Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Durham

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,073 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
Learn more

Durham Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Durham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,073 in Durham.

Istanbul $1,526
Durham $2,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,399 in Istanbul versus $3,286 in Durham.

Istanbul $2,399
Durham $3,286

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,272 in Istanbul versus $4,498 in Durham.

Istanbul $3,272
Durham $4,498

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 26% less than in Durham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 14% above, Durham 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$19.57 £14.79

-39.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$93.4 £70.6

-41.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$11.40 £8.61

-19.82%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$4.56 £3.44

-7.02%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$2.54 £1.92

-31.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$2.04 £1.54

-73.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$6.08 £4.59

-22.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$5.33 £4.03

12.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.95 £1.47

-35.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.54 £1.17

-38.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$3.03 £2.29

-23.76%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$4.37 £3.30

-43.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$10.02 £7.57

5.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$8.86 £6.69

-36.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$21.35 £16.13

-0.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$2.93 £2.21

-34.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$2.53 £1.91

-9.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$2.75 £2.08

-53.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$5.08 £3.84

-63.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$1.56 £1.18

-57.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.70 £1.29

-65.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$1.06 £0.80

25.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$1.88 £1.42

-68.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$23.61 £17.84

-90.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$10.64 £8.04

26.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$3.31 £2.50

-26.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$3.15 £2.38

12.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$3.23 £2.44

-74.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$86.9 £65.7

-23.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$6.39 £4.83

-78.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$1.93 £1.46

-55.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$23.68 £17.89

-54.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$1.88 £1.42

-21.81%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$37.8K £28.6K

36.41%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$41.1K £31.1K

8.13%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$265 £200

-66.27%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$15.21 £11.49

-23.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$42.95 £32.45

-62.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$46.78 £35.35

65.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$12.51 £9.45

-33.33%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$1,300 £982

-25.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$25.2K £19.1K

2.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$106 £80.3

-50.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$71.4 £53.9

-45.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$114 £86.1

-9.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$97.2 £73.5

-0.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$1,539 £1,163

-35.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$743 £562

-15.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$2,661 £2,011

-23.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$1,565 £1,183

-26.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$5,034 £3,804

-37.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$3,862 £2,919

-52.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$2,064 £1,559

-41.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

5.18

693.24%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Durham: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Durham

$743 35.7% 18.1% $114

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Durham

$348 16.7% 31.9% $84

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Durham

$305 14.6% 39.9% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Durham

$175 8.4% 33.3% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Durham

$323 15.5% 176% $206

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Durham

$72 3.5% 23.6% $22

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Durham

$116 5.6% 53.8% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $994 in Istanbul and $1,539 in Durham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durham pays 71% 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: $55.0 in Istanbul vs $93.0 in Durham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $348 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇬🇧 Durham

🕒 Local time

09:46 9:46 AM

07:46 7:46 AM

2 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

42,100

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, 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 = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Durham 2,710 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Durham

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 Durham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul and Durham differ by about 36% in total monthly costs ($1,526 vs $2,073 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Durham. 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 $1,539 in Durham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,526 per month in Istanbul versus $2,073 in Durham – a 36% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Istanbul runs roughly 31% less than in Durham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,526 in Istanbul versus $2,073 in Durham, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Durham. The gap between the two cities makes Istanbul 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 Durham 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 36% less than in Durham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.