Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barnsley and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $1,888 in Barnsley, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Barnsley
Learn more

Barnsley Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

Jump to prices

Barnsley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,888

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,888 per month in Barnsley vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Barnsley $1,888
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $2,833 per month in Barnsley vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Barnsley $2,833
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $3,778 per month in Barnsley vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Barnsley $3,778
Istanbul $3,281

Barnsley costs about 22% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Barnsley and Istanbul sit above the global median – Barnsley by 40%, Istanbul by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.07 £18.06

$12.30 ₺609

95.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.4 £61.8

$54.7 ₺2,708

50.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$9.22 ₺456

15.51%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$4.40 ₺218

10.23%

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

$2.38 £1.79

$1.68 ₺83.1

41.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$0.59 ₺29.40

176.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.04 £4.53

$4.70 ₺233

28.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 £4.83

$5.91 ₺292

8.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.21 ₺60.0

36.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.92 £1.44

$0.89 ₺44.10

115.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$2.19 ₺108

-10.05%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.01

$2.35 ₺116

70.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 £6.58

$10.42 ₺516

-15.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.59 £6.45

$5.65 ₺280

52.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.16 £10.63

$20.94 ₺1,037

-32.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$1.90 ₺94.1

54.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$2.31 ₺114

-16.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.28 ₺63.1

103.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$1.80 ₺89.0

65.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$0.65 ₺32.16

192.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$0.64 ₺31.91

145.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.25 ₺62.1

16.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.56 ₺27.58

150.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.00 £17.26

$2.37 ₺118

870.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$13.42 ₺664

-15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.45

$2.40 ₺119

35.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$3.48 ₺172

-8.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 £2.00

$0.89 ₺43.84

198.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.30 £3.98

$1.29 ₺64.1

310.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 £1.02

$0.92 ₺45.70

47.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.40 £14.55

$10.96 ₺542

77.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.50

$1.47 ₺72.9

35.37%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-23.52%

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

$40.7K £30.5K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-8.62%

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

$279 £210

$88.6 ₺4,387

215.27%

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

$20.47 £15.36

$11.59 ₺574

76.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.62 £31.97

$15.81 ₺783

169.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.7 £50.0

$77.2 ₺3,820

-13.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$12.38 £9.29

$8.14 ₺403

52.09%

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

$1,468 £1,101

$1,008 ₺49.9K

45.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K £12.2K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-36.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.8 £44.84

$54.0 ₺2,671

10.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.99 £30.76

$40.83 ₺2,021

0.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 £68.9

$98.9 ₺4,895

-7.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 £58.8

$96.6 ₺4,783

-18.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 £675

$985 ₺48.7K

-8.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 £501

$650 ₺32.2K

2.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,364 £1,023

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-31.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$1,180 ₺58.4K

-5.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,967 £2,226

$1,205 ₺59.7K

146.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

40.92

-86.29%

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

Last update for Barnsley: October 11, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barnsley

$668 35.4%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 2.7% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barnsley

$342 18.1%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 66.1% $226

Eating Out

Barnsley

$342 18.1%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 34.7% $119

Groceries & Markets

Barnsley

$300 15.9%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 13.3% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Barnsley

$122 6.5%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 7.1% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Barnsley

$91 4.8%

Istanbul

$93 6% 2.2% $2

Getting Around

Barnsley

$23 * 1.2%

Istanbul

$77 5% 238% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $900 in Barnsley versus $985 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 146% higher in Barnsley, 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 $82.0 in Barnsley versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $260 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barnsley

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

01:09 1:09 AM

03:09 3:09 AM

2 h ahead of Barnsley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

245,199

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barnsley Istanbul 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Barnsley
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

Barnsley vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Barnsley is pricier by about 22%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,832 per month in Barnsley and $2,325 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, 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 $1,888 in Barnsley and $1,550 in Istanbul. That's a gap of about 22%.

Kindergarten costs $1,468 per month in Barnsley and $1,008 in Istanbul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,550, than in Barnsley at $1,888. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barnsley it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Istanbul – 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 Istanbul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barnsley makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.