Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Farnborough

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,337 in Farnborough, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
114

Cost of Living Index in Farnborough
Learn more

Farnborough Living Index

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Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Farnborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,337

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Farnborough

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,337 in Farnborough.

Istanbul $1,550
Farnborough $2,337

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,415 in Istanbul versus $3,581 in Farnborough.

Istanbul $2,415
Farnborough $3,581

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,281 in Istanbul versus $4,826 in Farnborough.

Istanbul $3,281
Farnborough $4,826

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 34% less than in Farnborough, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 15% above, Farnborough 73% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.30 ₺609

$19.86 £14.90

-38.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.7 ₺2,708

$86.1 £64.6

-36.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.22 ₺456

$9.21 £6.91

0.11%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$4.58 £3.44

-3.93%

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

$1.68 ₺83.1

$2.63 £1.98

-36.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.40

$2.02 £1.52

-70.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 ₺233

$7.15 £5.36

-34.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 ₺292

$6.48 £4.86

-8.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 ₺60.0

$1.43 £1.07

-15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.89 ₺44.10

$1.58 £1.18

-43.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 ₺108

$3.71 £2.78

-40.97%

Eggs

$2.35 ₺116

$3.32 £2.49

-29.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.42 ₺516

$8.65 £6.49

20.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 ₺280

$8.21 £6.16

-31.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.94 ₺1,037

$13.43 £10.07

55.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.90 ₺94.1

$1.69 £1.27

12.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.82 £1.37

26.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$2.96 £2.22

-56.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺89.0

$2.93 £2.20

-38.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ₺32.16

$1.59 £1.20

-59.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺31.91

$1.58 £1.19

-59.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ₺62.1

$1.01 £0.76

23.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.58

$0.59 £0.44

-5.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 ₺118

$22.40 £16.81

-89.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 ₺664

$11.11 £8.33

20.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₺119

$2.63 £1.97

-8.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ₺172

$2.13 £1.60

63.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 ₺43.84

$2.57 £1.92

-65.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₺64.1

$3.06 £2.29

-57.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ₺45.70

$1.53 £1.15

-39.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.96 ₺542

$11.87 £8.90

-7.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.9

$1.87 £1.40

-21.39%

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

$50.8K ₺2.5M

$36.9K £27.7K

37.63%

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

$44.5K ₺2.2M

$40.6K £30.4K

9.72%

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

$88.6 ₺4,387

$163 £122

-45.48%

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

$11.59 ₺574

$15.11 £11.34

-23.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.81 ₺783

$41.99 £31.50

-62.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.2 ₺3,820

$56.7 £42.55

36.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

$24.20 £18.15

-6.03%

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ₺403

$9.31 £6.98

-12.57%

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

$1,008 ₺49.9K

$1,250 £938

-19.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.6K ₺1.3M

$19.7K £14.8K

30.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.0 ₺2,671

$90.5 £67.9

-40.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.83 ₺2,021

$40.41 £30.31

1.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 ₺4,895

$101 £75.6

-1.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,783

$121 £90.9

-20.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$985 ₺48.7K

$1,623 £1,218

-39.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 ₺32.2K

$1,283 £963

-49.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 ₺98.2K

$2,483 £1,863

-20.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 ₺58.4K

$2,343 £1,758

-49.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,205 ₺59.7K

$4,033 £3,026

-70.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

5.16

693.02%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Farnborough: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$650 41.9%

Farnborough

$1.3K 54.9% 97.5% $633

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$260 16.8%

Farnborough

$270 11.6% 4% $10

Eating Out

Istanbul

$223 14.4%

Farnborough

$309 13.2% 38.3% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.4%

Farnborough

$159 6.8% 21.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$116 7.5%

Farnborough

$220 9.4% 89.3% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6%

Farnborough

$75 3.2% 19.4% $18

Getting Around

Istanbul

$77 5%

Farnborough

$21 * 0.9% 72.7% $56

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 $985 in Istanbul and $1,623 in Farnborough. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Farnborough pays 235% 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 $86.0 in Farnborough for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $260 vs $270 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇬🇧 Farnborough

🕒 Local time

03:07 3:07 AM

01:07 1:07 AM

2 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

60,652

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Farnborough 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Farnborough

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 Farnborough: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul and Farnborough differ by about 51% in total monthly costs ($1,550 vs $2,337 including rent). Istanbul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 235% lower in Farnborough. 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: $985 in Istanbul versus $1,623 in Farnborough. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,008 in Istanbul versus $1,250 in Farnborough. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Istanbul – a meal for two runs $55.0 versus $86.0 in Farnborough. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,550 in Istanbul versus $2,337 in Farnborough, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Istanbul but tight or insufficient in Farnborough. 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 Farnborough 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 51% less than in Farnborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.