Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harlow and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,320 in Harlow, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Harlow outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

113

Cost of Living Index in Harlow
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Harlow Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Harlow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,320 in Harlow versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Harlow $2,320
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,416 in Harlow versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Harlow $3,416
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,513 in Harlow versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Harlow $4,513
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Harlow is roughly 50% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Harlow 72% above, Istanbul 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.12 £15.85

$12.30 ₺609

71.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.0 £69.7

$54.7 ₺2,708

69.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 £8.04

$9.22 ₺456

16.27%

Cappuccino

$5.71 £4.28

$4.40 ₺218

29.77%

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

$2.61 £1.96

$1.68 ₺83.1

55.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$0.59 ₺29.40

203.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.71 £5.04

$4.70 ₺233

42.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.81 £5.11

$5.91 ₺292

15.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.21 ₺60.0

11.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 £1.03

$0.89 ₺44.10

55.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 £0.82

$2.19 ₺108

-49.77%

Eggs

$2.35 £1.76

$2.35 ₺116

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.66 £5.00

$10.42 ₺516

-36.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.12 £4.59

$5.65 ₺280

8.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.73 £5.05

$20.94 ₺1,037

-67.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.90 ₺94.1

6.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$2.31 ₺114

-48.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.28 ₺63.1

-10.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.80 ₺89.0

8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.65 ₺32.16

143.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 £1.00

$0.64 ₺31.91

107.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.25 ₺62.1

8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$0.56 ₺27.58

164.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.83 £15.63

$2.37 ₺118

778.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.04 £6.78

$13.42 ₺664

-32.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.04

$2.40 ₺119

13.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 £1.45

$3.48 ₺172

-44.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.63 £1.97

$0.89 ₺43.84

195.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.84 £4.38

$1.29 ₺64.1

352.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.92 ₺45.70

76.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.14 £15.86

$10.96 ₺542

92.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.38

$1.47 ₺72.9

25.85%

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

$37.4K £28.1K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-26.38%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-7.81%

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

$220 £165

$88.6 ₺4,387

147.74%

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

$11.73 £8.80

$11.59 ₺574

1.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.08 £21.07

$15.81 ₺783

77.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.62 £34.23

$77.2 ₺3,820

-40.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.11 £6.09

$22.74 ₺1,126

-64.34%

Cinema Ticket

$12.56 £9.43

$8.14 ₺403

54.30%

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

$1,062 £797

$1,008 ₺49.9K

5.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-21.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.9 £52.4

$54.0 ₺2,671

29.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.69 £23.78

$40.83 ₺2,021

-22.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 £57.8

$98.9 ₺4,895

-22.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.87 £28.41

$96.6 ₺4,783

-60.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 £1,048

$985 ₺48.7K

41.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 £993

$650 ₺32.2K

103.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,253 £1,690

$1,983 ₺98.2K

13.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,211 £1,659

$1,180 ₺58.4K

87.37%

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)

$2,992 £2,245

$1,205 ₺59.7K

148.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.91

40.92

-88.00%

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

Last update for Harlow: 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

Harlow

$1.3K 57.1%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 50.9% $674

Eating Out

Harlow

$334 14.4%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 33.2% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harlow

$259 11.2%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 55.3% $143

Groceries & Markets

Harlow

$209 9%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 24% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Harlow

$97 4.2%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 34.1% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Harlow

$71 3.1%

Istanbul

$93 6% 32.1% $23

Getting Around

Harlow

$24 * 1.1%

Istanbul

$77 5% 214% $52

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 $1,397 in Harlow and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harlow pays 148% 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: $93.0 in Harlow vs $55.0 in Istanbul. Groceries flip the comparison at $209 vs $260, with Harlow cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harlow

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

15:09 3:09 PM

17:09 5:09 PM

2 h ahead of Harlow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

86,191

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Harlow Istanbul 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Harlow
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

Harlow vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harlow and Istanbul differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($2,320 vs $1,550 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 148% higher in Harlow, 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: $1,397 in Harlow versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Harlow pay roughly 24% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,320 per month in Harlow versus $1,550 in Istanbul – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,320 in Harlow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Harlow. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul 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, Harlow 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 Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Harlow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.