Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gampaha and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $450 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$450

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $450 in Gampaha versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Gampaha $450
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $765 in Gampaha versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Gampaha $765
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,079 in Gampaha versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Gampaha $1,079
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Gampaha costs roughly 71% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gampaha is 67% below, Istanbul is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.81 LKR 600

$12.30 ₺609

-85.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.00 LKR 5,961

$54.7 ₺2,708

-67.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 LKR 1,723

$9.22 ₺456

-43.60%

Cappuccino

$1.25 LKR 414

$4.40 ₺218

-71.59%

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

$0.54 LKR 178

$1.68 ₺83.1

-67.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.7

$0.59 ₺29.40

-54.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.13 LKR 705

$4.70 ₺233

-54.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 LKR 1,007

$5.91 ₺292

-48.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 538

$1.21 ₺60.0

33.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.43 LKR 144

$0.89 ₺44.10

-51.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.73 LKR 241

$2.19 ₺108

-66.67%

Eggs

$1.72 LKR 569

$2.35 ₺116

-26.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.52 LKR 4,480

$10.42 ₺516

29.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 LKR 1,312

$5.65 ₺280

-29.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.23 LKR 2,394

$20.94 ₺1,037

-65.47%

Apples (1kg)

$5.92 LKR 1,961

$1.90 ₺94.1

211.58%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 269

$2.31 ₺114

-64.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.41 LKR 1,461

$1.28 ₺63.1

244.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 LKR 420

$1.80 ₺89.0

-29.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 LKR 318

$0.65 ₺32.16

47.69%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 LKR 257

$0.64 ₺31.91

21.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 LKR 95.7

$1.25 ₺62.1

-76.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 LKR 104

$0.56 ₺27.58

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.94 LKR 3,294

$2.37 ₺118

319.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.77 LKR 4,231

$13.42 ₺664

-4.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 LKR 457

$2.40 ₺119

-42.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 LKR 784

$3.48 ₺172

-31.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 LKR 103

$0.89 ₺43.84

-65.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 LKR 95.8

$1.29 ₺64.1

-77.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 LKR 120

$0.92 ₺45.70

-60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.90 LKR 297

$10.96 ₺542

-91.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 LKR 390

$1.47 ₺72.9

-19.73%

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

$29.9K LKR 9.9M

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-41.16%

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

$40.2K LKR 13.3M

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-9.75%

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

$27.63 LKR 9,153

$88.6 ₺4,387

-68.82%

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

$2.98 LKR 985

$11.59 ₺574

-74.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.84 LKR 3,591

$15.81 ₺783

-31.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.56 LKR 2,504

$77.2 ₺3,820

-90.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$4.44 LKR 1,472

$8.14 ₺403

-45.45%

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

$15.07 LKR 4,991

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-98.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$122 LKR 40.4K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-99.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.88 LKR 5,924

$54.0 ₺2,671

-66.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$8.90 LKR 2,948

$40.83 ₺2,021

-78.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.4 LKR 20.3K

$98.9 ₺4,895

-37.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$24.29 LKR 8,044

$96.6 ₺4,783

-74.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$89.4 LKR 29.6K

$985 ₺48.7K

-90.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$55.5 LKR 18.4K

$650 ₺32.2K

-91.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$301 LKR 99.8K

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-84.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$167 LKR 55.4K

$1,180 ₺58.4K

-85.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$225 LKR 74.4K

$1,205 ₺59.7K

-81.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

-75.56%

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

Last update for Gampaha: October 12, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Gampaha

$217 48.4%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 19.4% $42

Eating Out

Gampaha

$65 14.5%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 243% $158

Accommodation & Living

Gampaha

$55 12.3%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 1071% $594

Clothing & Footwear

Gampaha

$51 11.3%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 158% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gampaha

$41 9.2%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 180% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Gampaha

$16 3.7%

Istanbul

$93 6% 468% $77

Getting Around

Gampaha

$3.3 * 0.7%

Istanbul

$77 5% 2202% $74

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $89.4 in Gampaha and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 437% 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: $18.00 in Gampaha vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $260 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

20:29 8:29 PM

17:59 5:59 PM

2 h 30 min behind Gampaha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 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 LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Gampaha Istanbul 6,280 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Gampaha
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

Gampaha vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gampaha and Istanbul differ by about 245% in total monthly costs ($450 vs $1,550 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 437% 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: $89.4 in Gampaha versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $15.07 in Gampaha versus $1,008 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $55.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $450 in Gampaha versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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, Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 245% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.