Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Borjomi and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Borjomi: $979 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Borjomi
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Borjomi Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Borjomi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$979

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $979 per month in Borjomi vs $1,525 in Istanbul, rent included.

Borjomi $979
Istanbul $1,525

A couple spends around $1,422 per month in Borjomi vs $2,390 in Istanbul, rent included.

Borjomi $1,422
Istanbul $2,390

A family of three spends $1,866 per month in Borjomi vs $3,256 in Istanbul, rent included.

Borjomi $1,866
Istanbul $3,256

Borjomi is about 36% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Borjomi sits 28% below the global median, while Istanbul is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.66 ₾30.18

$11.96 ₺592

-2.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.42 ₾78.7

$57.2 ₺2,834

-46.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.68 ₾22.46

$9.51 ₺471

-8.73%

Cappuccino

$2.16 ₾5.58

$4.40 ₺218

-50.91%

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

$0.73 ₾1.90

$1.75 ₺86.6

-58.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 ₾0.73

$0.56 ₺27.57

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 ₾4.62

$4.71 ₺233

-62.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 ₾5.84

$6.14 ₺304

-63.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 ₾4.76

$1.24 ₺61.6

48.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 ₾1.41

$0.95 ₺47.25

-43.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 ₾4.27

$2.28 ₺113

-27.63%

Eggs

$2.34 ₾6.06

$2.45 ₺121

-4.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.71 ₾22.55

$10.56 ₺523

-17.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.89 ₾15.26

$5.50 ₺272

7.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.91 ₾25.64

$21.65 ₺1,072

-54.23%

Apples (1kg)

$0.80 ₾2.06

$1.83 ₺90.6

-56.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 ₾5.21

$2.29 ₺113

-12.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 ₾3.38

$1.28 ₺63.4

1.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 ₾3.40

$1.82 ₺90.1

-28.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 ₾1.44

$0.66 ₺32.74

-15.15%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 ₾1.24

$0.63 ₺31.14

-23.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₾2.92

$1.27 ₺62.8

-11.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.41 ₾1.05

$0.56 ₺27.62

-26.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.21 ₾8.31

$2.36 ₺117

36.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.83 ₾15.08

$12.98 ₺642

-55.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 ₾2.93

$2.48 ₺123

-54.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 ₾4.03

$3.50 ₺174

-55.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ₾0.98

$0.82 ₺40.77

-53.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ₾3.03

$1.33 ₺65.7

-12.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ₾1.06

$0.90 ₺44.60

-54.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.89 ₾15.25

$10.91 ₺540

-46.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ₾2.83

$1.43 ₺70.7

-23.78%

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

$16.0K ₾41.5K

$49.6K ₺2.5M

-67.62%

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

$20.8K ₾53.9K

$43.2K ₺2.1M

-51.78%

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

$34.62 ₾89.6

$88.8 ₺4,395

-61.00%

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

$9.09 ₾23.52

$11.69 ₺579

-22.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.57 ₾35.13

$16.09 ₺797

-15.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$115 ₾297

$76.3 ₺3,776

50.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$7.01 ₾18.16

$8.26 ₺409

-15.13%

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

$301 ₾779

$1,015 ₺50.2K

-70.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,154 ₾8,166

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-87.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.6 ₾248

$53.3 ₺2,636

79.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.47 ₾102

$40.55 ₺2,008

-2.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 ₾340

$100 ₺4,956

31.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 ₾300

$93.5 ₺4,630

23.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$310 ₾803

$977 ₺48.4K

-68.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$268 ₾694

$627 ₺31.0K

-57.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$468 ₾1,211

$1,980 ₺98.0K

-76.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$228 ₾591

$1,147 ₺56.8K

-80.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,177 ₾3,047

$3,095 ₺153.2K

-61.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$697 ₾1,805

$1,787 ₺88.5K

-60.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$472 ₾1,222

$1,213 ₺60.1K

-61.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

-70.51%

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

Last update for Borjomi: October 18, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Borjomi

$268 27.4%

Istanbul

$627 41.1% 134% $359

Groceries & Markets

Borjomi

$185 18.9%

Istanbul

$263 17.2% 41.6% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Borjomi

$172 17.6%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 24.8% $43

Eating Out

Borjomi

$163 16.6%

Istanbul

$222 14.6% 36.5% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Borjomi

$129 13.2%

Istanbul

$93 6.1% 28% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Borjomi

$57 5.9%

Istanbul

$117 7.6% 104% $59

Getting Around

Borjomi

$4.7 * 0.5%

Istanbul

$74 4.9% 1475% $70

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $310 in Borjomi versus $977 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 157% 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 $30.00 in Borjomi versus $57.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $185 vs $263 – making Borjomi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Borjomi

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

19:17 7:17 PM

18:17 6:17 PM

1 h behind Borjomi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,194

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 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 GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Borjomi Istanbul 1,200 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Borjomi
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

Borjomi vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,469 per month in Borjomi and $2,287 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Borjomi, 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 $30.00 in Borjomi and $57.0 in Istanbul. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 42% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Borjomi, where all-in costs run around $979, than in Istanbul at $1,525. In Borjomi it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Borjomi – 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 Borjomi. 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.