Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Harish

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,519 a month against $2,928 in Harish, rent and utilities included – about $16,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in Harish
Learn more

Harish Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Harish

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,928

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Harish

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,519 in Istanbul versus $2,928 in Harish.

Istanbul $1,519
Harish $2,928

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,365 in Istanbul versus $4,339 in Harish.

Istanbul $2,365
Harish $4,339

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,212 in Istanbul versus $5,751 in Harish.

Istanbul $3,212
Harish $5,751

Living in Istanbul costs roughly 48% less than in Harish, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Istanbul 12% above, Harish 117% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$25.47 ₪81.7

-53.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$90.0 ₪288

-38.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$20.63 ₪66.1

-55.11%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$4.59 ₪14.72

-6.32%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$3.96 ₪12.68

-55.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$2.74 ₪8.79

-79.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$9.71 ₪31.12

-51.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$10.02 ₪32.12

-28.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$2.67 ₪8.57

-53.18%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$5.69 ₪18.23

-84.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$3.29 ₪10.54

-33.13%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$4.55 ₪14.59

-46.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$12.79 ₪40.98

-18.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$18.73 ₪60.0

-71.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$26.31 ₪84.3

-19.80%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$6.64 ₪21.28

-71.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$3.15 ₪10.09

-26.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$2.96 ₪9.47

-58.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$3.19 ₪10.24

-43.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$2.07 ₪6.64

-66.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$1.68 ₪5.40

-61.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$2.32 ₪7.44

-41.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$2.54 ₪8.14

-77.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$10.01 ₪32.07

-76.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$13.11 ₪42.03

-0.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$4.74 ₪15.20

-50.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$4.11 ₪13.18

-19.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$2.58 ₪8.26

-65.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

$104 ₪333

-36.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$8.03 ₪25.73

-84.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$1.28 ₪4.11

-33.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$28.28 ₪90.6

-60.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$2.61 ₪8.38

-43.30%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$54.8K ₪175.7K

-11.30%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$54.3K ₪174.2K

-22.75%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$338 ₪1,084

-72.58%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$12.23 ₪39.20

-8.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$48.59 ₪156

-67.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$77.3 ₪248

-3.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$15.94 ₪51.1

-49.50%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$1,618 ₪5,186

-41.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$28.5K ₪91.4K

29.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$104 ₪335

-48.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$65.0 ₪208

-36.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$175 ₪560

-42.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$158 ₪506

-42.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$1,546 ₪4,955

-34.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$1,135 ₪3,639

-44.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$2,420 ₪7,756

-17.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$1,896 ₪6,076

-40.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$10.1K ₪32.3K

-70.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$7,823 ₪25.1K

-77.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

3.5

1054.86%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Harish: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Harish

$1.1K 38.8% 81.8% $511

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Harish

$513 17.5% 98.7% $255

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Harish

$416 14.2% 88.4% $195

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Harish

$226 7.7% 74.6% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Harish

$399 13.6% 233% $279

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Harish

$109 3.7% 20.3% $18

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Harish

$129 4.4% 71.3% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,014 in Istanbul and $1,546 in Harish. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $55 in Istanbul vs $90 in Harish for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $513 per month, with Istanbul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇮🇱 Harish

🕒 Local time

12:33 12:33 PM

11:33 11:33 AM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

7,569

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 ILS = 0.312 USD

1 ILS = 0.278 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, 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).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.21 ILS (1 ILS = 0.312 USD). 1 EUR = 3.6 ILS (1 ILS = 0.278 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Harish 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Harish

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 Harish: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,278 in Istanbul and $4,391 in Harish to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,014 in Istanbul versus $1,546 in Harish. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Istanbul runs roughly 36% less than in Harish. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $948 in Istanbul versus $1,618 in Harish. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,500. Istanbul is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

Safety-wise, Istanbul and Harish are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Istanbul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Harish. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.