Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Isle of Islay and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $2,352 on the Isle of Islay, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index on the Isle of Islay
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Isle of Islay Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Isle of Islay

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,352

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend on the Isle of Islay and in Istanbul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month on the Isle of Islay and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,352 per month on the Isle of Islay vs $1,525 in Istanbul, rent included.

Isle of Islay $2,352
Istanbul $1,525

A couple spends around $3,353 per month on the Isle of Islay vs $2,390 in Istanbul, rent included.

Isle of Islay $3,353
Istanbul $2,390

A family of three spends $4,354 per month on the Isle of Islay vs $3,256 in Istanbul, rent included.

Isle of Islay $4,354
Istanbul $3,256

Isle of Islay costs about 54% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Isle of Islay and Istanbul sit above the global median – Isle of Islay by 74%, Istanbul by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.60 £16.21

$11.96 ₺592

80.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 £61.1

$57.2 ₺2,834

42.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 £7.95

$9.51 ₺471

11.46%

Cappuccino

$4.48 £3.36

$4.40 ₺218

1.82%

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

$2.48 £1.86

$1.75 ₺86.6

41.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 £0.99

$0.56 ₺27.57

135.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.83 £4.37

$4.71 ₺233

23.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.01 £4.51

$6.14 ₺304

-2.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.24 ₺61.6

63.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 £1.32

$0.95 ₺47.25

84.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.28 ₺113

20.18%

Eggs

$5.41 £4.06

$2.45 ₺121

120.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.39 £5.54

$10.56 ₺523

-30.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.52 £7.14

$5.50 ₺272

73.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.36 £11.53

$21.65 ₺1,072

-29.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 £1.88

$1.83 ₺90.6

36.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.29 ₺113

-3.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 £2.12

$1.28 ₺63.4

120.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 £2.15

$1.82 ₺90.1

57.69%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 £2.29

$0.66 ₺32.74

363.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$0.63 ₺31.14

234.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.27 ₺62.8

46.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 £1.82

$0.56 ₺27.62

333.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.79 £17.85

$2.36 ₺117

908.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.03 £9.03

$12.98 ₺642

-7.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.48 ₺123

31.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.41

$3.50 ₺174

-8.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.50 £2.62

$0.82 ₺40.77

326.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.1 £73.6

$65.2 ₺3,228

50.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 £3.56

$1.33 ₺65.7

257.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.79 £2.84

$0.90 ₺44.60

321.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.58 £19.94

$10.91 ₺540

143.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.43 ₺70.7

44.76%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$49.6K ₺2.5M

-22.27%

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

$40.4K £30.3K

$43.2K ₺2.1M

-6.40%

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

$238 £178

$88.8 ₺4,395

167.76%

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

$13.09 £9.82

$11.69 ₺579

11.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.21 £31.67

$16.09 ₺797

162.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.82 £32.88

$76.3 ₺3,776

-42.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$13.44 £10.08

$8.26 ₺409

62.71%

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

$1,918 £1,439

$1,015 ₺50.2K

89.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.8K £18.6K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-4.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.1

$53.3 ₺2,636

87.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.6 £43.19

$40.55 ₺2,008

41.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 £90.9

$100 ₺4,956

21.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.1 £65.4

$93.5 ₺4,630

-6.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,272 £955

$977 ₺48.4K

30.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 £779

$627 ₺31.0K

65.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,126 £1,595

$1,980 ₺98.0K

7.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,449 £1,087

$1,147 ₺56.8K

26.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,528 £4,147

$3,095 ₺153.2K

78.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,409 £2,558

$1,787 ₺88.5K

90.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

40.69

-86.70%

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

Last update for the Isle of Islay: October 20, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Isle of Islay

$1K 44.2%

Istanbul

$627 41.1% 39.7% $412

Groceries & Markets

Isle of Islay

$334 14.2%

Istanbul

$263 17.2% 21.5% $72

Eating Out

Isle of Islay

$315 13.4%

Istanbul

$222 14.6% 29.4% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isle of Islay

$293 12.5%

Istanbul

$117 7.6% 60.2% $176

Clothing & Footwear

Isle of Islay

$165 7%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 21.5% $35

Getting Around

Isle of Islay

$136 5.8%

Istanbul

$74 4.9% 45.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Isle of Islay

$71 3%

Istanbul

$93 6.1% 31.2% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,272 on the Isle of Islay versus $977 in Istanbul. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81.0 on the Isle of Islay versus $57.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $334 vs $263 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Isle of Islay

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

16:45 4:45 PM

18:45 6:45 PM

2 h ahead of the Isle of Islay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,457

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 23, 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 23, 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 →

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Isle of Islay Istanbul 3,030 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Isle of Islay
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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

Isle of Islay vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Isle of Islay is pricier by about 54%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,528 per month on the Isle of Islay and $2,287 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81.0 on the Isle of Islay and $57.0 in Istanbul. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,352 on the Isle of Islay and $1,525 in Istanbul. That's a gap of about 54%.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,525, than on the Isle of Islay at $2,352. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while on the Isle of Islay it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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