Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Baerum

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $3,124 in Baerum, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
151

Cost of Living Index in Baerum
Learn more

Baerum Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Baerum

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,124

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Baerum

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

A single person spends $1,550 per month in Istanbul vs $3,124 in Baerum, rent included.

Istanbul $1,550
Baerum $3,124

A couple spends around $2,415 per month in Istanbul vs $4,846 in Baerum, rent included.

Istanbul $2,415
Baerum $4,846

A family of three spends $3,281 per month in Istanbul vs $6,568 in Baerum, rent included.

Istanbul $3,281
Baerum $6,568

Istanbul is about 50% cheaper than Baerum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Istanbul and Baerum sit above the global median – Istanbul by 15%, Baerum by 131%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.30 ₺609

$21.23 NOK 200

-42.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 ₺2,708

$127 NOK 1,192

-56.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 ₺456

$15.70 NOK 148

-41.27%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$6.06 NOK 57.1

-27.39%

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

$1.68 ₺83.1

$4.34 NOK 40.82

-61.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.40

$3.44 NOK 32.42

-82.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 ₺233

$11.46 NOK 108

-58.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 ₺292

$12.59 NOK 119

-53.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 ₺60.0

$2.42 NOK 22.74

-50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 ₺44.10

$3.62 NOK 34.04

-75.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 ₺108

$4.60 NOK 43.27

-52.39%

Eggs

$2.35 ₺116

$5.59 NOK 52.7

-57.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 ₺516

$10.29 NOK 96.9

1.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 ₺280

$15.50 NOK 146

-63.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.94 ₺1,037

$31.54 NOK 297

-33.61%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 ₺94.1

$2.59 NOK 24.37

-26.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$2.03 NOK 19.15

13.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$2.14 NOK 20.12

-40.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺89.0

$4.07 NOK 38.35

-55.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ₺32.16

$1.65 NOK 15.50

-60.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺31.91

$2.81 NOK 26.49

-77.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ₺62.1

$3.02 NOK 28.44

-58.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.58

$2.43 NOK 22.87

-76.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 ₺118

$19.05 NOK 179

-87.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 ₺664

$16.33 NOK 154

-17.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₺119

$3.41 NOK 32.06

-29.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ₺172

$4.13 NOK 38.85

-15.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 ₺43.84

$4.33 NOK 40.76

-79.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₺64.1

$11.97 NOK 113

-89.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ₺45.70

$1.88 NOK 17.72

-51.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 ₺542

$69.2 NOK 651

-84.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.9

$2.21 NOK 20.79

-33.48%

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

$50.8K ₺2.5M

$28.3K NOK 266.8K

79.21%

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

$44.5K ₺2.2M

$24.7K NOK 232.1K

80.59%

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

$88.6 ₺4,387

$335 NOK 3,149

-73.51%

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

$11.59 ₺574

$33.08 NOK 311

-64.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.81 ₺783

$52.5 NOK 495

-69.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.2 ₺3,820

$51.4 NOK 484

50.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ₺403

$15.97 NOK 150

-49.03%

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

$1,008 ₺49.9K

$233 NOK 2,194

332.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.6K ₺1.3M

$15.4K NOK 144.8K

66.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ₺2,671

$98.5 NOK 927

-45.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.83 ₺2,021

$58.6 NOK 551

-30.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 ₺4,895

$133 NOK 1,248

-25.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,783

$154 NOK 1,450

-37.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 ₺48.7K

$1,742 NOK 16.4K

-43.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 ₺32.2K

$1,511 NOK 14.2K

-56.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 ₺98.2K

$3,459 NOK 32.6K

-42.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 ₺58.4K

$2,913 NOK 27.4K

-59.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

$10.8K NOK 101.5K

-70.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

$9,916 NOK 93.3K

-82.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,205 ₺59.7K

$5,319 NOK 50.1K

-77.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

4.6

789.57%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Baerum: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$650 41.9%

Baerum

$1.5K 48.4% 133% $861

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$260 16.8%

Baerum

$468 15% 80.2% $208

Eating Out

Istanbul

$223 14.4%

Baerum

$403 12.9% 80.6% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.4%

Baerum

$200 6.4% 52.8% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$116 7.5%

Baerum

$420 13.5% 262% $304

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6%

Baerum

$83 2.7% 10.8% $10

Getting Around

Istanbul

$77 5%

Baerum

$39 * 1.2% 49.7% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $985 in Istanbul versus $1,742 in Baerum. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 341% higher in Baerum, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Istanbul versus $127 in Baerum. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $260 vs $468 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇳🇴 Baerum

🕒 Local time

18:40 6:40 PM

17:40 5:40 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

131,136

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.67 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Baerum 2,460 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Baerum

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 Baerum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Baerum is pricier by about 102%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,325 per month in Istanbul and $4,686 in Baerum. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,550 in Istanbul and $3,124 in Baerum. That's a gap of about 102%.

Kindergarten costs $1,008 per month in Istanbul and $233 in Baerum. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,550, than in Baerum at $3,124. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Baerum it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Istanbul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Istanbul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Baerum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.