Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Khujand

For one person, living is cheaper in Khujand: $690 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Khujand
Learn more

Khujand Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Khujand

🇹🇯 Tajikistan

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Khujand

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $690 in Khujand, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Khujand $690

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $1,093 in Khujand, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Khujand $1,093

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $1,496 in Khujand, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Khujand $1,496

Istanbul costs about 120% more than Khujand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Khujand is 49% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$4.86 TJS 44.71

143.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$17.09 TJS 157

221.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$5.39 TJS 49.63

71.80%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.64 TJS 15.12

162.20%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.56 TJS 5.13

216.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.34 TJS 3.14

64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.19 TJS 10.92

294.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$2.34 TJS 21.55

204.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$1.03 TJS 9.46

21.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.49 TJS 4.51

79.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$1.78 TJS 16.41

23.60%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.81 TJS 16.69

34.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$11.03 TJS 102

-4.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$3.39 TJS 31.24

56.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$11.35 TJS 104

85.90%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.52 TJS 14.01

22.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$2.36 TJS 21.70

-2.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$2.75 TJS 25.31

-55.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.56 TJS 5.14

221.43%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.51 TJS 4.74

35.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.35 TJS 3.23

82.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$1.29 TJS 11.89

5.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.60 TJS 5.56

-3.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$2.21 TJS 20.31

5.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$11.50 TJS 106

13.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.46 TJS 13.43

61.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$2.18 TJS 20.10

52.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.32 TJS 2.92

175.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$1.07 TJS 9.86

19.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.35 TJS 3.19

142.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$5.36 TJS 49.31

106.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$1.19 TJS 10.95

24.37%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$16.1K TJS 148.1K

202.33%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$16.9K TJS 155.5K

148.56%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$47.47 TJS 437

95.30%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$6.29 TJS 58.0

78.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$16.91 TJS 156

-6.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$27.58 TJS 254

170.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$16.15 TJS 149

42.11%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$4.40 TJS 40.53

82.95%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$83.4 TJS 768

1036.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$5,319 TJS 49.0K

594.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$20.79 TJS 191

159.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$36.04 TJS 332

15.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$50.1 TJS 461

101.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$57.0 TJS 525

60.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$274 TJS 2,526

269.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$218 TJS 2,007

186.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$522 TJS 4,810

283.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$442 TJS 4,073

154.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$892 TJS 8,213

235.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$544 TJS 5,007

218.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$352 TJS 3,243

222.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

83.73%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Khujand: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Khujand

$218 31.6% 65.1% $407

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Khujand

$199 28.8% 23.1% $60

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Khujand

$89 12.9% 59.8% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Khujand

$74 10.7% 43% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Khujand

$71 10.2% 41% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Khujand

$36 5.3% 59.9% $54

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Khujand

$4.1 * 0.6% 94.6% $71

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 $274 in Khujand. 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 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $17 in Khujand. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $199 – making Khujand the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇹🇯 Khujand

🕒 Local time

20:16 8:16 PM

22:16 10:16 PM

2 h ahead of Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

181,600

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Tajikistani Somoni TJS ЅМ

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

100 TJS = 10.86 USD

100 TJS = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TJS, 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).

Tajikistani Somoni exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.21 TJS (1 TJS = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 TJS (100 TJS = 9.67 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Khujand 3,400 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Khujand

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 Khujand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 120%, 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 $1,035 in Khujand. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Khujand, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $274 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul and $17 in Khujand. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 30% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Khujand, where all-in costs run around $690, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Khujand it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Khujand – 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 Khujand. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Istanbul makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.