Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bedford and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,097 in Bedford, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Bedford
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Bedford Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Bedford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,097

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,097 per month in Bedford vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Bedford $2,097
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $3,291 per month in Bedford vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Bedford $3,291
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $4,486 per month in Bedford vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Bedford $4,486
Istanbul $3,281

Bedford costs about 35% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bedford and Istanbul sit above the global median – Bedford by 55%, Istanbul by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.10 £15.08

$12.30 ₺609

63.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$54.7 ₺2,708

58.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$9.22 ₺456

15.51%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$4.40 ₺218

4.32%

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

$2.03 £1.52

$1.68 ₺83.1

20.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 £0.91

$0.59 ₺29.40

105.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$4.70 ₺233

37.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 £4.38

$5.91 ₺292

-1.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.21 ₺60.0

40.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 £1.10

$0.89 ₺44.10

64.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$2.19 ₺108

-23.29%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$2.35 ₺116

61.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$10.42 ₺516

-12.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 £6.72

$5.65 ₺280

58.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.62 £9.47

$20.94 ₺1,037

-39.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$1.90 ₺94.1

71.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$2.31 ₺114

-43.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.28 ₺63.1

92.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.80 ₺89.0

77.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$0.65 ₺32.16

103.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$0.64 ₺31.91

106.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 £0.77

$1.25 ₺62.1

-17.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$0.56 ₺27.58

132.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.05 £17.29

$2.37 ₺118

872.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.65 £7.99

$13.42 ₺664

-20.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 £1.94

$2.40 ₺119

7.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 £1.77

$3.48 ₺172

-32.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.56 £1.92

$0.89 ₺43.84

187.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 £3.74

$1.29 ₺64.1

286.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$0.92 ₺45.70

55.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.95

$10.96 ₺542

118.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.47 ₺72.9

30.61%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-26.23%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-9.00%

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

$316 £237

$88.6 ₺4,387

256.70%

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

$17.63 £13.22

$11.59 ₺574

52.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.85 £29.90

$15.81 ₺783

152.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.86 £27.66

$77.2 ₺3,820

-52.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £11.93

$8.14 ₺403

95.33%

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

$937 £703

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-7.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K £16.2K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-15.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.92 £17.95

$54.0 ₺2,671

-55.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.54 £19.16

$40.83 ₺2,021

-37.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.6 £59.7

$98.9 ₺4,895

-19.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 £65.1

$96.6 ₺4,783

-10.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £837

$985 ₺48.7K

13.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 £714

$650 ₺32.2K

46.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,353 £1,766

$1,983 ₺98.2K

18.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,998 £1,499

$1,180 ₺58.4K

69.27%

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)

$3,170 £2,378

$1,205 ₺59.7K

162.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.67

40.92

-88.59%

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

Last update for Bedford: 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

Bedford

$952 45.4%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 31.7% $302

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bedford

$374 17.8%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 68.9% $258

Eating Out

Bedford

$305 14.5%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 26.7% $81

Groceries & Markets

Bedford

$279 13.3%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 6.8% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Bedford

$97 4.6%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 34.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Bedford

$69 3.3%

Istanbul

$93 6% 36.1% $25

Getting Around

Bedford

$22 * 1.1%

Istanbul

$77 5% 244% $55

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,115 in Bedford 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 163% higher in Bedford, 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 $87.0 in Bedford versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $279 vs $260 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bedford

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

09:34 9:34 AM

11:34 11:34 AM

2 h ahead of Bedford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,000

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 20, 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 20, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Bedford Istanbul 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bedford
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

Bedford vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bedford costs about 35% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,146 per month in Bedford 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 $2,097 in Bedford and $1,550 in Istanbul. That's a gap of about 35%.

Kindergarten costs $937 per month in Bedford 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 Bedford at $2,097. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bedford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Istanbul costs $1,550 versus $2,097 in Bedford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Bedford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.