Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Erbil and Bytom

For one person, living is cheaper in Erbil: $956 a month against $1,466 in Bytom, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Erbil
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Erbil Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Bytom
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Bytom Living Index

Jump to prices

Erbil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$956

/mo nomad

Bytom

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,466

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Erbil and in Bytom

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Erbil and in Bytom actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $956 in Erbil versus $1,466 in Bytom.

Erbil $956
Bytom $1,466

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,421 in Erbil versus $2,099 in Bytom.

Erbil $1,421
Bytom $2,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,887 in Erbil versus $2,731 in Bytom.

Erbil $1,887
Bytom $2,731

Living in Erbil costs roughly 35% less than in Bytom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Erbil is 29% below, Bytom is 9% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.45 IQD 9,753

$10.31 zł 40.07

-37.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.44 IQD 55.1K

$35.40 zł 138

2.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 IQD 10.7K

$8.68 zł 33.73

-18.32%

Cappuccino

$3.23 IQD 4,873

$3.52 zł 13.69

-8.24%

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

$0.89 IQD 1,338

$2.12 zł 8.23

-58.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 IQD 503

$1.86 zł 7.22

-82.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 IQD 7,819

$3.64 zł 14.15

42.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 IQD 5,825

$4.59 zł 17.85

-16.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 IQD 1,600

$1.09 zł 4.23

-2.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 IQD 1,101

$1.24 zł 4.81

-41.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 IQD 2,300

$1.49 zł 5.79

2.01%

Eggs

$1.57 IQD 2,373

$3.25 zł 12.61

-51.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.90 IQD 10.4K

$9.58 zł 37.22

-27.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.27 IQD 6,458

$5.30 zł 20.60

-19.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 IQD 18.9K

$11.93 zł 46.36

4.86%

Apples (1kg)

$0.99 IQD 1,501

$1.06 zł 4.12

-6.60%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 IQD 1,495

$1.62 zł 6.28

-38.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.03 IQD 1,555

$1.49 zł 5.81

-30.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 IQD 988

$2.50 zł 9.70

-74.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 964

$0.91 zł 3.55

-29.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.61 IQD 925

$0.78 zł 3.04

-21.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.60 IQD 909

$1.24 zł 4.82

-51.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.47 IQD 709

$0.66 zł 2.58

-28.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.15 IQD 3,250

$5.64 zł 21.92

-61.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.81 IQD 16.3K

$6.26 zł 24.32

72.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 IQD 2,222

$1.03 zł 4.02

42.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 IQD 2,825

$1.70 zł 6.60

10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 IQD 718

$1.25 zł 4.85

-61.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.85 IQD 58.7K

$33.83 zł 131

14.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 IQD 2,531

$1.81 zł 7.04

-7.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 IQD 2,421

$0.68 zł 2.66

135.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 IQD 8,566

$10.01 zł 38.88

-43.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.55 IQD 825

$1.64 zł 6.36

-66.46%

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

$16.3K IQD 24.7M

$31.1K zł 120.8K

-47.44%

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

$17.0K IQD 25.6M

$27.8K zł 107.9K

-38.93%

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

$113 IQD 170.3K

$321 zł 1,249

-64.93%

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

$12.21 IQD 18.4K

$7.87 zł 30.58

55.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.30 IQD 36.7K

$17.68 zł 68.7

37.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.6 IQD 85.5K

$38.44 zł 149

47.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.33 IQD 20.1K

$20.62 zł 80.1

-35.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 IQD 15.1K

$7.16 zł 27.82

39.66%

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

$315 IQD 476.0K

$488 zł 1,898

-35.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,809 IQD 4.2M

$11.9K zł 46.3K

-76.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.70 IQD 40.3K

$69.9 zł 272

-61.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.59 IQD 59.8K

$30.85 zł 120

28.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.4 IQD 89.7K

$89.0 zł 346

-33.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.4 IQD 89.8K

$92.5 zł 359

-35.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$423 IQD 639.7K

$530 zł 2,060

-20.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 IQD 415.2K

$496 zł 1,926

-44.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$700 IQD 1.1M

$1,005 zł 3,903

-30.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 IQD 613.1K

$834 zł 3,241

-51.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,047 IQD 1.6M

$2,853 zł 11.1K

-63.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$608 IQD 919.3K

$2,239 zł 8,699

-72.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$525 IQD 793.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

7.19

-64.81%

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

Last update for Erbil: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bytom: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Erbil

$275 28.7%

Bytom

$496 33.8% 80.4% $221

Groceries & Markets

Erbil

$172 18%

Bytom

$205 14% 19.2% $33

Eating Out

Erbil

$150 15.7%

Bytom

$194 13.3% 29.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Erbil

$149 15.6%

Bytom

$347 23.7% 133% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Erbil

$83 8.7%

Bytom

$127 8.7% 52.5% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Erbil

$77 8%

Bytom

$53 3.6% 31.1% $24

Getting Around

Erbil

$50 5.3%

Bytom

$44 3% 12.6% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $423 in Erbil and $530 in Bytom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $36.00 in Erbil vs $35.00 in Bytom. Groceries flip the comparison at $172 vs $205, with Erbil cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Erbil

🇵🇱 Bytom

🕒 Local time

08:31 8:31 AM

07:31 7:31 AM

1 h behind Erbil

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,713,461

162,250

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Erbil Bytom 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Erbil
Bytom

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

Erbil vs Bytom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Erbil wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Bytom. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Erbil the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,435 in Erbil and $2,199 in Bytom 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $423 in Erbil versus $530 in Bytom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $956 per month in Erbil versus $1,466 in Bytom – a 53% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Erbil runs roughly 15% less than in Bytom. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $956 in Erbil versus $1,466 in Bytom, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Erbil but tight or insufficient in Bytom. The gap between the two cities makes Erbil 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, Erbil and Bytom 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 Erbil gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Bytom. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.