Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hurghada and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $450 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
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Hurghada Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$450

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $450 per month in Hurghada vs $1,519 in Istanbul, rent included.

Hurghada $450
Istanbul $1,519

A couple spends around $941 per month in Hurghada vs $2,365 in Istanbul, rent included.

Hurghada $941
Istanbul $2,365

A family of three spends $1,433 per month in Hurghada vs $3,212 in Istanbul, rent included.

Hurghada $1,433
Istanbul $3,212

Hurghada is about 70% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Hurghada sits 67% below the global median, while Istanbul is 12% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.73 E£201

$11.81 ₺592

-68.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.58 E£2,078

$54.9 ₺2,754

-29.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.49 E£295

$9.26 ₺465

-40.71%

Cappuccino

$1.93 E£104

$4.30 ₺216

-55.12%

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

$0.47 E£25.04

$1.77 ₺89.0

-73.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 E£9.32

$0.56 ₺28.32

-69.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 E£96.0

$4.69 ₺235

-62.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 E£166

$7.12 ₺357

-56.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.95 E£51.3

$1.25 ₺62.7

-24.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.75 E£40.15

$0.88 ₺44.17

-14.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 E£33.12

$2.20 ₺111

-72.27%

Eggs

$1.81 E£97.5

$2.43 ₺122

-25.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.17 E£171

$10.48 ₺526

-69.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.66 E£305

$5.31 ₺267

6.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.01 E£485

$21.10 ₺1,058

-57.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.36 E£73.3

$1.86 ₺93.1

-26.88%

Banana (1kg)

$0.51 E£27.30

$2.30 ₺115

-77.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.48

$1.22 ₺61.0

-65.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 E£22.21

$1.80 ₺90.2

-77.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.33 E£17.81

$0.69 ₺34.83

-52.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.03

$0.64 ₺32.16

-42.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.26 E£13.81

$1.36 ₺68.0

-80.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.16 E£8.40

$0.58 ₺28.94

-72.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.03 E£109

$2.34 ₺117

-13.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.36 E£396

$13.03 ₺653

-43.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 E£65.9

$2.36 ₺118

-48.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 E£91.5

$3.32 ₺166

-48.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.10 E£5.22

$0.88 ₺44.07

-88.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.36 E£288

$66.1 ₺3,316

-91.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 E£47.00

$1.28 ₺64.4

-32.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.55

$0.85 ₺42.80

-76.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.83 E£98.6

$11.09 ₺556

-83.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 E£21.85

$1.48 ₺74.0

-72.30%

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

$30.9K E£1.7M

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-36.38%

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

$22.6K E£1.2M

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-46.05%

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

$24.88 E£1,340

$92.7 ₺4,650

-73.16%

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

$7.79 E£420

$11.20 ₺562

-30.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.94 E£481

$15.89 ₺797

-43.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.09 E£1,405

$74.7 ₺3,745

-65.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.89 E£317

$22.95 ₺1,151

-74.34%

Cinema Ticket

$3.32 E£179

$8.05 ₺404

-58.76%

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

$99.0 E£5,330

$948 ₺47.6K

-89.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$599 E£32.2K

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-98.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.13 E£1,030

$53.9 ₺2,702

-64.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.05 E£1,672

$41.49 ₺2,081

-25.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.63 E£1,488

$91.3 ₺4,580

-69.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 E£11.3K

$1,014 ₺50.8K

-79.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$112 E£6,038

$625 ₺31.3K

-82.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$217 E£11.7K

$2,005 ₺100.6K

-89.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$545 E£29.3K

$1,126 ₺56.5K

-51.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$519 E£28.0K

$2,988 ₺149.8K

-82.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$595 E£32.0K

$1,730 ₺86.8K

-65.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$147 E£7,899

$1,136 ₺57.0K

-87.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

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

Last update for Hurghada: October 31, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hurghada

$134 29.8%

Istanbul

$258 17% 92.7% $124

Accommodation & Living

Hurghada

$112 24.9%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 457% $512

Eating Out

Hurghada

$87 19.3%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 154% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hurghada

$42 9.2%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 188% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Hurghada

$35 * 7.8%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 270% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Hurghada

$33 7.3%

Istanbul

$91 6% 177% $58

Getting Around

Hurghada

$7.6 1.7%

Istanbul

$75 5% 889% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $210 in Hurghada versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Istanbul are about 7.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39 in Hurghada versus $55 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $134 vs $258 – making Hurghada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

15:14 3:14 PM

16:14 4:14 PM

1 h ahead of Hurghada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,901

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.65 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 53.85 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.48 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.33 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hurghada Istanbul 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Hurghada
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

Hurghada vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 237%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $675 per month in Hurghada and $2,278 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $210 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $450 in Hurghada and $1,519 in Istanbul. That makes Hurghada about 70% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 92% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $450, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hurghada – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Hurghada. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Istanbul makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.