Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Mersa Matruh

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $428 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
Learn more

Mersa Matruh Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Mersa Matruh

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $428 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Mersa Matruh $428

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $699 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Mersa Matruh $699

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $970 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Mersa Matruh $970

Istanbul costs about 255% more than Mersa Matruh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Mersa Matruh is 68% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$3.91 E£210

202.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$17.51 E£942

213.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$4.48 E£241

106.70%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.17 E£62.9

267.52%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$0.30 E£16.26

490.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.11 E£6.11

409.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$1.22 E£65.6

284.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$2.74 E£148

159.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$0.83 E£44.50

50.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.68 E£36.45

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$0.57 E£30.41

285.96%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$1.05 E£56.6

131.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$3.68 E£198

184.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$3.99 E£215

33.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$8.71 E£468

142.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.41 E£75.7

31.91%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$0.73 E£39.44

215.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$0.52 E£27.75

134.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$0.30 E£16.02

500.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.23 E£12.30

200.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.30 E£16.36

113.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.23 E£12.29

491.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.20 E£10.71

190.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$1.80 E£96.7

30.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$5.36 E£288

143.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.15 E£61.9

105.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$2.05 E£110

61.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.20 E£10.66

340.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.54 E£29.05

137.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.20 E£10.50

325.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$1.11 E£59.5

899.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$0.41 E£21.97

260.98%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$31.5K E£1.7M

54.31%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$24.4K E£1.3M

71.99%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$13.09 E£704

608.25%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$6.35 E£341

76.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$12.61 E£678

26.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$15.16 E£815

392.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$2.60 E£140

209.62%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$82.3 E£4,424

1052.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$1,992 E£107.1K

1752.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$31.15 E£1,675

72.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$42.14 E£2,266

-1.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$119 E£6,406

-15.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$53.4 E£2,869

71.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$129 E£6,920

687.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$71.9 E£3,867

768.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$247 E£13.3K

711.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$133 E£7,157

745.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$698 E£37.5K

327.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$322 E£17.3K

436.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$89.4 E£4,806

1171.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

21.33

89.50%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mersa Matruh: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Mersa Matruh

$72 16.8% 88.5% $553

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Mersa Matruh

$119 27.7% 54% $139

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Mersa Matruh

$72 16.8% 67.4% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Mersa Matruh

$111 25.8% 14.5% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Mersa Matruh

$32 7.5% 73.2% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Mersa Matruh

$20 4.8% 77.6% $70

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Mersa Matruh

$2.3 * 0.5% 96.9% $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 $129 in Mersa Matruh. 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 13 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $18 in Mersa Matruh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $119 – making Mersa Matruh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🕒 Local time

21:07 9:07 PM

20:07 8:07 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

140,000

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Mersa Matruh 1,080 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Mersa Matruh

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 Mersa Matruh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 255%, 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 $642 in Mersa Matruh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mersa Matruh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $129 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul and $18 in Mersa Matruh. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 117% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Mersa Matruh, where all-in costs run around $428, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Mersa Matruh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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