Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Homagama and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Homagama: $487 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Homagama
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Homagama Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Homagama

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$487

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $487 in Homagama versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Homagama $487
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $744 in Homagama versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Homagama $744
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,000 in Homagama versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Homagama $1,000
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Homagama costs roughly 69% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Homagama is 64% below, Istanbul is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.36 LKR 1,444

$12.30 ₺609

-64.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.11 LKR 7,985

$54.7 ₺2,708

-55.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 LKR 2,572

$9.22 ₺456

-15.84%

Cappuccino

$2.42 LKR 801

$4.40 ₺218

-45.00%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$1.68 ₺83.1

-57.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.1

$0.59 ₺29.40

-57.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 LKR 752

$4.70 ₺233

-51.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 LKR 1,023

$5.91 ₺292

-47.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 LKR 291

$1.21 ₺60.0

-27.27%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 LKR 187

$0.89 ₺44.10

-37.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.52 LKR 172

$2.19 ₺108

-76.26%

Eggs

$1.60 LKR 530

$2.35 ₺116

-31.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.94 LKR 4,619

$10.42 ₺516

33.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 LKR 1,103

$5.65 ₺280

-41.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.32 LKR 2,425

$20.94 ₺1,037

-65.04%

Apples (1kg)

$6.65 LKR 2,202

$1.90 ₺94.1

250.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 LKR 259

$2.31 ₺114

-66.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.44 LKR 1,470

$1.28 ₺63.1

246.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 LKR 406

$1.80 ₺89.0

-32.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LKR 339

$0.65 ₺32.16

56.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 246

$0.64 ₺31.91

15.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 307

$1.25 ₺62.1

-25.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 LKR 145

$0.56 ₺27.58

-21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.15 LKR 3,363

$2.37 ₺118

328.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.30 LKR 4,074

$13.42 ₺664

-8.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 LKR 606

$2.40 ₺119

-23.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 LKR 720

$3.48 ₺172

-37.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 LKR 154

$0.89 ₺43.84

-47.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 LKR 115

$1.29 ₺64.1

-72.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 115

$0.92 ₺45.70

-61.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 288

$10.96 ₺542

-92.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 LKR 375

$1.47 ₺72.9

-23.13%

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

$13.8K LKR 4.6M

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-72.75%

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

$21.2K LKR 7.0M

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-52.48%

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

$20.90 LKR 6,922

$88.6 ₺4,387

-76.41%

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

$3.10 LKR 1,027

$11.59 ₺574

-73.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.63 LKR 6,833

$15.81 ₺783

30.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.48 LKR 2,477

$77.2 ₺3,820

-90.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$4.46 LKR 1,478

$8.14 ₺403

-45.21%

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

$37.86 LKR 12.5K

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-96.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,189 LKR 393.8K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-95.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.98 LKR 5,954

$54.0 ₺2,671

-66.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.20 LKR 4,041

$40.83 ₺2,021

-70.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$24.40 LKR 8,082

$98.9 ₺4,895

-75.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.53 LKR 9,117

$96.6 ₺4,783

-71.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$136 LKR 45.1K

$985 ₺48.7K

-86.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$60.0 LKR 19.9K

$650 ₺32.2K

-90.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 ₺98.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 ₺58.4K

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)

$150 LKR 49.6K

$1,205 ₺59.7K

-87.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

40.92

-68.99%

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

Last update for Homagama: October 10, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Homagama

$217 44.5%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 19.8% $43

Eating Out

Homagama

$109 22.3%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 106% $115

Accommodation & Living

Homagama

$60 12.3%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 984% $590

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Homagama

$45 9.2%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 160% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Homagama

$37 7.6%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 254% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Homagama

$16 3.4%

Istanbul

$93 6% 470% $77

Getting Around

Homagama

$4 * 0.8%

Istanbul

$77 5% 1846% $73

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 $136 in Homagama and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 704% 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: $24.00 in Homagama vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $260 per month, with Homagama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Homagama

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

11:20 11:20 AM

2 h 30 min behind Homagama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,000

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

Homagama Istanbul 6,300 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Homagama
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

Homagama vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Homagama is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 218% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 704% 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: $136 in Homagama versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $37.86 in Homagama 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 Homagama – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $55.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $487 in Homagama versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Homagama but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Homagama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Homagama 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, Homagama 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 Homagama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 218% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.