Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Afula

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,519 a month against $2,686 in Afula, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Afula
Learn more

Afula Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Afula

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Afula

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 Afula actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,519 in Istanbul versus $2,686 in Afula.

Istanbul $1,519
Afula $2,686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,365 in Istanbul versus $3,968 in Afula.

Istanbul $2,365
Afula $3,968

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,212 in Istanbul versus $5,250 in Afula.

Istanbul $3,212
Afula $5,250

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 43% less than in Afula, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 12% above, Afula 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺591

$25.65 ₪81.1

-53.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,748

$88.9 ₪281

-38.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺463

$16.29 ₪51.5

-43.16%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺215

$4.52 ₪14.31

-4.87%

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

$1.77 ₺88.8

$3.92 ₪12.40

-54.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.26

$2.63 ₪8.31

-78.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺234

$9.42 ₪29.81

-50.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺356

$6.16 ₪19.49

15.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.6

$2.51 ₪7.95

-50.20%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$3.24 ₪10.23

-72.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺110

$3.23 ₪10.21

-31.89%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$4.42 ₪13.99

-45.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺524

$12.71 ₪40.19

-17.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺266

$18.61 ₪58.9

-71.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,056

$25.93 ₪82.0

-18.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺92.9

$3.22 ₪10.17

-42.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$2.76 ₪8.72

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺60.8

$2.14 ₪6.76

-42.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.0

$1.61 ₪5.08

11.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.75

$1.59 ₪5.04

-56.60%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.09

$1.55 ₪4.89

-58.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺67.8

$1.84 ₪5.83

-26.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.88

$2.41 ₪7.62

-75.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$14.99 ₪47.43

-84.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺652

$12.48 ₪39.49

4.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$4.60 ₪14.55

-48.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$4.08 ₪12.90

-18.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺43.97

$2.32 ₪7.33

-62.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,309

$101 ₪321

-34.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.3

$4.04 ₪12.78

-68.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.70

$1.07 ₪3.40

-20.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺555

$19.04 ₪60.2

-41.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺73.9

$2.37 ₪7.50

-37.55%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$54.8K ₪173.5K

-11.29%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$52.3K ₪165.5K

-19.75%

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

$92.7 ₺4,639

$276 ₪872

-66.38%

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

$11.20 ₺560

$12.11 ₪38.29

-7.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺795

$25.21 ₪79.8

-36.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,737

$77.3 ₪244

-3.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,149

$22.53 ₪71.3

1.86%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺403

$12.07 ₪38.17

-33.31%

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

$948 ₺47.5K

$1,129 ₪3,573

-16.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.8M

$24.0K ₪75.8K

54.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,696

$51.5 ₪163

4.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,076

$63.2 ₪200

-34.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,049

$122 ₪386

-17.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,570

$145 ₪457

-36.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.7K

$1,534 ₪4,853

-33.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$1,139 ₪3,604

-45.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.4K

$2,405 ₪7,609

-16.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.3K

$1,813 ₪5,735

-37.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.5K

$9,950 ₪31.5K

-69.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.6K

$7,599 ₪24.0K

-77.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺56.9K

$3,145 ₪9,950

-63.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

4.05

898.02%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Afula: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Afula

$1.1K 42.4% 82.4% $515

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Afula

$447 16.6% 72.9% $188

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Afula

$394 14.7% 78.3% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Afula

$172 6.4% 32.6% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Afula

$313 11.7% 161% $193

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Afula

$101 3.8% 11.7% $11

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Afula

$120 4.5% 59.6% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,014 in Istanbul and $1,534 in Afula. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Afula pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Istanbul vs $89 in Afula for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $447 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇮🇱 Afula

🕒 Local time

07:59 7:59 AM

06:59 6:59 AM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

53,958

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 ILS = 0.316 USD

1 ILS = 0.282 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.18 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.16 ILS (1 ILS = 0.316 USD). 1 EUR = 3.55 ILS (1 ILS = 0.282 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Afula 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Afula

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 Afula: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,519 in Istanbul and $2,686 in Afula, so Istanbul is about 43% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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: $1,014 in Istanbul versus $1,534 in Afula. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Afula. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Istanbul – a meal for two runs $55 versus $89 in Afula. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Afula. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.