Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Harrow and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,990 in Harrow, rent and utilities included – about $17,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

146

Cost of Living Index in Harrow
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Harrow Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Harrow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,990

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,990 in Harrow versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Harrow $2,990
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,436 in Harrow versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Harrow $4,436
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,883 in Harrow versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Harrow $5,883
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Harrow is roughly 93% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Harrow 121% above, Istanbul 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.97 £14.99

$12.30 ₺609

62.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.1 £69.8

$54.7 ₺2,708

70.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 £7.04

$9.22 ₺456

1.84%

Cappuccino

$4.54 £3.40

$4.40 ₺218

3.18%

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

$2.88 £2.16

$1.68 ₺83.1

71.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 £1.46

$0.59 ₺29.40

230.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.61

$4.70 ₺233

59.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.04 £5.28

$5.91 ₺292

19.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.21 ₺60.0

33.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 £1.40

$0.89 ₺44.10

108.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 £1.27

$2.19 ₺108

-22.37%

Eggs

$6.11 £4.58

$2.35 ₺116

160.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.15 £8.37

$10.42 ₺516

7.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.28 £6.21

$5.65 ₺280

46.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.32 £9.25

$20.94 ₺1,037

-41.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.90 ₺94.1

8.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$2.31 ₺114

-43.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.28 ₺63.1

35.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.19 £3.90

$1.80 ₺89.0

188.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$0.65 ₺32.16

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.64 ₺31.91

146.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.25 ₺62.1

2.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$0.56 ₺27.58

132.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.63 £16.98

$2.37 ₺118

854.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.46 £7.10

$13.42 ₺664

-29.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.52

$2.40 ₺119

-15.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.98

$3.48 ₺172

-62.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.77 £3.58

$0.89 ₺43.84

435.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$13.04 £9.78

$1.29 ₺64.1

910.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.93 £2.95

$0.92 ₺45.70

327.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 ₺542

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.47 ₺72.9

28.57%

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

$39.6K £29.7K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-21.94%

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

$43.6K £32.7K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-2.11%

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

$202 £151

$88.6 ₺4,387

127.82%

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

$15.13 £11.35

$11.59 ₺574

30.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.77 £29.84

$15.81 ₺783

151.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.0 £58.5

$77.2 ₺3,820

1.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$13.97 £10.48

$8.14 ₺403

71.62%

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

$1,909 £1,432

$1,008 ₺49.9K

89.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.8K £17.9K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-6.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 £58.4

$54.0 ₺2,671

44.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.6 £43.93

$40.83 ₺2,021

43.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.3

$98.9 ₺4,895

5.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £119

$96.6 ₺4,783

64.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,258 £1,694

$985 ₺48.7K

129.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 £1,346

$650 ₺32.2K

176.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,113 £3,086

$1,983 ₺98.2K

107.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,116 £2,338

$1,180 ₺58.4K

164.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,410 £5,559

$3,138 ₺155.4K

136.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,360 £5,522

$1,780 ₺88.1K

313.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,100 £3,826

$1,205 ₺59.7K

323.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.3

40.92

-87.05%

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

Last update for Harrow: October 12, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Harrow

$1.8K 60%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 63.8% $1.1K

Eating Out

Harrow

$313 10.5%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 28.7% $90

Groceries & Markets

Harrow

$288 9.6%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 9.9% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Harrow

$257 8.6%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 54.8% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Harrow

$180 6%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 27.3% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Harrow

$106 3.5%

Istanbul

$93 6% 11.8% $13

Getting Around

Harrow

$52 * 1.7%

Istanbul

$77 5% 48.6% $25

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 $2,258 in Harrow and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Harrow pays 323% 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 Harrow vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $260 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Harrow

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

15:25 3:25 PM

17:25 5:25 PM

2 h ahead of Harrow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,246

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 19, 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 19, 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

Harrow Istanbul 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Harrow
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

Harrow vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harrow and Istanbul differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($2,990 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 323% higher in Harrow, 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: $2,258 in Harrow versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,909 in Harrow 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 Istanbul – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $93.0 in Harrow. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,990 in Harrow, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Harrow. 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, Harrow 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 93% less than in Harrow. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.