Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al `alamayn and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Al `alamayn: $414 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Al `alamayn
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Al `alamayn Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Al `alamayn

🇪🇬 Egypt

$414

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al `alamayn 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 Al `alamayn and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $414 in Al `alamayn versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Al `alamayn $414
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $666 in Al `alamayn versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Al `alamayn $666
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $917 in Al `alamayn versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Al `alamayn $917
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Al `alamayn costs roughly 73% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al `alamayn is 69% below, Istanbul is 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.54 E£245

$11.81 ₺591

-61.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.08 E£705

$54.9 ₺2,748

-76.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.81 E£152

$9.26 ₺463

-69.65%

Cappuccino

$1.26 E£68.1

$4.30 ₺215

-70.70%

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

$0.34 E£18.39

$1.77 ₺88.8

-80.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£6.13

$0.56 ₺28.26

-80.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.26 E£67.8

$4.69 ₺234

-73.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 E£143

$7.12 ₺356

-62.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 E£48.39

$1.25 ₺62.6

-28.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.29 E£15.64

$0.88 ₺44.07

-67.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.53 E£28.79

$2.20 ₺110

-75.91%

Eggs

$1.32 E£70.9

$2.43 ₺122

-45.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.69 E£145

$10.48 ₺524

-74.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.87 E£209

$5.31 ₺266

-27.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.09 E£382

$21.10 ₺1,056

-66.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 E£80.7

$1.86 ₺92.9

-19.35%

Banana (1kg)

$0.63 E£34.07

$2.30 ₺115

-72.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.45 E£24.39

$1.22 ₺60.8

-63.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.18

$1.80 ₺90.0

-82.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 E£16.42

$0.69 ₺34.75

-56.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.12

$0.64 ₺32.09

-39.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 E£20.71

$1.36 ₺67.8

-72.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.66

$0.58 ₺28.88

-65.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.94 E£105

$2.34 ₺117

-17.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.66 E£305

$13.03 ₺652

-56.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 E£59.9

$2.36 ₺118

-52.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 E£101

$3.32 ₺166

-43.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 E£9.93

$0.88 ₺43.97

-79.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,309

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.32 E£17.30

$1.28 ₺64.3

-75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 E£22.73

$0.85 ₺42.70

-50.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 E£49.73

$11.09 ₺555

-91.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.38 E£20.23

$1.48 ₺73.9

-74.32%

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

$29.5K E£1.6M

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-39.30%

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

$21.7K E£1.2M

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-48.40%

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

$20.47 E£1,103

$92.7 ₺4,639

-77.92%

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

$3.69 E£199

$11.20 ₺560

-67.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.03 E£433

$15.89 ₺795

-49.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.84 E£800

$74.7 ₺3,737

-80.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,149

Cinema Ticket

$2.61 E£141

$8.05 ₺403

-67.58%

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

$29.27 E£1,577

$948 ₺47.5K

-96.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,748 E£94.2K

$36.9K ₺1.8M

-95.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.27 E£877

$53.9 ₺2,696

-69.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.86 E£2,202

$41.49 ₺2,076

-1.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.5 E£5,092

$101 ₺5,049

-6.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 E£4,355

$91.3 ₺4,570

-11.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$129 E£6,936

$1,014 ₺50.7K

-87.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$72.0 E£3,882

$625 ₺31.3K

-88.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$245 E£13.2K

$2,005 ₺100.4K

-87.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$135 E£7,298

$1,126 ₺56.3K

-87.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$722 E£38.9K

$2,988 ₺149.5K

-75.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$322 E£17.4K

$1,730 ₺86.6K

-81.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺56.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

-35.68%

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

Last update for Al `alamayn: October 31, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Al `alamayn

$109 26.3%

Istanbul

$258 17% 137% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Al `alamayn

$105 25.2%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 23.7% $25

Eating Out

Al `alamayn

$73 17.7%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 201% $148

Accommodation & Living

Al `alamayn

$72 17.4%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 767% $552

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al `alamayn

$32 7.8%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 272% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Al `alamayn

$20 4.8%

Istanbul

$91 6% 353% $71

Getting Around

Al `alamayn

$3.2 * 0.8%

Istanbul

$75 5% 2272% $72

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 $129 in Al `alamayn and $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $13 in Al `alamayn vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $109 vs $258 per month, with Al `alamayn cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Al `alamayn

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

21:14 9:14 PM

22:14 10:14 PM

1 h ahead of Al `alamayn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,400

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.65 EUR

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 53.9 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.23 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Al `alamayn Istanbul 1,130 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Al `alamayn
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

Al `alamayn vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al `alamayn is about 73% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $621 in Al `alamayn and $2,278 in Istanbul to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $129 in Al `alamayn versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 137% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $414 per month in Al `alamayn versus $1,519 in Istanbul – Al `alamayn is about 73% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $414 in Al `alamayn versus $1,519 in Istanbul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al `alamayn but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Al `alamayn 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.