Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Banjul and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Banjul: $674 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Banjul
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Banjul Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Banjul

🇬🇲 Gambia

$674

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $674 per month in Banjul vs $1,526 in Istanbul, rent included.

Banjul $674
Istanbul $1,526

A couple spends around $1,184 per month in Banjul vs $2,399 in Istanbul, rent included.

Banjul $1,184
Istanbul $2,399

A family of three spends $1,695 per month in Banjul vs $3,272 in Istanbul, rent included.

Banjul $1,695
Istanbul $3,272

Banjul is about 56% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Banjul sits 50% below the global median, while Istanbul is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.29 GMD 525

$11.88 ₺585

-38.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.0 GMD 5,255

$55.1 ₺2,714

32.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.91 GMD 570

$9.14 ₺450

-13.46%

Cappuccino

$3.76 GMD 271

$4.24 ₺209

-11.32%

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

$2.66 GMD 192

$1.75 ₺86.0

52.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 GMD 111

$0.54 ₺26.83

185.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 GMD 392

$4.69 ₺231

16.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 GMD 320

$5.97 ₺294

-25.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 GMD 99.4

$1.26 ₺62.1

9.52%

White Bread (500g)

$0.64 GMD 46.22

$0.95 ₺46.81

-32.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 GMD 93.2

$2.31 ₺114

-44.16%

Eggs

$1.97 GMD 142

$2.47 ₺122

-20.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.16 GMD 444

$10.55 ₺520

-41.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.63 GMD 189

$5.60 ₺276

-53.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.45 GMD 392

$21.21 ₺1,045

-74.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 GMD 148

$1.93 ₺95.1

6.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 GMD 87.5

$2.29 ₺113

-46.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 GMD 126

$1.28 ₺63.1

37.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 GMD 95.4

$1.84 ₺90.8

-28.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 GMD 63.5

$0.67 ₺32.86

31.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 GMD 72.0

$0.59 ₺29.31

69.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 GMD 18.05

$1.33 ₺65.4

-81.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 GMD 43.98

$0.59 ₺29.10

3.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.66 GMD 120

$2.36 ₺116

-29.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.29 GMD 453

$13.47 ₺664

-53.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 GMD 110

$2.42 ₺119

-36.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 GMD 121

$3.54 ₺174

-52.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 GMD 13.40

$0.83 ₺40.64

-77.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.40 GMD 461

$66.5 ₺3,273

-90.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 GMD 51.0

$0.85 ₺42.05

-16.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.12 GMD 297

$10.86 ₺535

-62.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 GMD 78.0

$1.47 ₺72.3

-26.53%

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

$2,616 GMD 188.4K

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-94.93%

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

$3,205 GMD 230.7K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-92.79%

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

$30.89 GMD 2,224

$89.2 ₺4,395

-65.38%

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

$14.21 GMD 1,023

$11.60 ₺572

22.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.37 GMD 3,267

$16.10 ₺793

181.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.56 GMD 1,696

$77.3 ₺3,805

-69.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.61 GMD 980

$22.66 ₺1,116

-39.94%

Cinema Ticket

$3.37 GMD 242

$8.34 ₺411

-59.59%

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

$6.59 GMD 474

$974 ₺48.0K

-99.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$136 GMD 9,785

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-99.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 GMD 3,974

$52.7 ₺2,597

4.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.48 GMD 3,131

$39.16 ₺1,929

11.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 GMD 7,129

$103 ₺5,083

-4.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 GMD 6,166

$96.6 ₺4,759

-11.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$101 GMD 7,247

$994 ₺49.0K

-89.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.2 GMD 5,843

$629 ₺31.0K

-87.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 GMD 15.4K

$2,024 ₺99.7K

-89.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$138 GMD 9,916

$1,155 ₺56.9K

-88.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,438 GMD 103.5K

$3,160 ₺155.7K

-54.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 GMD 83.5K

$1,838 ₺90.5K

-36.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$60.6 GMD 4,366

$1,203 ₺59.3K

-94.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

-63.49%

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

Last update for Banjul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Banjul

$180 26.9%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 21% $38

Groceries & Markets

Banjul

$149 22.3%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 77.1% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Banjul

$127 19.1%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 2.9% $3.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Banjul

$90 13.5%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 29.2% $26

Accommodation & Living

Banjul

$81 12.1%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 676% $548

Sport & Entertainment

Banjul

$30 4.5%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 210% $64

Getting Around

Banjul

$11 * 1.6%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 605% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $101 in Banjul versus $994 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1885% higher in Istanbul, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Banjul versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Groceries tell a different story – $149 in Banjul vs $264 in Istanbul – so Banjul wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇲 Banjul

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

01:04 1:04 AM

04:04 4:04 AM

3 h ahead of Banjul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,356 Capital

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Gambian Dalasi GMD D

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 GMD = 1.39 USD

100 GMD = 1.24 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GMD – Gambian Dalasi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇲 Gambian Dalasi (D)

Gambian Dalasi exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 72 GMD (100 GMD = 1.39 USD). 1 EUR = 80.75 GMD (100 GMD = 1.24 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to GMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Banjul Istanbul 5,360 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Banjul
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

Banjul vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 127%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,010 per month in Banjul and $2,289 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Banjul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $674 in Banjul and $1,526 in Istanbul. That's a gap of about 127%.

Public transport costs about 938% less in Banjul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Banjul, where all-in costs run around $674, than in Istanbul at $1,526. In Banjul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Banjul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Banjul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Istanbul makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.