Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Bhutan

Name: Bhutan
Address: BT

For one person, living is cheaper in Bhutan: $507 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Bhutan
Learn more

Bhutan Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

🇧🇹 Bhutan

$507

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Istanbul is 111.7% more expensive than Bhutan without rent, and 201.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Istanbul is 127.6% more expensive than Bhutan without rent, and 208% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$2.64 BTN 256

350.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$14.28 BTN 1,384

285.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$4.83 BTN 468

89.23%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$1.32 BTN 128

221.21%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$0.48 BTN 46.66

264.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$0.16 BTN 15.47

237.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$2.56 BTN 248

83.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$1.59 BTN 154

275.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$0.77 BTN 75.0

63.64%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$0.78 BTN 75.6

21.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.01 BTN 97.5

128.71%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$1.59 BTN 154

55.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$3.32 BTN 321

217.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$3.66 BTN 355

53.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$3.78 BTN 366

461.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$2.43 BTN 236

-20.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.57 BTN 152

45.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$1.60 BTN 155

-20.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$0.90 BTN 87.6

104.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$0.59 BTN 56.9

13.56%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$0.66 BTN 64.1

-10.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$0.68 BTN 65.5

95.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$0.32 BTN 31.33

84.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$3.81 BTN 369

-38.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$2.90 BTN 281

364.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$0.78 BTN 75.9

210.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$1.10 BTN 106

221.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$0.79 BTN 76.6

5.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$5.14 BTN 498

1192.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$0.77 BTN 74.1

75.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$1.58 BTN 153

-46.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$0.15 BTN 14.39

7140.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$0.76 BTN 73.8

93.42%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$16.9K BTN 1.6M

205.35%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$14.9K BTN 1.4M

197.42%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$33.53 BTN 3,248

166.09%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$35.48 BTN 3,438

-67.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$23.84 BTN 2,310

-32.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$47.09 BTN 4,562

64.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$5.86 BTN 568

286.69%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$3.03 BTN 294

175.25%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$44.58 BTN 4,319

2084.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$565 BTN 54.8K

4460.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$35.64 BTN 3,453

47.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$17.93 BTN 1,737

118.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$55.5 BTN 5,373

86.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$25.57 BTN 2,477

277.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$121 BTN 11.7K

722.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$84.7 BTN 8,207

642.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$176 BTN 17.0K

1052.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$148 BTN 14.3K

682.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$5,522 BTN 534.9K

-42.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$1,650 BTN 159.8K

11.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$313 BTN 30.3K

284.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bhutan: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Bhutan

$85 17% 86.5% $545

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Bhutan

$120 24% 54.7% $144

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Bhutan

$70 14.1% 67.9% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Bhutan

$61 12.2% 53.9% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Bhutan

$93 18.7% 20.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Bhutan

$53 10.7% 43.4% $41

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Bhutan

$17 3.4% 77.5% $58

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇧🇹 Bhutan

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

17:22 5:22 PM

3 h ahead of Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

787,424

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Bhutanese Ngultrum BTN Nu.

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

1,000 BTN = 10.32 USD

1,000 BTN = 9.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BTN, 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).

Bhutanese Ngultrum exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.88 BTN (100 BTN = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 BTN (1,000 BTN = 9.21 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Bhutan 5,660 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Bhutan

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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