Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilion and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,519 a month against $1,560 in Ilion, rent and utilities included – about $490 less a year. The total is higher in Ilion despite lower rent and utilities.

75

Cost of Living Index in Ilion
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Ilion Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Ilion

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,560

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,560 in Ilion versus $1,519 in Istanbul.

Ilion $1,560
Istanbul $1,519

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,452 in Ilion versus $2,365 in Istanbul.

Ilion $2,452
Istanbul $2,365

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,343 in Ilion versus $3,212 in Istanbul.

Ilion $3,343
Istanbul $3,212

Living in Ilion is roughly 3% more expensive than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ilion 15% above, Istanbul 12% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.55 €12.07

$11.81 ₺592

14.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.6 €51.3

$54.9 ₺2,754

4.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.18 €8.17

$9.26 ₺465

-0.86%

Cappuccino

$4.01 €3.57

$4.30 ₺216

-6.74%

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

$2.38 €2.12

$1.77 ₺89.0

34.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 €0.48

$0.56 ₺28.32

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.73 €5.10

$4.69 ₺235

22.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 €5.01

$7.12 ₺357

-21.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.25 ₺62.7

32.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.88 ₺44.17

59.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.20 ₺111

22.27%

Eggs

$5.02 €4.47

$2.43 ₺122

106.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.07 €10.75

$10.48 ₺526

15.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.46 €9.32

$5.31 ₺267

96.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.35 €17.23

$21.10 ₺1,058

-8.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$1.86 ₺93.1

16.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.00 €1.78

$2.30 ₺115

-13.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.22 ₺61.0

11.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.80 ₺90.2

15.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 €0.99

$0.69 ₺34.83

60.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.02

$0.64 ₺32.16

78.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.91 €0.81

$1.36 ₺68.0

-33.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.58 ₺28.94

87.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.25 €4.67

$2.34 ₺117

124.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.86 €7.00

$13.03 ₺653

-39.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.36 ₺118

-26.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 €2.86

$3.32 ₺166

-3.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 €1.19

$0.88 ₺44.07

52.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$49.69 €44.24

$66.1 ₺3,316

-24.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 €4.04

$1.28 ₺64.4

254.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.92

$0.85 ₺42.80

22.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.50 €14.69

$11.09 ₺556

48.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.95

$1.48 ₺74.0

48.65%

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

$27.9K €24.9K

$48.6K ₺2.4M

-42.60%

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

$24.9K €22.2K

$42.0K ₺2.1M

-40.60%

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

$202 €180

$92.7 ₺4,650

117.85%

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

$25.27 €22.50

$11.20 ₺562

125.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.44 €24.43

$15.89 ₺797

72.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.9 €46.18

$74.7 ₺3,745

-30.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.26 €22.49

$22.95 ₺1,151

10.07%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 €8.48

$8.05 ₺404

18.26%

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

$477 €425

$948 ₺47.6K

-49.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,697 €4,183

$36.9K ₺1.9M

-87.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.6 €74.4

$53.9 ₺2,702

55.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.47 €34.26

$41.49 ₺2,081

-7.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.9

$101 ₺5,060

4.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 €97.4

$91.3 ₺4,580

19.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 €513

$1,014 ₺50.8K

-43.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 €430

$625 ₺31.3K

-22.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 €1,031

$2,005 ₺100.6K

-42.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$959 €854

$1,126 ₺56.5K

-14.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,671 €3,269

$2,988 ₺149.8K

22.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,936 €2,615

$1,730 ₺86.8K

69.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,249 €1,112

$1,136 ₺57.0K

9.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.4

40.42

-89.11%

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

Last update for Ilion: November 2, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ilion

$483 31%

Istanbul

$625 41.1% 29.4% $142

Groceries & Markets

Ilion

$300 19.2%

Istanbul

$258 17% 13.9% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilion

$255 16.3%

Istanbul

$120 7.9% 53% $135

Eating Out

Ilion

$236 15.1%

Istanbul

$221 14.6% 6.3% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Ilion

$152 9.7%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 14.6% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Ilion

$71 4.5%

Istanbul

$91 6% 28% $20

Getting Around

Ilion

$65 4.2%

Istanbul

$75 5% 16.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $576 in Ilion and $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ilion pays 10% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $58 in Ilion vs $55 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $300 vs $258 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Ilion

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

03:40 3:40 AM

04:40 4:40 AM

1 h ahead of Ilion

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

84,793

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ilion Istanbul 560 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ilion
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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

Ilion vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,560 in Ilion and $1,519 in Istanbul, so Istanbul is about 3% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Ilion, 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: $576 in Ilion versus $1,014 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $477 in Ilion versus $948 in Istanbul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Ilion. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Istanbul is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Ilion and Istanbul are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Istanbul wins on affordability, Ilion on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.