Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brighton and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,889 in Brighton, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

142

Cost of Living Index in Brighton
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Brighton Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Brighton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,889

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Brighton versus $1,526 in Istanbul.

Brighton $2,889
Istanbul $1,526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,135 in Brighton versus $2,399 in Istanbul.

Brighton $4,135
Istanbul $2,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,380 in Brighton versus $3,272 in Istanbul.

Brighton $5,380
Istanbul $3,272

Living in Brighton is roughly 89% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Brighton 116% above, Istanbul 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.56 £19.31

$11.88 ₺585

115.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$95.3 £72.0

$55.1 ₺2,714

72.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.81 £7.41

$9.14 ₺450

7.33%

Cappuccino

$5.10 £3.85

$4.24 ₺209

20.28%

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

$3.85 £2.91

$1.75 ₺86.0

120.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.47

$0.54 ₺26.83

505.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.61 £6.50

$4.69 ₺231

83.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.99 £6.79

$5.97 ₺294

50.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.26 ₺62.1

54.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.53

$0.95 ₺46.81

112.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 £1.61

$2.31 ₺114

-7.79%

Eggs

$4.43 £3.35

$2.47 ₺122

79.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.71 £8.85

$10.55 ₺520

11.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.37 £7.08

$5.60 ₺276

67.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.98 £11.32

$21.21 ₺1,045

-29.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.19

$1.93 ₺95.1

50.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 £1.50

$2.29 ₺113

-13.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.17

$1.28 ₺63.1

124.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 £2.84

$1.84 ₺90.8

103.80%

Potato (1kg)

$2.19 £1.65

$0.67 ₺32.86

226.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.36

$0.59 ₺29.31

205.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.33 ₺65.4

-10.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 £1.27

$0.59 ₺29.10

184.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.01 £17.39

$2.36 ₺116

875.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.20

$13.47 ₺664

-19.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.92 £2.21

$2.42 ₺119

20.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 £2.45

$3.54 ₺174

-8.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.01 £3.03

$0.83 ₺40.64

383.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$132 £99.6

$66.5 ₺3,273

98.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 £3.77

$1.35 ₺66.6

269.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 £2.05

$0.85 ₺42.05

220.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.98 £29.46

$10.86 ₺535

258.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.55

$1.47 ₺72.3

39.46%

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

$38.6K £29.1K

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-25.32%

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

$40.8K £30.9K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-8.14%

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

$287 £217

$89.2 ₺4,395

221.13%

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

$16.77 £12.67

$11.60 ₺572

44.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.44 £33.58

$16.10 ₺793

176.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.65 £37.52

$77.3 ₺3,805

-35.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.16 £20.52

$22.66 ₺1,116

19.86%

Cinema Ticket

$17.28 £13.06

$8.34 ₺411

107.19%

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

$2,057 £1,554

$974 ₺48.0K

111.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.8K £23.3K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

19.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.7 £69.3

$52.7 ₺2,597

74.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.81 £33.86

$39.16 ₺1,929

14.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.7

$103 ₺5,083

0.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.8 £68.7

$96.6 ₺4,759

-5.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,846 £1,395

$994 ₺49.0K

85.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,468 £1,109

$629 ₺31.0K

133.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,791 £2,109

$2,024 ₺99.7K

37.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 £1,706

$1,155 ₺56.9K

95.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,443 £6,380

$3,160 ₺155.7K

167.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,228 £4,706

$1,838 ₺90.5K

238.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,423 £2,587

$1,203 ₺59.3K

184.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

41.09

-87.54%

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

Last update for Brighton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brighton

$1.5K 50.1%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 57.1% $839

Eating Out

Brighton

$385 13.1%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 43.3% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brighton

$348 11.9%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 66.4% $231

Groceries & Markets

Brighton

$327 11.2%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 19.4% $63

Getting Around

Brighton

$166 5.7%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 54.7% $91

Clothing & Footwear

Brighton

$149 5.1%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 12% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Brighton

$84 2.9%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 11.5% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,846 in Brighton and $994 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brighton pays 184% 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: $95.0 in Brighton vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $327 vs $264 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brighton

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

12:22 12:22 PM

14:22 2:22 PM

2 h ahead of Brighton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

256,000

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brighton Istanbul 2,480 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Brighton
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

Brighton vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brighton and Istanbul differ by about 89% in total monthly costs ($2,889 vs $1,526 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 184% higher in Brighton, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,846 in Brighton versus $994 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,057 in Brighton versus $974 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 24% higher in Brighton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,889 in Brighton, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Brighton. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul 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, Brighton 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 Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in Brighton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.