Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and El Gouna

For one person, living is cheaper in El Gouna: $462 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in El Gouna
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El Gouna Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

El Gouna

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in El Gouna

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $462 in El Gouna, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
El Gouna $462

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $727 in El Gouna, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
El Gouna $727

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $991 in El Gouna, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
El Gouna $991

Istanbul costs about 229% more than El Gouna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while El Gouna is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$3.63 E£195

225.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$15.64 E£841

251.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$4.48 E£241

106.70%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.48 E£79.7

190.54%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.31 E£16.89

470.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.12 E£6.32

366.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.25 E£67.4

275.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$3.04 E£163

134.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$0.87 E£46.74

43.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.57 E£30.67

54.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$0.69 E£37.21

218.84%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.45 E£77.8

67.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$3.32 E£179

215.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$4.29 E£231

23.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$8.71 E£468

142.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.48 E£79.3

25.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$0.59 E£31.55

289.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$0.43 E£23.03

183.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.36 E£19.44

400.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.37 E£20.08

86.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.40 E£21.47

60.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.24 E£12.94

466.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.20 E£10.84

190.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$1.95 E£105

20.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$6.28 E£338

107.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.25 E£67.2

88.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.82 E£97.9

82.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.19 E£10.36

363.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.38 E£20.52

236.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.31 E£16.78

174.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$1.94 E£104

471.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$0.31 E£16.55

377.42%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$35.7K E£1.9M

36.31%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$33.4K E£1.8M

25.49%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$11.91 E£641

678.42%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$6.85 E£368

63.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$11.17 E£601

42.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$21.06 E£1,132

254.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$2.99 E£161

169.23%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$89.0 E£4,788

965.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$1,856 E£99.8K

1888.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$27.96 E£1,504

92.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$44.86 E£2,412

-7.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$107 E£5,729

-5.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$50.9 E£2,738

79.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$191 E£10.3K

430.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$102 E£5,460

515.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$278 E£15.0K

620.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$155 E£8,320

627.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$796 E£42.8K

275.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$332 E£17.9K

420.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

16.67

142.47%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for El Gouna: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

El Gouna

$102 22% 83.7% $523

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

El Gouna

$123 26.6% 52.5% $136

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

El Gouna

$74 16.1% 66.3% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

El Gouna

$104 22.4% 19.9% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

El Gouna

$30 6.5% 75% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

El Gouna

$27 5.9% 70.2% $64

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

El Gouna

$2.7 * 0.6% 96.4% $72

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,014 in Istanbul versus $191 in El Gouna. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $16 in El Gouna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $123 – making El Gouna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇪🇬 El Gouna

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

23:17 11:17 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

15,000

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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 = 56.05 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 53.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.09 EGP (100 EGP = 1.66 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul El Gouna 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
El Gouna

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 El Gouna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 229%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,278 per month in Istanbul and $693 in El Gouna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Gouna, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $191 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul and $16 in El Gouna. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 111% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in El Gouna, where all-in costs run around $462, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In El Gouna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Gouna – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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