Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buzau and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Buzau: $974 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Buzau
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Buzau Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Buzau

🇷🇴 Romania

$974

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $974 in Buzau versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Buzau $974
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,447 in Buzau versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Buzau $1,447
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,920 in Buzau versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Buzau $1,920
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Buzau costs roughly 36% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buzau is 28% below, Istanbul is 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.28 RON 48.86

$11.81 ₺592

-12.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.30 RON 120

$54.9 ₺2,754

-53.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.22 RON 29.54

$9.26 ₺465

-32.83%

Cappuccino

$2.04 RON 9.69

$4.30 ₺216

-52.56%

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

$2.01 RON 9.54

$1.77 ₺89.0

13.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 RON 7.09

$0.56 ₺28.32

166.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.71 RON 8.14

$4.69 ₺235

-63.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 RON 7.82

$7.12 ₺357

-76.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 RON 8.24

$1.25 ₺62.7

38.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 RON 5.96

$0.88 ₺44.17

42.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 RON 6.80

$2.20 ₺111

-35.00%

Eggs

$3.01 RON 14.30

$2.43 ₺122

23.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.28 RON 34.59

$10.48 ₺526

-30.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.38 RON 30.31

$5.31 ₺267

20.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.22 RON 53.3

$21.10 ₺1,058

-46.82%

Apples (1kg)

$0.96 RON 4.58

$1.86 ₺93.1

-48.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 RON 7.75

$2.30 ₺115

-29.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.10 RON 5.20

$1.22 ₺61.0

-9.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.84

$1.80 ₺90.2

-31.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 RON 3.27

$0.69 ₺34.83

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 RON 3.63

$0.64 ₺32.16

18.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 RON 2.34

$1.36 ₺68.0

-63.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 RON 3.38

$0.58 ₺28.94

22.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.13 RON 29.10

$2.34 ₺117

161.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.14 RON 29.17

$13.03 ₺653

-52.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 RON 3.90

$2.36 ₺118

-65.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 RON 6.63

$3.32 ₺166

-57.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 RON 3.14

$0.88 ₺44.07

-25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.24 RON 101

$66.1 ₺3,316

-67.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 RON 2.37

$1.28 ₺64.4

-60.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 RON 2.36

$0.85 ₺42.80

-41.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.24 RON 29.65

$11.09 ₺556

-43.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 RON 8.91

$1.48 ₺74.0

26.35%

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

$19.3K RON 91.9K

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-60.22%

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

$21.2K RON 101.0K

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-49.38%

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

$121 RON 573

$92.7 ₺4,650

30.03%

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

$8.03 RON 38.15

$11.20 ₺562

-28.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.66 RON 36.38

$15.89 ₺797

-51.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.39 RON 154

$74.7 ₺3,745

-56.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.01 RON 85.6

$22.95 ₺1,151

-21.53%

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 RON 32.57

$8.05 ₺404

-14.91%

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

$289 RON 1,373

$948 ₺47.6K

-69.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,741 RON 32.0K

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-81.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 RON 260

$53.9 ₺2,702

1.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.4 RON 278

$41.49 ₺2,081

40.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.6 RON 464

$101 ₺5,060

-3.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.3 RON 405

$91.3 ₺4,580

-6.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$352 RON 1,674

$1,014 ₺50.8K

-65.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$287 RON 1,364

$625 ₺31.3K

-54.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$587 RON 2,791

$2,005 ₺100.6K

-70.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$425 RON 2,020

$1,126 ₺56.5K

-62.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,442 RON 6,851

$2,988 ₺149.8K

-51.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,183 RON 5,622

$1,730 ₺86.8K

-31.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$875 RON 4,157

$1,136 ₺57.0K

-23.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.97

40.42

-82.76%

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

Last update for Buzau: November 2, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buzau

$287 29.5%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 118% $338

Groceries & Markets

Buzau

$193 19.9%

Istanbul

$258 17% 33.5% $65

Eating Out

Buzau

$151 15.5%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 46.1% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buzau

$136 14%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 12.1% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Buzau

$133 13.7%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 2.8% $3.8

Sport & Entertainment

Buzau

$46 4.7%

Istanbul

$91 6% 96.9% $45

Getting Around

Buzau

$27 2.8%

Istanbul

$75 5% 180% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $352 in Buzau and $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 30% 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: $25 in Buzau vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $258 per month, with Buzau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Buzau

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

13:31 1:31 PM

14:31 2:31 PM

1 h ahead of Buzau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

115,494

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.33 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buzau Istanbul 490 km

From you

Buzau
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

Buzau vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $974 in Buzau and $1,519 in Istanbul, so Buzau is about 36% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Buzau. 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: $352 in Buzau versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Buzau – a meal for two runs $25 versus $55 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $974 in Buzau versus $1,519 in Istanbul, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buzau but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Buzau 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.

Expats usually find Buzau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.