Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Bedford

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $2,083 in Bedford, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
102

Cost of Living Index in Bedford
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Bedford Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Bedford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,083

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Bedford

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

A single person spends $1,525 per month in Istanbul vs $2,083 in Bedford, rent included.

Istanbul $1,525
Bedford $2,083

A couple spends around $2,390 per month in Istanbul vs $3,275 in Bedford, rent included.

Istanbul $2,390
Bedford $3,275

A family of three spends $3,256 per month in Istanbul vs $4,467 in Bedford, rent included.

Istanbul $3,256
Bedford $4,467

Istanbul is about 27% cheaper than Bedford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Istanbul and Bedford sit above the global median – Istanbul by 13%, Bedford by 54%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$19.82 £14.87

-39.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$85.9 £64.5

-33.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$10.70 £8.03

-11.12%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$4.43 £3.33

-0.68%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$2.04 £1.53

-14.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$1.17 £0.88

-52.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$6.69 £5.02

-29.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$6.02 £4.52

1.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$1.65 £1.24

-24.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$1.46 £1.09

-34.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$1.69 £1.27

34.91%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$3.79 £2.85

-35.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$9.55 £7.16

10.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$8.58 £6.44

-35.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$12.91 £9.69

67.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$3.23 £2.43

-43.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.33 £1.00

72.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$2.50 £1.88

-48.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$3.08 £2.31

-40.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$1.31 £0.98

-49.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$1.28 £0.96

-50.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$1.08 £0.81

17.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$1.30 £0.98

-56.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$23.45 £17.59

-89.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$10.48 £7.87

23.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$2.59 £1.94

-4.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$2.48 £1.86

41.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

$2.60 £1.95

-68.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$4.98 £3.74

-73.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$1.44 £1.08

-37.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$24.38 £18.29

-55.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$1.94 £1.46

-26.29%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$38.2K £28.6K

29.86%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$40.5K £30.4K

6.56%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$311 £233

-71.43%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$17.86 £13.40

-34.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$39.28 £29.47

-59.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

$36.71 £27.54

107.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$15.75 £11.82

-47.56%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$915 £687

10.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$21.2K £15.9K

22.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$24.22 £18.17

119.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$25.45 £19.09

59.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$80.9 £60.7

23.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$85.0 £63.8

10.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$1,148 £862

-14.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$947 £710

-33.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$2,440 £1,831

-18.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$1,996 £1,497

-42.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

$3,289 £2,467

-63.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

4.67

771.31%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bedford: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Bedford

$947 45.5% 51% $320

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Bedford

$278 13.4% 5.9% $16

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Bedford

$302 14.5% 36.1% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Bedford

$97 4.7% 25% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Bedford

$368 17.7% 216% $251

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Bedford

$68 3.3% 26.5% $25

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Bedford

$23 * 1.1% 69.6% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $977 in Istanbul versus $1,148 in Bedford. 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 171% higher in Bedford, 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 $57.0 in Istanbul versus $86.0 in Bedford. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $263 vs $278 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇬🇧 Bedford

🕒 Local time

13:46 1:46 PM

11:46 11:46 AM

2 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

80,000

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Bedford 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Bedford

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 Bedford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bedford costs about 37% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,287 per month in Istanbul and $3,124 in Bedford. 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 $1,525 in Istanbul and $2,083 in Bedford. That's a gap of about 37%.

Kindergarten costs $1,015 per month in Istanbul and $915 in Bedford. 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 $1,525, than in Bedford at $2,083. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bedford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Istanbul costs $1,525 versus $2,083 in Bedford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Bedford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.