Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Herceg Novi

For one person, living is cheaper in Herceg Novi: $1,237 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Herceg Novi
Learn more

Herceg Novi Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Herceg Novi

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,237

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Herceg Novi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,526 in Istanbul versus $1,237 in Herceg Novi.

Istanbul $1,526
Herceg Novi $1,237

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,399 in Istanbul versus $1,973 in Herceg Novi.

Istanbul $2,399
Herceg Novi $1,973

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,272 in Istanbul versus $2,710 in Herceg Novi.

Istanbul $3,272
Herceg Novi $2,710

Living in Istanbul is roughly 23% more expensive than in Herceg Novi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Istanbul is 14% above, Herceg Novi is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$11.23 €10.02

5.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$36.34 €32.43

51.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$9.19 €8.20

-0.54%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$2.59 €2.31

63.71%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$2.47 €2.20

-29.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$1.64 €1.46

-67.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$2.82 €2.52

66.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$3.39 €3.02

76.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.16 €1.04

8.62%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.02 €0.91

-6.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$2.82 €2.52

-18.09%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$3.03 €2.70

-18.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$8.94 €7.98

18.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$7.27 €6.48

-22.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$12.81 €11.43

65.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$1.34 €1.20

44.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.55 €1.38

47.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$1.58 €1.41

-18.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$3.02 €2.70

-39.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$0.89 €0.80

-24.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.30 €1.16

-54.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$1.52 €1.36

-12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$0.93 €0.83

-36.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$3.98 €3.55

-40.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$4.43 €3.96

204.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$1.24 €1.11

95.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$1.72 €1.54

105.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$1.69 €1.51

-50.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$45.08 €40.23

47.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$2.91 €2.60

-53.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$1.09 €0.97

-22.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$16.59 €14.81

-34.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$1.72 €1.53

-14.53%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$33.0K €29.5K

56.23%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$20.9K €18.7K

112.35%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$131 €117

-32.15%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$12.86 €11.48

-9.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$33.38 €29.79

-51.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$55.7 €49.71

38.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$11.00 €9.81

106.00%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$8.00 €7.14

4.25%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$443 €395

119.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$7,028 €6,272

266.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$82.5 €73.7

-36.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$33.95 €30.30

15.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$73.9 €65.9

39.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$94.6 €84.4

2.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$657 €587

51.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$395 €353

59.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$1,232 €1,100

64.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$886 €791

30.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$3,642 €3,250

-13.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$2,415 €2,155

-23.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$1,037 €926

16.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

721.80%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Herceg Novi: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

Herceg Novi

$395 31.8% 37.2% $234

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

Herceg Novi

$225 18.1% 14.6% $39

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

Herceg Novi

$186 14.9% 14.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

Herceg Novi

$128 10.3% 2.3% $3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

Herceg Novi

$178 14.3% 52% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

Herceg Novi

$72 5.8% 23.7% $22

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

Herceg Novi

$60 4.8% 20.1% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $994 in Istanbul and $657 in Herceg Novi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 16% 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 $36.00 in Herceg Novi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $225 per month, with Herceg Novi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇲🇪 Herceg Novi

🕒 Local time

10:51 10:51 AM

09:51 9:51 AM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

11,059

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Herceg Novi 880 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Herceg Novi

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 Herceg Novi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Istanbul and Herceg Novi differ by about 23% in total monthly costs ($1,526 vs $1,237 including rent). Herceg Novi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 16% higher in Istanbul, 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: $994 in Istanbul versus $657 in Herceg Novi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Herceg Novi – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $55.0 in Istanbul. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,237 in Herceg Novi versus $1,526 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Herceg Novi but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Herceg Novi 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 Herceg Novi 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 Herceg Novi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 23% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.