Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Braganca

For one person, living is cheaper in Braganca: $1,024 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Braganca
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Braganca Living Index

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Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Braganca

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,024

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Braganca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,525 in Istanbul versus $1,024 in Braganca.

Istanbul $1,525
Braganca $1,024

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,390 in Istanbul versus $1,542 in Braganca.

Istanbul $2,390
Braganca $1,542

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,256 in Istanbul versus $2,059 in Braganca.

Istanbul $3,256
Braganca $2,059

Living in Istanbul is roughly 49% more expensive than in Braganca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 13% above, Braganca is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$11.37 €10.12

5.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$40.02 €35.60

43.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$9.14 €8.13

4.05%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$1.50 €1.34

193.33%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$1.36 €1.21

28.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$1.09 €0.97

-48.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$1.09 €0.97

332.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$2.26 €2.01

171.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$1.10 €0.98

12.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$1.81 €1.61

-47.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$1.52 €1.35

50.00%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$3.33 €2.96

-26.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$9.61 €8.55

9.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$6.70 €5.96

-17.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$12.16 €10.82

78.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$2.27 €2.02

-19.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.35 €1.20

69.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$1.78 €1.59

-28.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$2.78 €2.47

-34.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$1.98 €1.77

-66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$1.92 €1.70

-67.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$1.22 €1.08

4.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$0.95 €0.85

-41.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$5.96 €5.30

-60.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$4.43 €3.94

193.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$1.25 €1.11

98.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$1.61 €1.43

117.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

$11.14 €9.91

485.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$3.79 €3.37

-64.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$1.13 €1.01

-20.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$16.30 €14.49

-33.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$2.10 €1.87

-31.90%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$33.3K €29.6K

48.90%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$38.5K €34.2K

12.24%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$109 €96.7

-18.35%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$16.93 €15.06

-30.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$36.03 €32.05

-55.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

$33.37 €29.68

128.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

$5.45 €4.85

316.88%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$5.63 €5.01

46.71%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$333 €297

204.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$9,946 €8,847

159.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$22.45 €19.97

137.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$22.16 €19.71

82.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$66.3 €59.0

50.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$98.1 €87.3

-4.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$406 €361

140.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$315 €280

99.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$733 €652

169.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$467 €415

145.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

$1,062 €945

191.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

$849 €755

110.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

$1,190 €1,058

1.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

3.55

1046.20%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Braganca: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Braganca

$315 30.8% 49.8% $312

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Braganca

$232 22.7% 11.6% $30

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Braganca

$156 15.3% 29.6% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Braganca

$94 9.2% 27.3% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Braganca

$162 15.8% 38.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Braganca

$45 4.4% 51.9% $48

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Braganca

$21 * 2% 72.3% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $977 in Istanbul and $406 in Braganca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 2% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $57.0 in Istanbul vs $40.00 in Braganca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $232 per month, with Braganca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇵🇹 Braganca

🕒 Local time

05:28 5:28 AM

03:28 3:28 AM

2 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

34,589

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Braganca 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Braganca

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 Braganca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul and Braganca differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($1,525 vs $1,024 including rent). Braganca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2% higher in Istanbul, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $977 in Istanbul versus $406 in Braganca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Braganca runs roughly 485% less than in Istanbul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,015 in Istanbul versus $333 in Braganca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,024 in Braganca versus $1,525 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Braganca but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Braganca 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 Braganca 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 Braganca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.