Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between George and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in George: $1,105 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in George
Learn more

George Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

Jump to prices

George

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,105 in George versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

George $1,105
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,834 in George versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

George $1,834
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,563 in George versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

George $2,563
Istanbul $3,281

Living in George costs roughly 29% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: George is 18% below, Istanbul is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.87 R 179

$12.30 ₺609

-11.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.26 R 680

$54.7 ₺2,708

-24.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 R 79.3

$9.22 ₺456

-47.83%

Cappuccino

$2.10 R 34.66

$4.40 ₺218

-52.27%

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

$1.06 R 17.47

$1.68 ₺83.1

-36.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 R 12.63

$0.59 ₺29.40

30.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 R 44.76

$4.70 ₺233

-42.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 R 52.8

$5.91 ₺292

-45.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R 18.55

$1.21 ₺60.0

-6.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.20

$0.89 ₺44.10

16.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.43 R 23.63

$2.19 ₺108

-34.70%

Eggs

$2.80 R 46.05

$2.35 ₺116

19.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.36 R 138

$10.42 ₺516

-19.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 R 89.8

$5.65 ₺280

-3.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.66 R 110

$20.94 ₺1,037

-68.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.49

$1.90 ₺94.1

-15.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.19

$2.31 ₺114

-36.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 R 25.33

$1.28 ₺63.1

20.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.44

$1.80 ₺89.0

-3.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.89

$0.65 ₺32.16

150.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 R 23.41

$0.64 ₺31.91

121.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 R 20.53

$1.25 ₺62.1

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 15.99

$0.56 ₺27.58

73.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.18 R 52.4

$2.37 ₺118

34.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.72 R 77.8

$13.42 ₺664

-64.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.09

$2.40 ₺119

-49.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 R 28.48

$3.48 ₺172

-50.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.37

$0.89 ₺43.84

73.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.77 R 457

$67.4 ₺3,338

-58.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 R 9.50

$1.29 ₺64.1

-55.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 R 7.67

$0.92 ₺45.70

-48.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.38 R 138

$10.96 ₺542

-23.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R 20.03

$1.47 ₺72.9

-17.01%

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

$29.7K R 488.9K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-41.57%

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

$29.4K R 483.7K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-34.07%

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

$121 R 1,995

$88.6 ₺4,387

36.62%

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

$17.44 R 287

$11.59 ₺574

50.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.19 R 745

$15.81 ₺783

185.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.75 R 490

$77.2 ₺3,820

-61.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.64 R 175

$22.74 ₺1,126

-53.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.08 R 100

$8.14 ₺403

-25.31%

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

$137 R 2,263

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-86.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,187 R 85.5K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-79.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.5 R 1,177

$54.0 ₺2,671

32.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.94 R 625

$40.83 ₺2,021

-7.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 R 1,845

$98.9 ₺4,895

13.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 R 1,413

$96.6 ₺4,783

-11.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$422 R 6,956

$985 ₺48.7K

-57.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$365 R 6,010

$650 ₺32.2K

-43.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$773 R 12.7K

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-61.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 R 15.3K

$1,180 ₺58.4K

-21.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$871 R 14.4K

$3,138 ₺155.4K

-72.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$652 R 10.7K

$1,780 ₺88.1K

-63.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,364 R 22.5K

$1,205 ₺59.7K

13.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.92

40.92

-73.31%

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

Last update for George: October 13, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

George

$365 33%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 78.1% $285

Groceries & Markets

George

$186 16.8%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 39.6% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

George

$184 16.6%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 36.8% $68

Eating Out

George

$154 13.9%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 45% $69

Clothing & Footwear

George

$138 12.5%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 5.5% $7.6

Sport & Entertainment

George

$42 3.8%

Istanbul

$93 6% 123% $52

Getting Around

George

$37 3.3%

Istanbul

$77 5% 109% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $422 in George and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George pays 13% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $41.00 in George vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $186 vs $260 per month, with George cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 George

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

09:26 9:26 AM

1 h ahead of George

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,580

15,701,602

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

George Istanbul 8,360 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

George
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

George vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 40% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 13% higher in George, 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: $422 in George versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in George – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $55.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,105 per month in George versus $1,550 in Istanbul – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,105 in George versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in George but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes George the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, George is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Istanbul, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, George 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 George gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.