Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Byblos and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,004 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Byblos
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Byblos Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Byblos

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,004

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,004 in Byblos versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Byblos $1,004
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,617 in Byblos versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Byblos $1,617
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,231 in Byblos versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Byblos $2,231
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Byblos costs roughly 34% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Byblos is 26% below, Istanbul is 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.17 LBP 820.4K

$11.81 ₺592

-22.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.75 LBP 3.7M

$54.9 ₺2,754

-23.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.97 LBP 623.5K

$9.26 ₺465

-24.73%

Cappuccino

$3.02 LBP 270.5K

$4.30 ₺216

-29.77%

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

$0.98 LBP 87.6K

$1.77 ₺89.0

-44.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 LBP 87.6K

$0.56 ₺28.32

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 LBP 107.3K

$1.25 ₺62.7

-4.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 LBP 58.3K

$0.88 ₺44.17

-26.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 LBP 141.5K

$2.20 ₺111

-28.18%

Eggs

$2.04 LBP 183.0K

$2.43 ₺122

-16.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.82 LBP 789.7K

$10.48 ₺526

-15.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.45 LBP 755.9K

$5.31 ₺267

59.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.97 LBP 1.1M

$21.10 ₺1,058

-43.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 LBP 275.4K

$1.86 ₺93.1

65.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 LBP 173.8K

$2.30 ₺115

-15.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 LBP 91.4K

$1.22 ₺61.0

-16.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 LBP 182.9K

$1.80 ₺90.2

13.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 LBP 88.5K

$0.69 ₺34.83

43.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.97 LBP 87.3K

$0.64 ₺32.16

51.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 LBP 92.0K

$1.36 ₺68.0

-24.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 LBP 87.1K

$0.58 ₺28.94

67.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

Wine (Bottle)

$3.90 LBP 348.6K

$13.03 ₺653

-70.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 LBP 132.8K

$2.36 ₺118

-37.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 LBP 173.9K

$3.32 ₺166

-41.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 LBP 90.7K

$0.88 ₺44.07

14.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 LBP 86.9K

$0.85 ₺42.80

14.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 LBP 87.9K

$1.48 ₺74.0

-33.78%

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

$22.8K LBP 2.0B

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-53.09%

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

$22.4K LBP 2.0B

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-46.60%

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

$100 LBP 9.0M

$92.7 ₺4,650

8.27%

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

$22.19 LBP 2.0M

$11.20 ₺562

98.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.87 LBP 2.2M

$15.89 ₺797

56.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.82 LBP 3.4M

$74.7 ₺3,745

-49.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.92 LBP 3.6M

$22.95 ₺1,151

73.94%

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 LBP 898.3K

$8.05 ₺404

24.72%

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

$399 LBP 35.7M

$948 ₺47.6K

-57.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,016 LBP 269.9M

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-91.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100.0 LBP 8.9M

$53.9 ₺2,702

85.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$99.3 LBP 8.9M

$41.49 ₺2,081

139.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 LBP 10.9M

$101 ₺5,060

20.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 LBP 13.3M

$91.3 ₺4,580

63.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$303 LBP 27.1M

$1,014 ₺50.8K

-70.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$221 LBP 19.8M

$625 ₺31.3K

-64.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 LBP 70.5M

$2,005 ₺100.6K

-60.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$408 LBP 36.5M

$1,126 ₺56.5K

-63.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,351 LBP 120.9M

$2,988 ₺149.8K

-54.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$826 LBP 73.9M

$1,730 ₺86.8K

-52.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,009 LBP 90.3M

$1,136 ₺57.0K

-11.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

-80.21%

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

Last update for Byblos: November 1, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Byblos

$221 22%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 183% $404

Groceries & Markets

Byblos

$219 21.8%

Istanbul

$258 17% 18.1% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Byblos

$212 21.1%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 38.8% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Byblos

$147 14.7%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 18.8% $28

Eating Out

Byblos

$138 * 13.8%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 59.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Byblos

$58 5.8%

Istanbul

$91 6% 56.8% $33

Getting Around

Byblos

$8.9 * 0.9%

Istanbul

$75 5% 744% $66

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 $303 in Byblos and $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 13% 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: $42 in Byblos vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $219 vs $258 per month, with Byblos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Byblos

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

09:10 9:10 AM

10:10 10:10 AM

1 h ahead of Byblos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,784

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.95 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,472 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.95 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.3 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to LBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Byblos Istanbul 960 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Byblos
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

Byblos vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Byblos is about 34% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 11% lower in Byblos. 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: $303 in Byblos versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $399 in Byblos versus $948 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Byblos – a meal for two runs $42 versus $55 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,004 in Byblos versus $1,519 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Byblos but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Byblos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Byblos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Istanbul, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Byblos wins on affordability, Istanbul on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.