Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Eilat and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,519 a month against $2,946 in Eilat, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

141

Cost of Living Index in Eilat
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Eilat Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Eilat

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,946

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,946 in Eilat versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Eilat $2,946
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,413 in Eilat versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Eilat $4,413
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,881 in Eilat versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Eilat $5,881
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Eilat is roughly 94% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Eilat 118% above, Istanbul 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.79 ₪82.7

$11.81 ₺592

118.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$126 ₪403

$54.9 ₺2,754

129.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.69 ₪63.1

$9.26 ₺465

112.63%

Cappuccino

$5.29 ₪16.95

$4.30 ₺216

23.02%

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

$3.89 ₪12.46

$1.77 ₺89.0

119.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₪9.62

$0.56 ₺28.32

435.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.61 ₪34.02

$4.69 ₺235

126.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.38 ₪33.26

$7.12 ₺357

45.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.53 ₪8.10

$1.25 ₺62.7

102.40%

White Bread (500g)

$4.52 ₪14.47

$0.88 ₺44.17

413.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 ₪11.91

$2.20 ₺111

68.64%

Eggs

$3.91 ₪12.53

$2.43 ₺122

60.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.54 ₪69.0

$10.48 ₺526

105.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.23 ₪52.0

$5.31 ₺267

205.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.61 ₪78.9

$21.10 ₺1,058

16.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 ₪11.55

$1.86 ₺93.1

93.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 ₪6.01

$2.30 ₺115

-18.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 ₪5.22

$1.22 ₺61.0

33.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 ₪6.06

$1.80 ₺90.2

5.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ₪4.84

$0.69 ₺34.83

118.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.57 ₪5.03

$0.64 ₺32.16

145.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.59 ₪8.30

$1.36 ₺68.0

90.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.60 ₪8.32

$0.58 ₺28.94

348.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.17 ₪45.42

$2.34 ₺117

505.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.93 ₪35.04

$13.03 ₺653

-16.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 ₪7.19

$2.36 ₺118

-5.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₪3.96

$3.32 ₺166

-62.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 ₪7.13

$0.88 ₺44.07

152.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 ₪357

$66.1 ₺3,316

68.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.07 ₪13.04

$1.28 ₺64.4

217.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 ₪2.27

$0.85 ₺42.80

-16.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.51 ₪120

$11.09 ₺556

238.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.64 ₪8.46

$1.48 ₺74.0

78.38%

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

$54.4K ₪174.5K

$48.6K ₺2.4M

11.93%

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

$52.5K ₪168.4K

$42.0K ₺2.1M

25.14%

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

$431 ₪1,383

$92.7 ₺4,650

365.27%

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

$11.08 ₪35.53

$11.20 ₺562

-1.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.78 ₪111

$15.89 ₺797

118.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$87.7 ₪281

$74.7 ₺3,745

17.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$15.43 ₪49.44

$8.05 ₺404

91.68%

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

$1,681 ₪5,387

$948 ₺47.6K

77.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.3K ₪81.0K

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-31.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$121 ₪386

$53.9 ₺2,702

123.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$83.3 ₪267

$41.49 ₺2,081

100.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 ₪363

$101 ₺5,060

12.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$189 ₪606

$91.3 ₺4,580

106.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 ₪5,017

$1,014 ₺50.8K

54.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,113 ₪3,569

$625 ₺31.3K

78.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,406 ₪7,712

$2,005 ₺100.6K

19.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,860 ₪5,962

$1,126 ₺56.5K

65.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.2K ₪32.6K

$2,988 ₺149.8K

240.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,455 ₪27.1K

$1,730 ₺86.8K

388.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,685 ₪8,605

$1,136 ₺57.0K

136.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.03

40.42

-87.56%

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

Last update for Eilat: 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

Eilat

$1.1K 37.8%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 43.9% $489

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Eilat

$477 16.2%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 74.9% $357

Groceries & Markets

Eilat

$450 15.3%

Istanbul

$258 17% 42.7% $192

Eating Out

Eilat

$430 14.6%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 48.7% $209

Clothing & Footwear

Eilat

$228 7.7%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 43.2% $98

Getting Around

Eilat

$128 4.4%

Istanbul

$75 5% 41.3% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Eilat

$119 4%

Istanbul

$91 6% 23.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,565 in Eilat and $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Eilat pays about 2.4 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $126 in Eilat vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $450 vs $258 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇱 Eilat

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

02:36 2:36 AM

03:36 3:36 AM

1 h ahead of Eilat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,618

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 ILS = 0.312 USD

1 ILS = 0.278 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to ILS – Israeli New Shekel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇱 Israeli New Shekel (₪)

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.21 ILS (1 ILS = 0.312 USD). 1 EUR = 3.6 ILS (1 ILS = 0.278 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 ILS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Eilat Istanbul 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Eilat
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

Eilat vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,946 in Eilat and $1,519 in Istanbul, so Istanbul is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Eilat is about 2.4 times higher, 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: $1,565 in Eilat versus $1,014 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 41% less than in Eilat. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $1,681 in Eilat versus $948 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Istanbul is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Eilat and Istanbul are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Eilat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.