Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Burgas

For one person, living is cheaper in Burgas: $1,243 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Burgas
Learn more

Burgas Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Burgas

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,243

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Burgas

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $1,243 in Burgas, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Burgas $1,243

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $1,846 in Burgas, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Burgas $1,846

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $2,449 in Burgas, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Burgas $2,449

Istanbul costs about 22% more than Burgas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Burgas is 8% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$13.26 BGN 23.07

-10.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$44.43 BGN 77.3

23.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$11.60 BGN 20.18

-20.17%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$3.45 BGN 6.00

24.64%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$1.05 BGN 1.82

68.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.72 BGN 1.26

-22.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.96 BGN 3.41

139.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$2.79 BGN 4.85

155.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$1.78 BGN 3.09

-29.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$1.02 BGN 1.77

-13.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$2.09 BGN 3.63

5.26%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$3.40 BGN 5.92

-28.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$10.21 BGN 17.77

2.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$8.82 BGN 15.34

-39.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$11.39 BGN 19.81

85.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$2.26 BGN 3.93

-17.70%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$2.07 BGN 3.60

11.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$2.07 BGN 3.60

-41.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$2.48 BGN 4.31

-27.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-58.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$1.49 BGN 2.59

-57.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.98 BGN 1.70

38.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.96 BGN 1.67

-39.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$3.62 BGN 6.29

-35.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$6.90 BGN 12.00

88.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$0.99 BGN 1.72

138.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.83 BGN 3.19

81.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.87 BGN 1.52

1.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

$34.46 BGN 60.0

91.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$1.73 BGN 3.01

-26.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.89 BGN 1.55

-4.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$14.16 BGN 24.64

-21.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$1.70 BGN 2.97

-12.94%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$30.3K BGN 52.8K

60.33%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$23.3K BGN 40.6K

80.05%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$103 BGN 179

-9.96%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$14.17 BGN 24.66

-20.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$12.02 BGN 20.92

32.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$36.55 BGN 63.6

104.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$14.56 BGN 25.34

57.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$8.72 BGN 15.17

-7.68%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$232 BGN 404

308.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$11.3K BGN 19.6K

226.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$58.5 BGN 102

-7.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$29.31 BGN 51.0

41.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$71.2 BGN 124

41.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$75.7 BGN 132

20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$583 BGN 1,014

73.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$456 BGN 794

36.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$800 BGN 1,393

150.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$632 BGN 1,100

78.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$2,492 BGN 4,335

19.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$1,900 BGN 3,306

-8.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$1,000 BGN 1,741

13.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

3.25

1143.69%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Burgas: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Burgas

$456 36.7% 26.9% $168

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Burgas

$249 20% 3.6% $9.3

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Burgas

$205 16.5% 7.3% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Burgas

$106 8.5% 18.4% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Burgas

$129 10.4% 7.8% $9.4

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Burgas

$54 4.3% 40.5% $37

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Burgas

$44 3.6% 41.3% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,014 in Istanbul versus $583 in Burgas. 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 14% higher in Istanbul, 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 in Istanbul versus $44 in Burgas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $249 – making Burgas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇧🇬 Burgas

🕒 Local time

21:30 9:30 PM

20:30 8:30 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

189,741

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.33 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Burgas 210 km

From you

Istanbul
Burgas

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 Burgas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,519 in Istanbul, $1,243 in Burgas – Burgas comes out roughly 18% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,278 per month in Istanbul and $1,864 in Burgas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Burgas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $583 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

Public transport costs about 48% less in Burgas. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $948 per month in Istanbul and $232 in Burgas. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,519 in Istanbul and $1,243 in Burgas, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Burgas has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,243 in Burgas to $1,519 in Istanbul. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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