Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Adam

For one person, living is cheaper in Adam: $954 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Istanbul
🇹🇷 Turkey
$1,525
/mo nomad
Adam
🇴🇲 Oman
$954
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Adam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,525 in Istanbul versus $954 in Adam.

  • Istanbul $1,525
  • Adam $954

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,390 in Istanbul versus $1,432 in Adam.

  • Istanbul $2,390
  • Adam $1,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,256 in Istanbul versus $1,910 in Adam.

  • Istanbul $3,256
  • Adam $1,910

Living in Istanbul is roughly 60% more expensive than in Adam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 13% above, Adam is 30% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.96 ₺592
$5.29 OMR 2.04
126.09%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$57.2 ₺2,834
$38.59 OMR 14.86
48.30%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.51 ₺471
$7.67 OMR 2.95
23.99%
Cappuccino
$4.40 ₺218
$5.04 OMR 1.94
-12.70%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 ₺86.6
$0.85 OMR 0.33
105.88%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.56 ₺27.57
$0.29 OMR 0.11
93.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.71 ₺233
$12.98 OMR 5.00
-63.71%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.14 ₺304
$13.20 OMR 5.08
-53.48%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.24 ₺61.6
$2.37 OMR 0.91
-47.68%
White Bread (500g)
$0.95 ₺47.25
$1.20 OMR 0.46
-20.83%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.28 ₺113
$1.82 OMR 0.70
25.27%
Eggs
$2.45 ₺121
$3.04 OMR 1.17
-19.41%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.56 ₺523
$7.33 OMR 2.82
44.07%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.50 ₺272
$7.10 OMR 2.73
-22.54%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$21.65 ₺1,072
$10.51 OMR 4.05
105.99%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 ₺90.6
$3.55 OMR 1.37
-48.45%
Banana (1kg)
$2.29 ₺113
$1.96 OMR 0.75
16.84%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.28 ₺63.4
$2.37 OMR 0.91
-45.99%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.82 ₺90.1
$1.25 OMR 0.48
45.60%
Potato (1kg)
$0.66 ₺32.74
$1.17 OMR 0.45
-43.59%
Onion (1kg)
$0.63 ₺31.14
$1.28 OMR 0.49
-50.78%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.27 ₺62.8
$1.87 OMR 0.72
-32.09%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.56 ₺27.62
$0.66 OMR 0.25
-15.15%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.36 ₺117
$6.48 OMR 2.49
-63.58%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.98 ₺642
$15.36 OMR 5.91
-15.49%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.48 ₺123
$6.03 OMR 2.32
-58.87%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.50 ₺174
$10.26 OMR 3.95
-65.89%
🚌 Getting Around
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.82 ₺40.77
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$65.2 ₺3,228
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.33 ₺65.7
$3.20 OMR 1.23
-58.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.90 ₺44.60
$2.54 OMR 0.98
-64.57%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.91 ₺540
$7.60 OMR 2.92
43.55%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.43 ₺70.7
$0.64 OMR 0.25
123.44%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$49.6K ₺2.5M
$25.5K OMR 9,814
94.45%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$43.2K ₺2.1M
$22.3K OMR 8,572
93.97%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$88.8 ₺4,395
$177 OMR 68.0
-49.73%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$11.69 ₺579
$30.38 OMR 11.70
-61.52%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$16.09 ₺797
$71.5 OMR 27.53
-77.50%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$76.3 ₺3,776
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$22.72 ₺1,125
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$8.26 ₺409
$10.34 OMR 3.98
-20.12%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,015 ₺50.2K
$291 OMR 112
249.02%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$25.8K ₺1.3M
$10.6K OMR 4,075
144.09%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.3 ₺2,636
$55.9 OMR 21.52
-4.74%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$40.55 ₺2,008
$43.47 OMR 16.73
-6.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$100 ₺4,956
$91.3 OMR 35.14
9.69%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$93.5 ₺4,630
$86.9 OMR 33.45
7.64%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$977 ₺48.4K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$627 ₺31.0K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,980 ₺98.0K
$255 OMR 98.3
675.91%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,147 ₺56.8K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,095 ₺153.2K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,787 ₺88.5K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Istanbul
Adam
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,213 ₺60.1K
$2,566 OMR 988
-52.72%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
40.69
5.25
675.05%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Adam: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Istanbul
$627
Adam
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Istanbul
$263
Adam
$292 11.3% $30
Eating Out
Istanbul
$222
Adam
$222 0.2% $0.4
Clothing & Footwear
Istanbul
$129
Adam
$125 3.4% $4.5
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Istanbul
$117
Adam
$278 139% $162
Sport & Entertainment
Istanbul
$93
Adam
$21 * 77.7% $72
Getting Around
Istanbul
$74
Adam
$16 * 78.6% $58

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

Cost Breakdown

Adam pays 112% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $57.0 in Istanbul vs $39.00 in Adam. Groceries flip the comparison at $263 vs $292, with Istanbul cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇹🇷 Istanbul
🇴🇲 Adam
🕒 Local time
14:33 2:33 PM
15:33 3:33 PM
1 h ahead of Istanbul
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
15,701,602
18,515
💱 Currency
Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.
Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Istanbul Adam 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Istanbul
  • Adam

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
Istanbul vs Adam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Adam cheaper than Istanbul?
Adam is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 60% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Istanbul or Adam?
On paper, salaries run 112% lower in Adam. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $1,015 in Istanbul versus $291 in Adam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Istanbul or in Adam?
Dining out is cheaper in Adam – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $57.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Istanbul or in Adam?
At $954 in Adam versus $1,525 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Adam but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Adam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Istanbul or Adam more family-friendly?
For families, Adam 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.
Which city is safer, Istanbul or Adam?
Safety-wise, Istanbul and Adam are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Adam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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