Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Luxor

For one person, living is cheaper in Luxor: $462 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Luxor
Learn more

Luxor Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Luxor

🇪🇬 Egypt

$462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Luxor

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $462 in Luxor, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Luxor $462

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $710 in Luxor, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Luxor $710

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $958 in Luxor, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Luxor $958

Istanbul costs about 229% more than Luxor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Luxor is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$3.65 E£197

223.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$38.71 E£2,084

41.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$3.44 E£185

169.19%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.24 E£66.8

246.77%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.28 E£15.15

532.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.17 E£8.92

229.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.76 E£95.0

166.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$2.93 E£158

143.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$0.84 E£45.41

48.81%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.60 E£32.41

46.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$0.57 E£30.70

285.96%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.85 E£99.7

31.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$3.03 E£163

245.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$5.61 E£302

-5.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$9.29 E£500

127.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.35 E£72.6

37.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$0.51 E£27.24

350.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$0.38 E£20.50

221.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.41 E£22.21

339.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.31 E£16.51

122.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.35 E£18.67

82.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.26 E£13.90

423.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.17 E£9.22

241.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$1.43 E£77.0

63.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$7.42 E£399

75.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.15 E£62.2

105.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.65 E£88.8

101.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.06 E£3.44

1366.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.87 E£46.75

47.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.30 E£16.27

183.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$1.82 E£98.2

509.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$0.44 E£23.65

236.36%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$30.7K E£1.7M

58.45%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$17.8K E£958.4K

135.84%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$24.38 E£1,313

280.27%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$2.66 E£143

321.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$6.04 E£325

163.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$8.82 E£475

160.20%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$3.39 E£183

137.46%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$99.8 E£5,375

850.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$595 E£32.0K

6104.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$19.56 E£1,053

175.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$32.15 E£1,731

29.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$26.67 E£1,436

242.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$127 E£6,857

696.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$182 E£9,824

242.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$252 E£13.6K

694.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$178 E£9,567

533.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$63.8 E£3,433

1682.29%

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 Luxor: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Luxor

$182 39.5% 70.8% $442

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Luxor

$131 28.4% 49.2% $127

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Luxor

$71 15.3% 67.9% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Luxor

$35 * 7.6% 72.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Luxor

$33 7.2% 72.4% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Luxor

$6.8 * 1.5% 92.5% $84

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Luxor

$2.6 * 0.6% 96.5% $73

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 $127 in Luxor. 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 18 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 Luxor. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $131 – making Luxor the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇪🇬 Luxor

🕒 Local time

15:22 3:22 PM

14:22 2:22 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

451,318

💱 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 = 1.65 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 = 53.85 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.48 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Luxor 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Luxor

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 Luxor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 229%, 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 $693 in Luxor. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Luxor, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $127 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul and $39 in Luxor. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 97% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Luxor, where all-in costs run around $462, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Luxor it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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