Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Al-'aziziyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-'aziziyah: $371 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
16

Cost of Living Index in Al-'aziziyah
Learn more

Al-'aziziyah Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Al-'aziziyah

🇱🇾 Libya

$371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Al-'aziziyah

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 Al-'aziziyah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,550 in Istanbul versus $371 in Al-'aziziyah.

Istanbul $1,550
Al-'aziziyah $371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,415 in Istanbul versus $573 in Al-'aziziyah.

Istanbul $2,415
Al-'aziziyah $573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,281 in Istanbul versus $775 in Al-'aziziyah.

Istanbul $3,281
Al-'aziziyah $775

Living in Istanbul is roughly 318% more expensive than in Al-'aziziyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 15% above, Al-'aziziyah is 73% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.30 ₺609

$3.93 LYD 25.16

212.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 ₺2,708

$15.44 LYD 98.9

254.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 ₺456

$2.62 LYD 16.78

251.91%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.06

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 LYD 4.27

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$0.44 LYD 2.84

900.00%

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

$1.68 ₺83.1

$0.43 LYD 2.73

290.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.40

$0.11 LYD 0.70

436.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 ₺233

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 ₺292

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 ₺60.0

$0.96 LYD 6.18

26.04%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 ₺44.10

$0.22 LYD 1.41

304.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 ₺108

$1.22 LYD 7.79

79.51%

Eggs

$2.35 ₺116

$1.36 LYD 8.70

72.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 ₺516

$5.12 LYD 32.82

103.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 ₺280

$3.56 LYD 22.78

58.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.94 ₺1,037

$9.22 LYD 59.1

127.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 ₺94.1

$2.25 LYD 14.43

-15.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.46 LYD 9.34

58.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$0.74 LYD 4.72

72.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺89.0

$0.59 LYD 3.79

205.08%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ₺32.16

$0.72 LYD 4.63

-9.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺31.91

$0.49 LYD 3.16

30.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ₺62.1

$0.39 LYD 2.51

220.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.58

$0.21 LYD 1.36

166.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 LYD 11.60

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 LYD 5.06

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 ₺118

$1.93 LYD 12.36

22.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 ₺664

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₺119

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ₺172

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 ₺43.84

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₺64.1

$0.81 LYD 5.17

59.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ₺45.70

$0.49 LYD 3.16

87.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 ₺542

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.9

$0.02 LYD 0.11

7250.00%

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

$50.8K ₺2.5M

$23.0K LYD 147.1K

121.26%

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

$44.5K ₺2.2M

$20.9K LYD 134.0K

113.00%

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

$88.6 ₺4,387

$94.3 LYD 604

-6.03%

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

$11.59 ₺574

$6.17 LYD 39.53

87.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.81 ₺783

$26.89 LYD 172

-41.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.2 ₺3,820

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ₺403

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

$1,008 ₺49.9K

$52.4 LYD 336

1824.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.6K ₺1.3M

$1,561 LYD 10,000

1537.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ₺2,671

$22.50 LYD 144

139.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.83 ₺2,021

$17.52 LYD 112

133.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 ₺4,895

$64.9 LYD 416

52.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,783

$66.5 LYD 426

45.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 ₺48.7K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 ₺32.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 ₺98.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 ₺58.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,205 ₺59.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al-'aziziyah: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$650 41.9%

Al-'aziziyah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$260 16.8%

Al-'aziziyah

$116 31.3% 55.3% $144

Eating Out

Istanbul

$223 14.4%

Al-'aziziyah

$47 12.6% 79.1% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.4%

Al-'aziziyah

$77 20.8% 40.9% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$116 7.5%

Al-'aziziyah

$127 34.4% 9.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6%

Al-'aziziyah

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Istanbul

$77 5%

Al-'aziziyah

$3.3 * 0.9% 95.7% $74

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $55.0 in Istanbul vs $15.00 in Al-'aziziyah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $116 per month, with Al-'aziziyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇱🇾 Al-'aziziyah

🕒 Local time

20:54 8:54 PM

19:54 7:54 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

23,399

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Al-'aziziyah 1,700 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Al-'aziziyah

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 Al-'aziziyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul and Al-'aziziyah differ by about 318% in total monthly costs ($1,550 vs $371 including rent). Al-'aziziyah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,325 in Istanbul and $556 in Al-'aziziyah to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 124% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,550 per month in Istanbul versus $371 in Al-'aziziyah – a 318% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $371 in Al-'aziziyah versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Al-'aziziyah but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Al-'aziziyah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Al-'aziziyah 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 Al-'aziziyah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 318% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.