Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubasari and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Dubasari: $643 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Dubasari
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Dubasari Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Dubasari

🇲🇩 Moldova

$643

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $643 in Dubasari versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Dubasari $643
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $954 in Dubasari versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Dubasari $954
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Dubasari versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Dubasari $1,266
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Dubasari costs roughly 58% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubasari is 52% below, Istanbul is 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.28 MDL 146

$11.81 ₺592

-29.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.43 MDL 520

$54.9 ₺2,754

-46.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.51 MDL 186

$9.26 ₺465

13.50%

Cappuccino

$1.77 MDL 31.29

$4.30 ₺216

-58.84%

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

$1.05 MDL 18.58

$1.77 ₺89.0

-40.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 MDL 12.17

$0.56 ₺28.32

23.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 MDL 34.67

$4.69 ₺235

-58.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 MDL 40.10

$7.12 ₺357

-68.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 MDL 22.32

$1.25 ₺62.7

0.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 MDL 8.72

$0.88 ₺44.17

-44.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 MDL 27.86

$2.20 ₺111

-28.18%

Eggs

$2.18 MDL 38.59

$2.43 ₺122

-10.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.60 MDL 117

$10.48 ₺526

-37.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.60 MDL 81.4

$5.31 ₺267

-13.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.27 MDL 111

$21.10 ₺1,058

-70.28%

Apples (1kg)

$0.98 MDL 17.34

$1.86 ₺93.1

-47.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 MDL 38.61

$2.30 ₺115

-5.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 MDL 32.87

$1.22 ₺61.0

52.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.38 MDL 42.01

$1.80 ₺90.2

32.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 MDL 12.45

$0.69 ₺34.83

1.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 MDL 8.60

$0.64 ₺32.16

-23.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 MDL 7.73

$1.36 ₺68.0

-67.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 MDL 10.19

$0.58 ₺28.94

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.28 MDL 57.9

$2.34 ₺117

40.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.52 MDL 80.0

$13.03 ₺653

-65.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 MDL 24.06

$2.36 ₺118

-42.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 MDL 35.05

$3.32 ₺166

-40.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.75 MDL 48.56

$1.28 ₺64.4

114.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 MDL 4.23

$0.85 ₺42.80

-71.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.44 MDL 96.2

$11.09 ₺556

-50.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 MDL 27.22

$1.48 ₺74.0

4.05%

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

$33.0K MDL 583.8K

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-32.12%

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

$24.4K MDL 430.6K

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-41.98%

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

$224 MDL 3,953

$92.7 ₺4,650

141.12%

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

$7.63 MDL 135

$11.20 ₺562

-31.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.02 MDL 195

$15.89 ₺797

-30.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$11.25 MDL 199

$74.7 ₺3,745

-84.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$7.48 MDL 132

$8.05 ₺404

-7.08%

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

$109 MDL 1,933

$948 ₺47.6K

-88.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,136 MDL 90.8K

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-86.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.86 MDL 776

$53.9 ₺2,702

-18.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.3 MDL 996

$101 ₺5,060

-44.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.40 MDL 874

$91.3 ₺4,580

-45.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

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 Dubasari: October 31, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubasari

$242 37.7%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 50.5% $122

Groceries & Markets

Dubasari

$163 25.4%

Istanbul

$258 17% 58.4% $95

Eating Out

Dubasari

$140 21.8%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 57.5% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Dubasari

$67 * 10.5%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 92.3% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Dubasari

$26 4.1%

Istanbul

$91 6% 246% $65

Getting Around

Dubasari

$3.9 * 0.6%

Istanbul

$75 5% 1808% $71

Accommodation & Living

Dubasari

- * 0%

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $29 in Dubasari vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $163 vs $258 per month, with Dubasari cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Dubasari

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

10:53 10:53 AM

11:53 11:53 AM

1 h ahead of Dubasari

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

23,254

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.66 USD

100 MDL = 5.04 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 17.68 MDL (100 MDL = 5.66 USD). 1 EUR = 19.86 MDL (100 MDL = 5.04 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 MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubasari Istanbul 700 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubasari
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

Dubasari vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubasari is about 58% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $965 in Dubasari and $2,278 in Istanbul to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $643 per month in Dubasari versus $1,519 in Istanbul – Dubasari is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $643 in Dubasari versus $1,519 in Istanbul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dubasari but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Dubasari 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, Dubasari and Istanbul are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.