58 6:58 AM

1 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 49.36 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.24 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aalst Istanbul 2,210 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
Istanbul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aalst vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Istanbul differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $1,550 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 131% higher in Aalst, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $911 in Aalst versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $1,550 in Istanbul – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Aalst and Istanbul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.