Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cardiff and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,463 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
Learn more

Cardiff Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

Jump to prices

Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,463

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,463 in Cardiff versus $1,526 in Istanbul.

Cardiff $2,463
Istanbul $1,526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,467 in Cardiff versus $2,399 in Istanbul.

Cardiff $3,467
Istanbul $2,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,470 in Cardiff versus $3,272 in Istanbul.

Cardiff $4,470
Istanbul $3,272

Living in Cardiff is roughly 61% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cardiff 84% above, Istanbul 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.59 £14.80

$11.88 ₺585

64.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.6 £62.4

$55.1 ₺2,714

49.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.11

$9.14 ₺450

17.40%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.47

$4.24 ₺209

8.49%

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

$2.98 £2.25

$1.75 ₺86.0

70.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 £1.51

$0.54 ₺26.83

270.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.79 £5.88

$4.69 ₺231

66.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 £4.85

$5.97 ₺294

7.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.26 ₺62.1

36.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.47 £1.11

$0.95 ₺46.81

54.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.70

$2.31 ₺114

-2.60%

Eggs

$3.72 £2.81

$2.47 ₺122

50.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.18 £6.93

$10.55 ₺520

-12.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.75 £6.61

$5.60 ₺276

56.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.29 £12.31

$21.21 ₺1,045

-23.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 £2.12

$1.93 ₺95.1

45.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$2.29 ₺113

-32.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$1.28 ₺63.1

132.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.65 £2.76

$1.84 ₺90.8

98.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.43

$0.67 ₺32.86

183.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 £1.12

$0.59 ₺29.31

150.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 £0.84

$1.33 ₺65.4

-16.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.59 ₺29.10

176.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.64

$2.36 ₺116

888.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$13.47 ₺664

-17.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.35

$2.42 ₺119

28.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.52

$3.54 ₺174

-5.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.50

$0.83 ₺40.64

297.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.6 £59.4

$66.5 ₺3,273

18.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.56 £3.45

$1.35 ₺66.6

237.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.85 ₺42.05

104.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$35.83 £27.08

$10.86 ₺535

229.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.62

$1.47 ₺72.3

45.58%

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

$37.8K £28.6K

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-26.70%

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

$41.3K £31.2K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-7.18%

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

$343 £259

$89.2 ₺4,395

284.81%

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

$25.85 £19.54

$11.60 ₺572

122.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.60 £32.95

$16.10 ₺793

170.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.02 £28.73

$77.3 ₺3,805

-50.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 £8.70

$22.66 ₺1,116

-49.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £8.05

$8.34 ₺411

27.70%

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

$1,978 £1,495

$974 ₺48.0K

103.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.8K £24.8K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

27.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.6

$52.7 ₺2,597

89.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 £35.75

$39.16 ₺1,929

20.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 £90.6

$103 ₺5,083

16.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.3 £75.0

$96.6 ₺4,759

2.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 £875

$994 ₺49.0K

16.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,097 £829

$629 ₺31.0K

74.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,185 £1,651

$2,024 ₺99.7K

7.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,514 £1,144

$1,155 ₺56.9K

31.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,353 £4,045

$3,160 ₺155.7K

69.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,479 £2,629

$1,838 ₺90.5K

89.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,223 £2,435

$1,203 ₺59.3K

167.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

41.09

-87.56%

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

Last update for Cardiff: October 3, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.6%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 42.6% $468

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cardiff

$413 16.8%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 71.7% $296

Eating Out

Cardiff

$316 12.8%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 31% $98

Groceries & Markets

Cardiff

$307 12.5%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 13.9% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cardiff

$165 6.7%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 20.4% $34

Getting Around

Cardiff

$105 4.3%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 28.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cardiff

$59 2.4%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 58.3% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,158 in Cardiff and $994 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 168% 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: $83.0 in Cardiff vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $264 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

08:34 8:34 AM

10:34 10:34 AM

2 h ahead of Cardiff

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

346,100

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 = 0.848 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 = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cardiff Istanbul 2,700 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Cardiff
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

Cardiff vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cardiff and Istanbul differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($2,463 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 168% higher in Cardiff, 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: $1,158 in Cardiff versus $994 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Istanbul – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,463 per month in Cardiff versus $1,526 in Istanbul – a 61% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,463 in Cardiff, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Cardiff 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 61% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.