Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Bydgoszcz

For one person, living is cheaper in Bydgoszcz: $1,425 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Istanbul despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Bydgoszcz
Learn more

Bydgoszcz Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Bydgoszcz

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,425

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Bydgoszcz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,526 in Istanbul versus $1,425 in Bydgoszcz.

Istanbul $1,526
Bydgoszcz $1,425

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,399 in Istanbul versus $2,191 in Bydgoszcz.

Istanbul $2,399
Bydgoszcz $2,191

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,272 in Istanbul versus $2,957 in Bydgoszcz.

Istanbul $3,272
Bydgoszcz $2,957

Living in Istanbul is roughly 7% more expensive than in Bydgoszcz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 14% above, Bydgoszcz 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$12.08 zł 47.23

-1.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$63.6 zł 249

-13.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$7.91 zł 30.90

15.55%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$3.40 zł 13.28

24.71%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$2.09 zł 8.17

-16.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$1.70 zł 6.63

-68.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$3.86 zł 15.09

21.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$3.63 zł 14.20

64.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.01 zł 3.93

24.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.60 zł 6.26

-40.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$0.97 zł 3.80

138.14%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$3.86 zł 15.09

-36.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$8.86 zł 34.64

19.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$6.91 zł 27.01

-18.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$11.85 zł 46.31

78.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$1.32 zł 5.16

46.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.69 zł 6.61

35.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$1.62 zł 6.34

-20.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$3.11 zł 12.14

-40.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$0.94 zł 3.69

-28.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.32 zł 5.16

-55.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$1.11 zł 4.34

19.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$0.65 zł 2.55

-9.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$5.50 zł 21.49

-57.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$8.50 zł 33.23

58.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$1.02 zł 3.99

137.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$1.37 zł 5.36

158.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$0.93 zł 3.63

-10.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$27.65 zł 108

140.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$2.17 zł 8.47

-37.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$0.79 zł 3.09

7.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$9.86 zł 38.56

10.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$1.63 zł 6.37

-9.82%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$30.7K zł 120.1K

67.96%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$27.6K zł 107.7K

61.33%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$256 zł 1,000

-65.14%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$8.04 zł 31.43

44.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$18.28 zł 71.4

-11.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$38.62 zł 151

100.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$16.71 zł 65.3

35.61%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$7.53 zł 29.45

10.76%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$321 zł 1,253

203.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$5,166 zł 20.2K

398.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$83.2 zł 325

-36.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$37.10 zł 145

5.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$87.6 zł 342

17.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$99.8 zł 390

-3.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$680 zł 2,659

46.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$503 zł 1,967

25.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$1,110 zł 4,340

82.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$882 zł 3,448

30.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$2,908 zł 11.4K

8.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$2,134 zł 8,341

-13.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$1,523 zł 5,951

-20.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

6.89

496.37%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bydgoszcz: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Bydgoszcz

$503 34.9% 20% $126

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Bydgoszcz

$223 15.5% 15.4% $41

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Bydgoszcz

$203 14.1% 6.9% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Bydgoszcz

$138 9.6% 5.5% $7.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Bydgoszcz

$282 19.6% 141% $165

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Bydgoszcz

$54 3.7% 42.8% $40

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Bydgoszcz

$37 2.6% 50.3% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $994 in Istanbul and $680 in Bydgoszcz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bydgoszcz pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Istanbul vs $64.0 in Bydgoszcz. Groceries flip the comparison at $264 vs $223, with Bydgoszcz cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇵🇱 Bydgoszcz

🕒 Local time

13:47 1:47 PM

12:47 12:47 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

359,428

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

1 PLN = 0.256 USD

1 PLN = 0.228 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.91 PLN (1 PLN = 0.256 USD). 1 EUR = 4.38 PLN (1 PLN = 0.228 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Bydgoszcz 1,580 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Bydgoszcz

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 Bydgoszcz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bydgoszcz wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Istanbul. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bydgoszcz the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Bydgoszcz. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $994 in Istanbul versus $680 in Bydgoszcz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $974 in Istanbul versus $321 in Bydgoszcz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,425 in Bydgoszcz versus $1,526 in Istanbul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bydgoszcz but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Bydgoszcz the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bydgoszcz delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,425 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bydgoszcz hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Bydgoszcz 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 Bydgoszcz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.