Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bishkek and Ankara

For one person, living is cheaper in Bishkek: $973 a month against $1,389 in Ankara, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Bishkek
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Bishkek Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Ankara
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Ankara Living Index

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Bishkek

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan

$973

/mo nomad

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,389

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bishkek and in Ankara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bishkek and in Ankara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $973 per month in Bishkek vs $1,389 in Ankara, rent included.

Bishkek $973
Ankara $1,389

A couple spends around $1,501 per month in Bishkek vs $2,087 in Ankara, rent included.

Bishkek $1,501
Ankara $2,087

A family of three spends $2,030 per month in Bishkek vs $2,785 in Ankara, rent included.

Bishkek $2,030
Ankara $2,785

Bishkek is about 30% cheaper than Ankara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Bishkek sits 28% below the global median, while Ankara is 3% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.81 KGS 596

$10.10 ₺507

-32.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.08 KGS 2,458

$43.81 ₺2,197

-35.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.71 KGS 500

$9.78 ₺490

-41.62%

Cappuccino

$2.49 KGS 218

$4.12 ₺207

-39.56%

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

$0.73 KGS 63.5

$1.68 ₺84.3

-56.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 KGS 35.82

$0.72 ₺36.05

-43.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.36 KGS 119

$5.02 ₺252

-72.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 KGS 173

$6.60 ₺331

-70.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 KGS 86.4

$1.16 ₺58.4

-14.66%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 KGS 34.03

$0.96 ₺48.39

-59.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 KGS 152

$2.25 ₺113

-22.67%

Eggs

$1.68 KGS 147

$2.66 ₺134

-36.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.74 KGS 678

$10.09 ₺506

-23.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.46 KGS 390

$5.43 ₺272

-17.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.76 KGS 766

$19.99 ₺1,003

-56.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.41 KGS 124

$1.91 ₺95.8

-26.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 KGS 159

$2.18 ₺109

-16.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.15 KGS 188

$1.26 ₺63.3

70.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 KGS 141

$1.65 ₺82.6

-2.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.61 KGS 53.1

$0.65 ₺32.69

-6.15%

Onion (1kg)

$0.52 KGS 45.22

$0.55 ₺27.40

-5.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 KGS 62.5

$0.99 ₺49.75

-28.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 KGS 52.8

$0.66 ₺32.90

-9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.04 KGS 179

$2.25 ₺113

-9.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.92 KGS 781

$12.37 ₺620

-27.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 KGS 124

$2.12 ₺106

-33.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 KGS 171

$3.20 ₺161

-39.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 KGS 19.21

$0.77 ₺38.86

-71.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.89 KGS 1,041

$11.85 ₺595

0.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.85 KGS 74.0

$1.28 ₺64.3

-33.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.44 KGS 38.43

$0.84 ₺42.02

-47.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 KGS 488

$8.22 ₺412

-32.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 KGS 90.0

$1.39 ₺69.5

-25.90%

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

$30.3K KGS 2.6M

$48.4K ₺2.4M

-37.53%

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

$34.0K KGS 3.0M

$40.2K ₺2.0M

-15.44%

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

$48.72 KGS 4,265

$99.9 ₺5,011

-51.24%

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

$5.80 KGS 508

$11.15 ₺559

-47.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.99 KGS 1,050

$17.94 ₺900

-33.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 KGS 4,723

$72.0 ₺3,611

-25.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.68 KGS 1,285

$14.80 ₺742

-0.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.56 KGS 486

$7.77 ₺390

-28.44%

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

$219 KGS 19.2K

$1,084 ₺54.3K

-79.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K KGS 917.1K

$22.5K ₺1.1M

-53.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 KGS 4,840

$53.4 ₺2,677

3.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.61 KGS 3,730

$47.87 ₺2,401

-10.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.2 KGS 7,982

$104 ₺5,229

-12.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.0 KGS 7,967

$97.8 ₺4,905

-6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$587 KGS 51.4K

$748 ₺37.5K

-21.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$407 KGS 35.6K

$557 ₺27.9K

-26.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,075 KGS 94.1K

$1,142 ₺57.3K

-5.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$723 KGS 63.3K

$902 ₺45.2K

-19.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,764 KGS 154.4K

$1,644 ₺82.5K

7.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,229 KGS 107.6K

$1,142 ₺57.3K

7.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$501 KGS 43.9K

$1,058 ₺53.1K

-52.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.1

43.85

-54.16%

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

Last update for Bishkek: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ankara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bishkek

$407 41.8%

Ankara

$557 40.1% 36.7% $150

Groceries & Markets

Bishkek

$176 18.1%

Ankara

$251 18.1% 42.9% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Bishkek

$126 13%

Ankara

$136 9.8% 8.3% $10

Eating Out

Bishkek

$117 12%

Ankara

$208 14.9% 77.5% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bishkek

$67 6.8%

Ankara

$129 9.3% 93.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Bishkek

$65 6.7%

Ankara

$88 6.3% 34.5% $22

Getting Around

Bishkek

$16 1.6%

Ankara

$20 1.5% 29.2% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $587 in Bishkek versus $748 in Ankara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Ankara are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Bishkek versus $44 in Ankara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $176 vs $251 – making Bishkek the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇬 Bishkek

🇹🇷 Ankara

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

00:07 12:07 AM

3 h behind Bishkek

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,012,500 Capital

5,864,049 Capital

💱 Currency

Kyrgyzstani Som KGS сом

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 KGS = 1.14 USD

100 KGS = 1.02 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to KGS – Kyrgyzstani Som Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstani Som (сом)

Kyrgyzstani Som exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 87.53 KGS (100 KGS = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 97.82 KGS (100 KGS = 1.02 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.05 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to KGS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bishkek Ankara 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bishkek
Ankara

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

Bishkek vs Ankara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ankara costs about 43% more than Bishkek, 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 $1,460 per month in Bishkek and $2,083 in Ankara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bishkek, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $587 there versus $748 in Ankara.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Bishkek and $44 in Ankara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 43% more in Ankara, though the gap depends on what you buy.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Bishkek costs $973 versus $1,389 in Ankara. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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