Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Gouna and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in El Gouna: $462 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in El Gouna
Learn more

El Gouna Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

Jump to prices

El Gouna

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $462 per month in El Gouna vs $1,519 in Istanbul, rent included.

El Gouna $462
Istanbul $1,519

A couple spends around $727 per month in El Gouna vs $2,365 in Istanbul, rent included.

El Gouna $727
Istanbul $2,365

A family of three spends $991 per month in El Gouna vs $3,212 in Istanbul, rent included.

El Gouna $991
Istanbul $3,212

El Gouna is about 70% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

El Gouna sits 66% below the global median, while Istanbul is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.63 E£196

$11.81 ₺591

-69.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.64 E£843

$54.9 ₺2,748

-71.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.48 E£242

$9.26 ₺463

-51.62%

Cappuccino

$1.48 E£79.9

$4.30 ₺215

-65.58%

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

$0.31 E£16.93

$1.77 ₺88.8

-82.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.34

$0.56 ₺28.26

-78.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.25 E£67.6

$4.69 ₺234

-73.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 E£164

$7.12 ₺356

-57.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£46.85

$1.25 ₺62.6

-30.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 E£30.74

$0.88 ₺44.07

-35.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 E£37.30

$2.20 ₺110

-68.64%

Eggs

$1.45 E£78.0

$2.43 ₺122

-40.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.32 E£179

$10.48 ₺524

-68.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.29 E£231

$5.31 ₺266

-19.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.71 E£469

$21.10 ₺1,056

-58.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 E£79.5

$1.86 ₺92.9

-20.43%

Banana (1kg)

$0.59 E£31.62

$2.30 ₺115

-74.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.43 E£23.09

$1.22 ₺60.8

-64.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.36 E£19.48

$1.80 ₺90.0

-80.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.13

$0.69 ₺34.75

-46.38%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 E£21.53

$0.64 ₺32.09

-37.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.24 E£12.97

$1.36 ₺67.8

-82.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.87

$0.58 ₺28.88

-65.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 E£105

$2.34 ₺117

-16.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.28 E£339

$13.03 ₺652

-51.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 E£67.3

$2.36 ₺118

-47.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 E£98.1

$3.32 ₺166

-45.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 E£10.38

$0.88 ₺43.97

-78.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,309

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 E£20.57

$1.28 ₺64.3

-70.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 E£16.82

$0.85 ₺42.70

-63.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.94 E£105

$11.09 ₺555

-82.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.31 E£16.59

$1.48 ₺73.9

-79.05%

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

$35.7K E£1.9M

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-26.64%

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

$33.4K E£1.8M

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-20.31%

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

$11.91 E£642

$92.7 ₺4,639

-87.15%

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

$6.85 E£369

$11.20 ₺560

-38.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.17 E£602

$15.89 ₺795

-29.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.06 E£1,135

$74.7 ₺3,737

-71.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,149

Cinema Ticket

$2.99 E£161

$8.05 ₺403

-62.86%

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

$89.0 E£4,799

$948 ₺47.5K

-90.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,856 E£100.1K

$36.9K ₺1.8M

-94.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.96 E£1,507

$53.9 ₺2,696

-48.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.86 E£2,418

$41.49 ₺2,076

8.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 E£5,743

$101 ₺5,049

5.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.9 E£2,744

$91.3 ₺4,570

-44.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$191 E£10.3K

$1,014 ₺50.7K

-81.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$102 E£5,473

$625 ₺31.3K

-83.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$278 E£15.0K

$2,005 ₺100.4K

-86.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 E£8,340

$1,126 ₺56.3K

-86.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$796 E£42.9K

$2,988 ₺149.5K

-73.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$332 E£17.9K

$1,730 ₺86.6K

-80.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺56.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.67

40.42

-58.76%

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

Last update for El Gouna: November 1, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

El Gouna

$123 26.6%

Istanbul

$258 17% 111% $136

Clothing & Footwear

El Gouna

$104 22.4%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 24.9% $26

Accommodation & Living

El Gouna

$102 22%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 515% $523

Eating Out

El Gouna

$74 16.1%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 197% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Gouna

$30 6.5%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 300% $90

Sport & Entertainment

El Gouna

$27 5.9%

Istanbul

$91 6% 236% $64

Getting Around

El Gouna

$2.7 * 0.6%

Istanbul

$75 5% 2674% $72

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $191 in El Gouna versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in El Gouna versus $55 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $123 vs $258 – making El Gouna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 El Gouna

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

08:54 8:54 AM

1 h ahead of El Gouna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.65 EUR

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 53.9 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.51 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.18 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

El Gouna Istanbul 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

El Gouna
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

El Gouna vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 229%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $693 per month in El Gouna and $2,278 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Gouna, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $191 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $16 in El Gouna and $55 in Istanbul. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 111% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in El Gouna, where all-in costs run around $462, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In El Gouna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Gouna – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.