Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Ebene

For one person, living is cheaper in Ebene: $690 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Ebene
Learn more

Ebene Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Ebene

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Ebene

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,525 in Istanbul versus $690 in Ebene.

Istanbul $1,525
Ebene $690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,390 in Istanbul versus $1,190 in Ebene.

Istanbul $2,390
Ebene $1,190

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,256 in Istanbul versus $1,690 in Ebene.

Istanbul $3,256
Ebene $1,690

Living in Istanbul is roughly 121% more expensive than in Ebene, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 13% above, Ebene is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$5.62 MUR 265

112.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$32.16 MUR 1,514

77.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$6.34 MUR 298

50.00%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$2.62 MUR 123

67.94%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$0.88 MUR 41.45

98.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$0.50 MUR 23.72

12.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$1.78 MUR 83.6

164.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$2.49 MUR 117

146.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$1.49 MUR 70.2

-16.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$0.72 MUR 33.68

31.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$1.10 MUR 51.9

107.27%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$2.21 MUR 104

10.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$8.37 MUR 394

26.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$6.35 MUR 299

-13.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$10.50 MUR 494

106.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$1.76 MUR 83.0

3.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.23 MUR 57.7

86.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$1.39 MUR 65.5

-7.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$2.53 MUR 119

-28.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$0.92 MUR 43.21

-28.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$0.98 MUR 46.29

-35.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$0.74 MUR 34.91

71.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$0.55 MUR 26.08

1.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$5.56 MUR 262

-57.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$8.21 MUR 387

58.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$1.63 MUR 76.8

52.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$2.59 MUR 122

35.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

$0.86 MUR 40.63

-4.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$4.23 MUR 199

-68.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$3.10 MUR 146

-70.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$21.46 MUR 1,010

-49.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$1.39 MUR 65.7

2.88%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$36.9K MUR 1.7M

34.38%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$30.9K MUR 1.5M

39.89%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$44.08 MUR 2,075

101.38%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$10.45 MUR 492

11.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$29.22 MUR 1,376

-44.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

$28.87 MUR 1,359

164.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

$6.50 MUR 306

249.54%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$5.94 MUR 280

39.06%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$129 MUR 6,053

689.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$7,679 MUR 361.5K

236.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$43.42 MUR 2,044

22.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$41.49 MUR 1,953

-2.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$48.24 MUR 2,271

107.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$46.55 MUR 2,191

100.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$256 MUR 12.0K

282.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$144 MUR 6,803

333.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$575 MUR 27.1K

244.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$423 MUR 19.9K

171.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

$1,174 MUR 55.3K

3.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

6.67

510.04%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ebene: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Ebene

$144 20.9% 77% $482

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Ebene

$202 29.3% 23% $60

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Ebene

$115 16.6% 48.3% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Ebene

$81 11.7% 37.5% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Ebene

$84 12.1% 28.2% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Ebene

$41 5.9% 56.1% $52

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Ebene

$23 * 3.4% 68.8% $51

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 $256 in Ebene. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 3% 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 $32.00 in Ebene for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $202 per month, with Ebene cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇲🇺 Ebene

🕒 Local time

20:39 8:39 PM

21:39 9:39 PM

1 h ahead of Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

1,001

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, 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).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Ebene 7,420 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Ebene

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 Ebene: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ebene is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 121% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3% 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 $256 in Ebene. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,015 in Istanbul versus $129 in Ebene. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ebene – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $57.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $690 in Ebene versus $1,525 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ebene but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Ebene the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Ebene 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 Ebene gentler on the wallet – expenses run 121% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.