Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dundee and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,033 in Dundee, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Dundee
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Dundee Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Dundee

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,033

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,033 in Dundee versus $1,526 in Istanbul.

Dundee $2,033
Istanbul $1,526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,059 in Dundee versus $2,399 in Istanbul.

Dundee $3,059
Istanbul $2,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,084 in Dundee versus $3,272 in Istanbul.

Dundee $4,084
Istanbul $3,272

Living in Dundee is roughly 33% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dundee 52% above, Istanbul 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.00 £15.87

$11.88 ₺585

76.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.4 £60.0

$55.1 ₺2,714

44.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.38 £7.84

$9.14 ₺450

13.57%

Cappuccino

$4.42 £3.34

$4.24 ₺209

4.25%

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

$2.58 £1.95

$1.75 ₺86.0

47.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.54 ₺26.83

140.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.79 £4.38

$4.69 ₺231

23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.02 £4.55

$5.97 ₺294

0.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.53

$1.26 ₺62.1

60.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.34

$0.95 ₺46.81

86.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 £2.02

$2.31 ₺114

15.58%

Eggs

$5.39 £4.07

$2.47 ₺122

118.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.47 £5.65

$10.55 ₺520

-29.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.45 £7.14

$5.60 ₺276

68.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.30 £11.56

$21.21 ₺1,045

-27.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 £1.85

$1.93 ₺95.1

26.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 £1.74

$2.29 ₺113

0.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 £2.10

$1.28 ₺63.1

117.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.74 £2.07

$1.84 ₺90.8

48.91%

Potato (1kg)

$3.16 £2.39

$0.67 ₺32.86

371.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.11 £1.60

$0.59 ₺29.31

257.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.33 ₺65.4

38.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 £1.78

$0.59 ₺29.10

298.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.04 £17.41

$2.36 ₺116

876.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.92 £9.01

$13.47 ₺664

-11.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.38

$2.42 ₺119

30.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 £2.49

$3.54 ₺174

-7.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.39 £2.56

$0.83 ₺40.64

308.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$58.1 £43.87

$66.5 ₺3,273

-12.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.67 £3.53

$1.35 ₺66.6

245.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.84 £2.90

$0.85 ₺42.05

351.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.96 £19.62

$10.86 ₺535

139.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.47 ₺72.3

38.78%

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

$38.2K £28.8K

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-26.06%

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

$40.5K £30.6K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-8.96%

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

$237 £179

$89.2 ₺4,395

166.11%

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

$13.16 £9.94

$11.60 ₺572

13.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.84 £32.38

$16.10 ₺793

166.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.99 £36.26

$77.3 ₺3,805

-37.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.17 £5.42

$22.66 ₺1,116

-68.36%

Cinema Ticket

$13.18 £9.96

$8.34 ₺411

58.03%

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

$1,901 £1,436

$974 ₺48.0K

95.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.1 £74.9

$52.7 ₺2,597

88.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 £42.57

$39.16 ₺1,929

43.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 £92.0

$103 ₺5,083

18.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.1 £67.3

$96.6 ₺4,759

-7.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 £795

$994 ₺49.0K

5.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 £614

$629 ₺31.0K

29.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,632 £1,233

$2,024 ₺99.7K

-19.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,251 £945

$1,155 ₺56.9K

8.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,117 £3,111

$3,160 ₺155.7K

30.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,266 £2,468

$1,838 ₺90.5K

77.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,163 £2,390

$1,203 ₺59.3K

162.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

41.09

-86.83%

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

Last update for Dundee: 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

Dundee

$813 39%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 22.6% $184

Groceries & Markets

Dundee

$332 16%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 20.5% $68

Eating Out

Dundee

$309 14.8%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 29.4% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dundee

$293 14.1%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 60.2% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Dundee

$165 7.9%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 20.4% $34

Getting Around

Dundee

$95 4.6%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 21.1% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Dundee

$74 3.6%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 26.3% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,052 in Dundee and $994 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dundee pays 163% 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: $79.0 in Dundee vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $332 vs $264 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Dundee

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

08:14 8:14 AM

10:14 10:14 AM

2 h ahead of Dundee

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

148,280

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

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Between locations

Dundee Istanbul 2,860 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Dundee
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

Dundee vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dundee and Istanbul differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($2,033 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 163% higher in Dundee, 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: $1,052 in Dundee versus $994 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Istanbul runs roughly 14% less than in Dundee. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,901 in Dundee versus $974 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,033 in Dundee, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Dundee. 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, Dundee 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 33% less than in Dundee. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.