Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Giza

For one person, living is cheaper in Giza: $457 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 Giza
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Giza Living Index

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Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Giza

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Giza

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,519 in Istanbul versus $457 in Giza.

Istanbul $1,519
Giza $457

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,365 in Istanbul versus $739 in Giza.

Istanbul $2,365
Giza $739

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,212 in Istanbul versus $1,021 in Giza.

Istanbul $3,212
Giza $1,021

Living in Istanbul is roughly 232% more expensive than in Giza, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 12% above, Giza is 66% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$4.40 E£237

168.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$17.13 E£923

220.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$4.48 E£241

106.70%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.26 E£68.0

241.27%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.32 E£17.00

453.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.12 E£6.51

366.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.39 E£74.6

237.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$2.63 E£142

170.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$0.84 E£45.20

48.81%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.70 E£37.73

25.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$0.61 E£32.87

260.66%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.09 E£58.5

122.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$3.83 E£206

173.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$4.01 E£216

32.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$8.45 E£455

149.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.64 E£88.1

13.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$0.68 E£36.75

238.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$0.49 E£26.63

148.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.29 E£15.42

520.69%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.31 E£16.76

122.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.39 E£21.01

64.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.23 E£12.33

491.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.21 E£11.48

176.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$1.93 E£104

21.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$4.59 E£247

183.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.13 E£61.0

108.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.89 E£102

75.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.32 E£17.21

175.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

$7.74 E£417

754.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.34 E£18.49

276.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.39 E£21.12

117.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$0.56 E£29.93

1880.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$0.44 E£23.83

236.36%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$32.9K E£1.8M

48.01%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$25.1K E£1.4M

67.04%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$14.54 E£783

537.62%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$7.34 E£395

52.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$14.55 E£784

9.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$23.39 E£1,260

219.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$6.21 E£334

269.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$3.96 E£213

103.28%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$96.2 E£5,182

885.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$2,255 E£121.4K

1537.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$32.14 E£1,731

67.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$49.12 E£2,645

-15.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$110 E£5,925

-8.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$57.5 E£3,097

58.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$125 E£6,726

711.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$69.7 E£3,754

795.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$255 E£13.7K

687.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$118 E£6,378

850.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$596 E£32.1K

401.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$273 E£14.7K

534.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$137 E£7,365

730.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

15.93

153.74%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Giza: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Giza

$70 15.3% 88.8% $555

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Giza

$119 26% 54.1% $140

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Giza

$78 17% 64.8% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Giza

$112 24.5% 13.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Giza

$36 8% 69.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Giza

$31 6.9% 65.5% $59

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Giza

$11 2.5% 84.9% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,014 in Istanbul and $125 in Giza. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays about 8.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $55 in Istanbul vs $17 in Giza for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $119 per month, with Giza cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇪🇬 Giza

🕒 Local time

15:23 3:23 PM

14:23 2:23 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

2,681,863

💱 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 = 1.65 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 = 56.33 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 53.85 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.48 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Giza 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Giza

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 Giza: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Giza is about 70% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Istanbul is about 8.3 times higher, 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: $1,014 in Istanbul versus $125 in Giza. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Giza runs roughly 88% less than in Istanbul. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $948 in Istanbul versus $96 in Giza. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $457 in Giza versus $1,519 in Istanbul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Giza but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Giza the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Giza 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 Giza are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Giza gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.