Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Békéscsaba and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Békéscsaba: $1,117 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Békéscsaba
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Békéscsaba Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Békéscsaba

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,117

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,117 per month in Békéscsaba vs $1,526 in Istanbul, rent included.

Békéscsaba $1,117
Istanbul $1,526

A couple spends around $1,626 per month in Békéscsaba vs $2,399 in Istanbul, rent included.

Békéscsaba $1,626
Istanbul $2,399

A family of three spends $2,136 per month in Békéscsaba vs $3,272 in Istanbul, rent included.

Békéscsaba $2,136
Istanbul $3,272

Békéscsaba is about 27% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Békéscsaba sits 17% below the global median, while Istanbul is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.90 Ft 2,895

$11.88 ₺585

-25.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.10 Ft 14.3K

$55.1 ₺2,714

-19.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.52 Ft 1,795

$9.14 ₺450

-39.61%

Cappuccino

$2.08 Ft 677

$4.24 ₺209

-50.94%

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

$1.34 Ft 436

$1.75 ₺86.0

-23.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 Ft 296

$0.54 ₺26.83

68.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.06 Ft 344

$4.69 ₺231

-77.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 Ft 393

$5.97 ₺294

-79.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Ft 373

$1.26 ₺62.1

-8.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 Ft 486

$0.95 ₺46.81

56.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 Ft 704

$2.31 ₺114

-6.49%

Eggs

$3.27 Ft 1,065

$2.47 ₺122

32.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 Ft 3,260

$10.55 ₺520

-5.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.80 Ft 2,212

$5.60 ₺276

21.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.57 Ft 4,739

$21.21 ₺1,045

-31.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.91 Ft 623

$1.93 ₺95.1

-1.04%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 Ft 666

$2.29 ₺113

-10.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.50 Ft 489

$1.28 ₺63.1

17.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 Ft 883

$1.84 ₺90.8

47.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 Ft 302

$0.67 ₺32.86

38.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 333

$0.59 ₺29.31

72.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 Ft 357

$1.33 ₺65.4

-17.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 Ft 157

$0.59 ₺29.10

-18.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.12 Ft 2,641

$2.36 ₺116

244.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.14 Ft 1,021

$13.47 ₺664

-76.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 Ft 342

$2.42 ₺119

-56.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 Ft 685

$3.54 ₺174

-40.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 Ft 402

$0.83 ₺40.64

49.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 Ft 914

$1.35 ₺66.6

108.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.37 Ft 447

$0.85 ₺42.05

61.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.15 Ft 2,000

$10.86 ₺535

-43.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 Ft 592

$1.47 ₺72.3

23.81%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.5M

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-43.27%

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

$33.6K Ft 10.9M

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-24.35%

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

$175 Ft 56.9K

$89.2 ₺4,395

96.13%

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

$23.75 Ft 7,728

$11.60 ₺572

104.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.97 Ft 6,823

$16.10 ₺793

30.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.80 Ft 11.0K

$77.3 ₺3,805

-56.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

Cinema Ticket

$9.23 Ft 3,004

$8.34 ₺411

10.67%

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

$549 Ft 178.5K

$974 ₺48.0K

-43.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.8K Ft 5.5M

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-35.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.5 Ft 32.4K

$52.7 ₺2,597

88.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.60 Ft 9,955

$39.16 ₺1,929

-21.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.4 Ft 20.0K

$103 ₺5,083

-40.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 Ft 39.0K

$96.6 ₺4,759

24.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$408 Ft 132.9K

$994 ₺49.0K

-58.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$336 Ft 109.2K

$629 ₺31.0K

-46.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$555 Ft 180.7K

$2,024 ₺99.7K

-72.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$420 Ft 136.7K

$1,155 ₺56.9K

-63.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,542 Ft 501.8K

$3,160 ₺155.7K

-51.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,169 Ft 380.2K

$1,838 ₺90.5K

-36.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,359 Ft 442.2K

$1,203 ₺59.3K

12.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

41.09

-84.35%

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

Last update for Békéscsaba: October 4, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Békéscsaba

$336 30%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 87.4% $294

Groceries & Markets

Békéscsaba

$228 20.4%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 15.7% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Békéscsaba

$220 19.6%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 46.8% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Békéscsaba

$140 12.5%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 6.3% $8.9

Eating Out

Békéscsaba

$129 11.6%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 68.4% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Békéscsaba

$52 4.7%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 79.7% $42

Getting Around

Békéscsaba

$15 * 1.3%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 416% $61

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $408 in Békéscsaba 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 13% higher in Békéscsaba, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Békéscsaba versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $228 vs $264 – making Békéscsaba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Békéscsaba

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

20:29 8:29 PM

21:29 9:29 PM

1 h ahead of Békéscsaba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,460

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 325 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.2 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Békéscsaba Istanbul 890 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Békéscsaba
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

Békéscsaba vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul costs about 37% more than Békéscsaba, 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 $1,676 per month in Békéscsaba 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 Békéscsaba, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Békéscsaba and $55.0 in Istanbul. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 16% more in Istanbul, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Békéscsaba, where all-in costs run around $1,117, than in Istanbul at $1,526. In Békéscsaba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Békéscsaba costs $1,117 versus $1,526 in Istanbul. 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 Békéscsaba. 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.