Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Cham

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $3,527 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $24,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
171

Cost of Living Index in Cham
Learn more

Cham Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Cham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,525 in Istanbul versus $3,527 in Cham.

Istanbul $1,525
Cham $3,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,390 in Istanbul versus $5,432 in Cham.

Istanbul $2,390
Cham $5,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,256 in Istanbul versus $7,337 in Cham.

Istanbul $3,256
Cham $7,337

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 57% less than in Cham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 13% above, Cham 160% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$30.40 CHF 25.04

-60.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$122 CHF 101

-53.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$18.19 CHF 14.98

-47.72%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$6.17 CHF 5.09

-28.69%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$5.52 CHF 4.55

-68.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$4.81 CHF 3.96

-88.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$8.62 CHF 7.10

-45.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$6.60 CHF 5.44

-6.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$2.14 CHF 1.76

-42.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$3.80 CHF 3.13

-75.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$3.86 CHF 3.18

-40.93%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$7.26 CHF 5.98

-66.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$26.70 CHF 21.99

-60.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$28.37 CHF 23.37

-80.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$42.48 CHF 34.98

-49.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$4.22 CHF 3.48

-56.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$2.12 CHF 1.75

8.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$3.28 CHF 2.70

-60.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$4.59 CHF 3.78

-60.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$2.42 CHF 1.99

-72.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$2.16 CHF 1.78

-70.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$2.46 CHF 2.03

-48.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$1.16 CHF 0.95

-51.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$10.98 CHF 9.05

-78.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$12.73 CHF 10.48

1.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$2.78 CHF 2.29

-10.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$3.14 CHF 2.59

11.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

$4.95 CHF 4.08

-83.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

$149 CHF 122

-56.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$5.29 CHF 4.36

-74.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$3.40 CHF 2.80

-73.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$61.7 CHF 50.8

-82.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$2.32 CHF 1.91

-38.36%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$39.0K CHF 32.1K

27.00%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$39.1K CHF 32.2K

10.58%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$279 CHF 230

-68.18%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$30.94 CHF 25.48

-62.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$55.9 CHF 46.04

-71.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

$90.5 CHF 74.5

-15.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

$49.67 CHF 40.90

-54.26%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$25.71 CHF 21.18

-67.87%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$1,791 CHF 1,475

-43.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$32.2K CHF 26.5K

-19.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$143 CHF 118

-62.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$58.7 CHF 48.31

-30.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$168 CHF 138

-40.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$253 CHF 208

-62.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$1,739 CHF 1,432

-43.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$1,475 CHF 1,214

-57.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$2,977 CHF 2,452

-33.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$2,600 CHF 2,142

-55.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

$16.9K CHF 13.9K

-81.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

$13.3K CHF 10.9K

-86.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

2.07

1865.70%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cham: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Cham

$1.5K 41.8% 135% $848

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Cham

$604 17.1% 130% $341

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Cham

$470 13.3% 111% $247

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Cham

$280 7.9% 117% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Cham

$366 10.4% 214% $249

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Cham

$142 4% 53% $49

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Cham

$191 5.4% 157% $116

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $977 in Istanbul and $1,739 in Cham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $57.0 in Istanbul vs $122 in Cham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $604 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇨🇭 Cham

🕒 Local time

21:25 9:25 PM

20:25 8:25 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

17,060

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Cham 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Cham

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 Cham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 131% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,287 in Istanbul and $5,290 in Cham to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $977 in Istanbul versus $1,739 in Cham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,015 in Istanbul versus $1,791 in Cham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 130% higher in Cham. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,525 in Istanbul versus $3,527 in Cham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Cham. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Istanbul is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cham, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Cham 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 Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Cham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.