Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Jadida and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in El Jadida: $621 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in El Jadida
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El Jadida Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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El Jadida

🇲🇦 Morocco

$621

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $621 in El Jadida versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

El Jadida $621
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $935 in El Jadida versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

El Jadida $935
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,250 in El Jadida versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

El Jadida $1,250
Istanbul $3,281

Living in El Jadida costs roughly 60% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: El Jadida is 54% below, Istanbul is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.83 MAD 27.58

$12.30 ₺609

-76.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.87 MAD 203

$54.7 ₺2,708

-61.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.08 MAD 59.3

$9.22 ₺456

-34.06%

Cappuccino

$1.52 MAD 14.80

$4.40 ₺218

-65.45%

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

$0.42 MAD 4.13

$1.68 ₺83.1

-75.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 MAD 2.72

$0.59 ₺29.40

-52.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 MAD 25.80

$4.70 ₺233

-43.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.60 MAD 25.32

$5.91 ₺292

-56.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.93 MAD 9.04

$1.21 ₺60.0

-23.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.38 MAD 3.67

$0.89 ₺44.10

-57.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 MAD 19.33

$2.19 ₺108

-9.59%

Eggs

$1.84 MAD 17.94

$2.35 ₺116

-21.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.33 MAD 61.7

$10.42 ₺516

-39.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.89 MAD 37.95

$5.65 ₺280

-31.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.61 MAD 74.2

$20.94 ₺1,037

-63.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 MAD 15.34

$1.90 ₺94.1

-17.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MAD 13.70

$2.31 ₺114

-38.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.65 MAD 6.31

$1.28 ₺63.1

-49.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.70 MAD 6.80

$1.80 ₺89.0

-61.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.72 MAD 7.06

$0.65 ₺32.16

10.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 MAD 4.97

$0.64 ₺31.91

-20.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 MAD 2.90

$1.25 ₺62.1

-76.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MAD 5.09

$0.56 ₺27.58

-7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 MAD 38.64

$2.37 ₺118

67.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.18 MAD 40.77

$13.42 ₺664

-68.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 MAD 24.46

$2.40 ₺119

4.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 MAD 28.78

$3.48 ₺172

-15.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 MAD 4.68

$0.89 ₺43.84

-46.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.82 MAD 164

$67.4 ₺3,338

-75.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 MAD 9.94

$1.29 ₺64.1

-20.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.01 MAD 9.80

$0.92 ₺45.70

9.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.26 MAD 51.3

$10.96 ₺542

-52.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 MAD 14.33

$1.47 ₺72.9

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

$34.4K MAD 335.2K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-32.30%

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

$31.0K MAD 302.3K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-30.37%

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

$29.18 MAD 285

$88.6 ₺4,387

-67.07%

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

$10.38 MAD 101

$11.59 ₺574

-10.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.70 MAD 299

$15.81 ₺783

94.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.75 MAD 280

$77.2 ₺3,820

-62.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.84 MAD 115

$22.74 ₺1,126

-47.93%

Cinema Ticket

$6.34 MAD 61.8

$8.14 ₺403

-22.11%

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

$114 MAD 1,112

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-88.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,165 MAD 30.9K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-87.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.58 MAD 269

$54.0 ₺2,671

-48.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.84 MAD 359

$40.83 ₺2,021

-9.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.3 MAD 637

$98.9 ₺4,895

-33.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.5 MAD 677

$96.6 ₺4,783

-28.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 MAD 2,050

$985 ₺48.7K

-78.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 MAD 1,606

$650 ₺32.2K

-74.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$359 MAD 3,498

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-81.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$229 MAD 2,230

$1,180 ₺58.4K

-80.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,533 MAD 14.9K

$3,138 ₺155.4K

-51.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$782 MAD 7,628

$1,780 ₺88.1K

-56.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$470 MAD 4,581

$1,205 ₺59.7K

-61.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.5

40.92

-86.56%

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

Last update for El Jadida: October 11, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Jadida

$165 26.6%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 294% $485

Groceries & Markets

El Jadida

$149 24.1%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 73.8% $110

Clothing & Footwear

El Jadida

$90 14.4%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 45.7% $41

Eating Out

El Jadida

$80 12.9%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 178% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Jadida

$70 11.3%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 65.1% $46

Sport & Entertainment

El Jadida

$41 6.7%

Istanbul

$93 6% 126% $52

Getting Around

El Jadida

$25 4%

Istanbul

$77 5% 210% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $210 in El Jadida and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 157% 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: $21.00 in El Jadida vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $149 vs $260 per month, with El Jadida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 El Jadida

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

04:39 4:39 AM

2 h ahead of El Jadida

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

237,464

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

El Jadida Istanbul 3,410 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

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

El Jadida wins on cost – living expenses run 150% lower than in Istanbul. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making El Jadida the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 157% lower in Istanbul. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $210 in El Jadida versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in El Jadida – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $55.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $621 in El Jadida versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in El Jadida but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes El Jadida the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but El Jadida delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $621 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes El Jadida hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, El Jadida 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 El Jadida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 150% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.