Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Guildford

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $3,241 in Guildford, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 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
155

Cost of Living Index in Guildford
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Guildford Living Index

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Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Guildford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,241

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Guildford

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

A single person spends $1,526 per month in Istanbul vs $3,241 in Guildford, rent included.

Istanbul $1,526
Guildford $3,241

A couple spends around $2,399 per month in Istanbul vs $4,573 in Guildford, rent included.

Istanbul $2,399
Guildford $4,573

A family of three spends $3,272 per month in Istanbul vs $5,905 in Guildford, rent included.

Istanbul $3,272
Guildford $5,905

Istanbul is about 53% cheaper than Guildford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Istanbul and Guildford sit above the global median – Istanbul by 14%, Guildford by 142%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$29.66 £22.41

-59.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$93.1 £70.4

-40.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$11.06 £8.36

-17.36%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$5.08 £3.84

-16.54%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$2.75 £2.08

-36.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$1.53 £1.16

-64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$8.37 £6.33

-43.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$6.77 £5.11

-11.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.54 £1.17

-18.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.33 £1.01

-28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.89 £1.43

22.22%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$4.30 £3.25

-42.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$13.39 £10.12

-21.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$10.12 £7.65

-44.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$16.09 £12.16

31.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$3.50 £2.64

-44.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$2.01 £1.52

13.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$3.71 £2.80

-65.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$5.13 £3.88

-64.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$2.02 £1.53

-66.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.43 £1.08

-58.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$1.19 £0.90

11.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$1.41 £1.07

-58.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$23.48 £17.75

-89.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$12.07 £9.12

11.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$2.47 £1.87

-2.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$3.08 £2.33

14.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$2.95 £2.23

-71.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$100 £75.9

-33.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$4.75 £3.59

-71.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$2.00 £1.51

-57.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$39.95 £30.19

-72.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$2.02 £1.53

-27.23%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$37.5K £28.3K

37.69%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$40.7K £30.8K

9.16%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$398 £300

-77.56%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$20.68 £15.63

-43.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$45.33 £34.25

-64.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$51.4 £38.83

50.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$23.13 £17.48

-2.03%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$10.63 £8.03

-21.54%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$1,862 £1,407

-47.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$23.9K £18.0K

7.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$109 £82.2

-51.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$66.0 £49.85

-40.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$120 £90.5

-13.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$127 £96.1

-24.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$1,892 £1,430

-47.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$1,605 £1,213

-60.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$2,908 £2,198

-30.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$2,433 £1,838

-52.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$7,571 £5,721

-58.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$6,870 £5,191

-73.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$3,566 £2,695

-66.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

5.13

700.97%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Guildford: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Guildford

$1.6K 50.2% 155% $976

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Guildford

$336 10.5% 27.3% $72

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Guildford

$404 12.6% 85.3% $186

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Guildford

$190 5.9% 44.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Guildford

$464 14.5% 297% $347

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Guildford

$73 2.3% 22.7% $21

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Guildford

$127 4% 68.5% $52

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $994 in Istanbul versus $1,892 in Guildford. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 196% higher in Guildford, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Istanbul versus $93.0 in Guildford. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $264 vs $336 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇬🇧 Guildford

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

12:16 12:16 PM

2 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

66,773

💱 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 = 55.2 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 = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Guildford 2,520 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Guildford

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 Guildford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Guildford is pricier by about 112%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,289 per month in Istanbul and $4,861 in Guildford. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Guildford, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55.0 in Istanbul and $93.0 in Guildford. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,526, than in Guildford at $3,241. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Guildford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Istanbul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Guildford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.