Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Hurghada

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $450 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
Learn more

Hurghada Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Hurghada

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $450 in Hurghada, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Hurghada $450

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $941 in Hurghada, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Hurghada $941

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $1,433 in Hurghada, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Hurghada $1,433

Istanbul costs about 237% more than Hurghada, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Hurghada is 67% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$3.73 E£200

216.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$38.58 E£2,075

42.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$5.49 E£295

68.67%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.93 E£104

122.80%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.47 E£25.01

276.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.17 E£9.30

229.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.78 E£95.9

163.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$3.07 E£165

131.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$0.95 E£51.3

31.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.75 E£40.09

17.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$0.61 E£33.07

260.66%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.81 E£97.4

34.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$3.17 E£170

230.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$5.66 E£304

-6.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$9.01 E£485

134.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.36 E£73.2

36.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$0.51 E£27.26

350.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$0.42 E£22.45

190.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.41 E£22.18

339.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.33 E£17.79

109.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.37 E£20.00

72.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.26 E£13.79

423.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.16 E£8.39

262.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$2.03 E£109

15.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$7.36 E£396

77.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.22 E£65.8

93.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.70 E£91.4

95.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.10 E£5.21

780.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

$5.36 E£288

1133.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.87 E£46.93

47.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.20 E£10.54

325.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$1.83 E£98.4

506.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$0.41 E£21.82

260.98%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$30.9K E£1.7M

57.18%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$22.6K E£1.2M

85.37%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$24.88 E£1,338

272.63%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$7.79 E£419

43.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$8.94 E£481

77.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$26.09 E£1,403

186.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$5.89 E£317

289.64%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$3.32 E£178

142.47%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$99.0 E£5,322

858.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$599 E£32.2K

6065.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$19.13 E£1,028

181.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$31.05 E£1,670

33.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$27.63 E£1,486

230.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$210 E£11.3K

382.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$112 E£6,029

456.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$217 E£11.7K

822.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$545 E£29.3K

106.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$519 E£27.9K

475.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$595 E£32.0K

190.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$147 E£7,887

674.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hurghada: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Hurghada

$112 24.9% 82% $512

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Hurghada

$134 29.8% 48.1% $124

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Hurghada

$87 19.3% 60.6% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Hurghada

$35 * 7.8% 72.9% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Hurghada

$42 9.2% 65.3% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Hurghada

$33 7.3% 63.9% $58

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Hurghada

$7.6 1.7% 89.9% $68

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,014 in Istanbul versus $210 in Hurghada. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Istanbul are about 7.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $39 in Hurghada. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $134 – making Hurghada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🕒 Local time

21:28 9:28 PM

20:28 8:28 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

160,901

💱 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 = 1.66 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 = 53.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.39 EGP (100 EGP = 1.66 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Hurghada 1,600 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Hurghada

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 Hurghada: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 237%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,278 per month in Istanbul and $675 in Hurghada. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $210 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,519 in Istanbul and $450 in Hurghada. That makes Hurghada about 70% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 92% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $450, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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