Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Ajman

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,417 in Ajman, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Ajman
Learn more

Ajman Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Ajman

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,417

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Ajman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,417 in Ajman.

Istanbul $1,526
Ajman $2,417

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,399 in Istanbul versus $4,520 in Ajman.

Istanbul $2,399
Ajman $4,520

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,272 in Istanbul versus $6,623 in Ajman.

Istanbul $3,272
Ajman $6,623

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 37% less than in Ajman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 14% above, Ajman 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$5.88 AED 21.59

102.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$27.68 AED 102

99.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$8.27 AED 30.37

10.52%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$3.82 AED 14.02

10.99%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$0.78 AED 2.88

124.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$0.37 AED 1.36

45.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$10.84 AED 39.82

-56.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$12.41 AED 45.59

-51.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.99 AED 7.32

-36.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.35 AED 4.94

-29.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.51 AED 5.55

52.98%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$2.06 AED 7.56

19.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$7.91 AED 29.05

33.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$5.67 AED 20.83

-1.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$8.27 AED 30.38

156.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$1.87 AED 6.87

3.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.27 AED 4.65

80.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$1.51 AED 5.54

-15.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$0.88 AED 3.22

109.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$1.04 AED 3.82

-35.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.07 AED 3.93

-44.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$0.82 AED 3.00

62.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$0.55 AED 2.02

7.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$6.15 AED 22.60

-61.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$10.77 AED 39.57

25.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$1.61 AED 5.91

50.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$2.22 AED 8.15

59.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$4.14 AED 15.21

-79.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$67.7 AED 249

-1.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$3.53 AED 12.96

-61.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$0.70 AED 2.56

21.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$8.02 AED 29.44

35.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$0.84 AED 3.07

75.00%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$46.1K AED 169.3K

12.01%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$22.4K AED 82.2K

98.58%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$151 AED 553

-40.73%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$50.1 AED 184

-76.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$85.1 AED 313

-81.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$76.8 AED 282

0.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$9.87 AED 36.25

129.58%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$13.42 AED 49.30

-37.85%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$491 AED 1,802

98.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$5,675 AED 20.8K

354.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$57.8 AED 212

-8.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$62.4 AED 229

-37.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$84.2 AED 309

22.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$94.7 AED 348

2.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$2,529 AED 9,288

-60.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$1,381 AED 5,073

-54.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$1,788 AED 6,568

13.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$4,632 AED 17.0K

-75.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$2,249 AED 8,259

40.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$1,412 AED 5,186

30.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$2,279 AED 8,372

-47.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

721.80%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Ajman: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Ajman

$1.4K 57.6% 120% $752

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Ajman

$201 8.4% 23.8% $63

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Ajman

$201 8.4% 7.6% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Ajman

$135 5.6% 2.6% $3.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Ajman

$286 11.9% 144% $169

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Ajman

$104 4.3% 10.3% $9.7

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Ajman

$91 3.8% 21.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $994 in Istanbul and $2,529 in Ajman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ajman pays 89% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $55.0 in Istanbul vs $28.00 in Ajman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $201 per month, with Ajman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇦🇪 Ajman

🕒 Local time

13:08 1:08 PM

14:08 2:08 PM

1 h ahead of Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

238,119

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.2 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Ajman 2,990 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Ajman

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 Ajman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Ajman. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Istanbul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 89% lower in Ajman. 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: $994 in Istanbul versus $2,529 in Ajman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $974 in Istanbul versus $491 in Ajman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Ajman pay roughly 31% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,417 in Ajman, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Ajman. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Istanbul delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,526 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Istanbul hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Ajman are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Ajman. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.