Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Braganca and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Braganca: $1,024 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Braganca
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Braganca Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Braganca

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,024

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,024 in Braganca versus $1,525 in Istanbul.

Braganca $1,024
Istanbul $1,525

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,542 in Braganca versus $2,390 in Istanbul.

Braganca $1,542
Istanbul $2,390

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,059 in Braganca versus $3,256 in Istanbul.

Braganca $2,059
Istanbul $3,256

Living in Braganca costs roughly 33% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Braganca is 24% below, Istanbul is 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.37 €10.12

$11.96 ₺592

-4.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.02 €35.60

$57.2 ₺2,834

-30.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 €8.13

$9.51 ₺471

-3.89%

Cappuccino

$1.50 €1.34

$4.40 ₺218

-65.91%

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

$1.36 €1.21

$1.75 ₺86.6

-22.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.56 ₺27.57

94.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.09 €0.97

$4.71 ₺233

-76.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 €2.01

$6.14 ₺304

-63.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.24 ₺61.6

-11.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 €1.61

$0.95 ₺47.25

90.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 €1.35

$2.28 ₺113

-33.33%

Eggs

$3.33 €2.96

$2.45 ₺121

35.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.61 €8.55

$10.56 ₺523

-9.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.70 €5.96

$5.50 ₺272

21.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.16 €10.82

$21.65 ₺1,072

-43.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.83 ₺90.6

24.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$2.29 ₺113

-41.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.28 ₺63.4

39.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.78 €2.47

$1.82 ₺90.1

52.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 €1.77

$0.66 ₺32.74

200.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 €1.70

$0.63 ₺31.14

204.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 €1.08

$1.27 ₺62.8

-3.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 €0.85

$0.56 ₺27.62

69.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.96 €5.30

$2.36 ₺117

152.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.43 €3.94

$12.98 ₺642

-65.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 €1.11

$2.48 ₺123

-49.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.43

$3.50 ₺174

-54.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.14 €9.91

$65.2 ₺3,228

-82.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.79 €3.37

$1.33 ₺65.7

184.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.13 €1.01

$0.90 ₺44.60

25.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.30 €14.49

$10.91 ₺540

49.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.43 ₺70.7

46.85%

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

$33.3K €29.6K

$49.6K ₺2.5M

-32.84%

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

$38.5K €34.2K

$43.2K ₺2.1M

-10.90%

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

$109 €96.7

$88.8 ₺4,395

22.47%

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

$16.93 €15.06

$11.69 ₺579

44.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.03 €32.05

$16.09 ₺797

123.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.37 €29.68

$76.3 ₺3,776

-56.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.45 €4.85

$22.72 ₺1,125

-76.01%

Cinema Ticket

$5.63 €5.01

$8.26 ₺409

-31.84%

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

$333 €297

$1,015 ₺50.2K

-67.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,946 €8,847

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-61.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.45 €19.97

$53.3 ₺2,636

-57.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.16 €19.71

$40.55 ₺2,008

-45.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.3 €59.0

$100 ₺4,956

-33.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.1 €87.3

$93.5 ₺4,630

4.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$406 €361

$977 ₺48.4K

-58.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$315 €280

$627 ₺31.0K

-49.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$733 €652

$1,980 ₺98.0K

-62.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$467 €415

$1,147 ₺56.8K

-59.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,062 €945

$3,095 ₺153.2K

-65.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$849 €755

$1,787 ₺88.5K

-52.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,190 €1,058

$1,213 ₺60.1K

-1.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.55

40.69

-91.28%

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

Last update for Braganca: October 20, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Braganca

$315 30.8%

Istanbul

$627 41.1% 99% $312

Groceries & Markets

Braganca

$232 22.7%

Istanbul

$263 17.2% 13.1% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Braganca

$162 15.8%

Istanbul

$117 7.6% 27.9% $45

Eating Out

Braganca

$156 15.3%

Istanbul

$222 14.6% 42.1% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Braganca

$94 9.2%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 37.5% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Braganca

$45 4.4%

Istanbul

$93 6.1% 108% $48

Getting Around

Braganca

$21 * 2%

Istanbul

$74 4.9% 261% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $406 in Braganca and $977 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 2% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $40.00 in Braganca vs $57.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $232 vs $263 per month, with Braganca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Braganca

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

01:19 1:19 AM

03:19 3:19 AM

2 h ahead of Braganca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,589

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Braganca Istanbul 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Braganca
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

Braganca vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Braganca and Istanbul differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($1,024 vs $1,525 including rent). Braganca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 2% lower in Istanbul. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $406 in Braganca versus $977 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Braganca runs roughly 485% less than in Istanbul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $333 in Braganca versus $1,015 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,024 in Braganca versus $1,525 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Braganca but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Braganca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Braganca and Istanbul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Braganca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.