Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Al-Buraimi

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Buraimi: $916 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Istanbul outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Al-Buraimi
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Al-Buraimi Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Al-Buraimi

🇴🇲 Oman

$916

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,550 in Istanbul versus $916 in Al-Buraimi.

Istanbul $1,550
Al-Buraimi $916

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,415 in Istanbul versus $1,357 in Al-Buraimi.

Istanbul $2,415
Al-Buraimi $1,357

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,281 in Istanbul versus $1,797 in Al-Buraimi.

Istanbul $3,281
Al-Buraimi $1,797

Living in Istanbul is roughly 69% more expensive than in Al-Buraimi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 15% above, Al-Buraimi is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.30 ₺609

$5.27 OMR 2.03

133.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 ₺2,708

$13.14 OMR 5.06

316.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 ₺456

$7.82 OMR 3.01

17.90%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$5.02 OMR 1.93

-12.35%

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

$1.68 ₺83.1

$0.91 OMR 0.35

84.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.40

$0.27 OMR 0.10

118.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 ₺233

$12.89 OMR 4.96

-63.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 ₺292

$13.20 OMR 5.08

-55.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 ₺60.0

$2.26 OMR 0.87

-46.46%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 ₺44.10

$1.20 OMR 0.46

-25.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 ₺108

$1.58 OMR 0.61

38.61%

Eggs

$2.35 ₺116

$2.99 OMR 1.15

-21.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 ₺516

$6.33 OMR 2.44

64.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 ₺280

$5.79 OMR 2.23

-2.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.94 ₺1,037

$9.31 OMR 3.58

124.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 ₺94.1

$2.07 OMR 0.80

-8.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.83 OMR 0.70

26.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$2.06 OMR 0.79

-37.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺89.0

$1.32 OMR 0.51

36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ₺32.16

$1.20 OMR 0.46

-45.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺31.91

$0.98 OMR 0.38

-34.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ₺62.1

$0.91 OMR 0.35

37.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.58

$0.70 OMR 0.27

-20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 ₺118

$5.23 OMR 2.01

-54.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 ₺664

$15.32 OMR 5.90

-12.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₺119

$5.82 OMR 2.24

-58.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ₺172

$10.15 OMR 3.91

-65.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 ₺43.84

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

$38.94 OMR 14.99

73.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₺64.1

$3.28 OMR 1.26

-60.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ₺45.70

$1.33 OMR 0.51

-30.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 ₺542

$7.57 OMR 2.92

44.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.9

$0.60 OMR 0.23

145.00%

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

$50.8K ₺2.5M

$25.2K OMR 9,711

101.34%

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

$44.5K ₺2.2M

$22.7K OMR 8,734

96.29%

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

$88.6 ₺4,387

$77.5 OMR 29.84

14.34%

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

$11.59 ₺574

$30.24 OMR 11.64

-61.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.81 ₺783

$70.7 OMR 27.23

-77.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.2 ₺3,820

$63.9 OMR 24.62

20.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ₺403

$7.67 OMR 2.95

6.13%

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

$1,008 ₺49.9K

$260 OMR 100

287.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.6K ₺1.3M

$10.5K OMR 4,036

143.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ₺2,671

$56.8 OMR 21.86

-4.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.83 ₺2,021

$43.55 OMR 16.77

-6.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 ₺4,895

$90.9 OMR 35.01

8.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,783

$88.7 OMR 34.13

8.97%

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

$3,620 OMR 1,394

-66.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

5.25

679.43%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al-Buraimi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$650 41.9%

Al-Buraimi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$260 16.8%

Al-Buraimi

$262 28.7% 1.1% $2.8

Eating Out

Istanbul

$223 14.4%

Al-Buraimi

$221 24.2% 0.8% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.4%

Al-Buraimi

$126 13.7% 3.6% $4.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$116 7.5%

Al-Buraimi

$178 19.5% 53.8% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6%

Al-Buraimi

$79 8.7% 15.2% $14

Getting Around

Istanbul

$77 5%

Al-Buraimi

$49 * 5.3% 36.4% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

Al-Buraimi pays 200% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Istanbul vs $13.00 in Al-Buraimi. Groceries flip the comparison at $260 vs $262, with Istanbul cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇴🇲 Al-Buraimi

🕒 Local time

21:17 9:17 PM

22:17 10:17 PM

1 h ahead of Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

73,670

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 19, 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Al-Buraimi 3,100 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Al-Buraimi

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-Buraimi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-Buraimi is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 69% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 200% lower in Al-Buraimi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

A monthly transit pass in Al-Buraimi runs roughly 73% less than in Istanbul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,008 in Istanbul versus $260 in Al-Buraimi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $916 in Al-Buraimi versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Buraimi but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Buraimi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Buraimi 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.

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Al-Buraimi 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-Buraimi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.