Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Onesti: $1,042 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

73

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Onesti
Learn more

Onesti Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Onesti

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $1,042 in Onesti, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Onesti $1,042

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $1,597 in Onesti, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Onesti $1,597

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $2,153 in Onesti, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Onesti $2,153

Istanbul costs about 46% more than Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Onesti is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$10.35 RON 49.18

14.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$41.83 RON 199

31.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$7.13 RON 33.87

29.87%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$2.97 RON 14.11

44.78%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$2.20 RON 10.47

-19.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$1.78 RON 8.45

-68.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$3.16 RON 15.03

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$3.72 RON 17.68

91.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$1.04 RON 4.92

20.19%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$1.34 RON 6.38

-34.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$1.92 RON 9.14

14.58%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$2.94 RON 13.96

-17.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$7.46 RON 35.45

40.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$6.56 RON 31.17

-19.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$10.11 RON 48.05

108.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.03 RON 4.90

80.58%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$1.45 RON 6.88

58.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$1.68 RON 7.99

-27.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$2.06 RON 9.80

-12.62%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$0.80 RON 3.80

-13.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$0.82 RON 3.89

-21.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$1.12 RON 5.32

21.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.61 RON 2.88

-4.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$6.32 RON 30.04

-62.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$5.34 RON 25.37

144.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$1.34 RON 6.35

76.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$2.14 RON 10.15

55.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.70 RON 3.30

25.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

$22.70 RON 108

191.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$0.80 RON 3.81

60.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.88 RON 4.16

-3.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$8.57 RON 40.73

29.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$1.43 RON 6.81

3.50%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$28.5K RON 135.5K

70.51%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$26.1K RON 124.0K

60.79%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$186 RON 882

-50.04%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$7.43 RON 35.30

50.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$8.70 RON 41.33

82.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$36.79 RON 175

102.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$20.40 RON 96.9

12.50%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$8.50 RON 40.39

-5.29%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$389 RON 1,848

143.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$7,819 RON 37.2K

372.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$37.62 RON 179

43.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$39.20 RON 186

5.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$94.7 RON 450

6.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$91.9 RON 437

-0.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$406 RON 1,930

149.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

$261 RON 1,242

139.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$653 RON 3,101

207.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$464 RON 2,202

142.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$1,929 RON 9,167

54.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$1,329 RON 6,313

30.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$634 RON 3,014

79.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

7.18

462.95%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Onesti: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Onesti

$261 25.1% 58.2% $363

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Onesti

$197 18.9% 23.7% $61

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Onesti

$179 17.2% 19% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Onesti

$119 11.4% 8.4% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Onesti

$202 19.4% 68.4% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Onesti

$54 5.2% 40.7% $37

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Onesti

$31 2.9% 59.2% $45

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,014 in Istanbul versus $406 in Onesti. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 79% higher in Istanbul. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $42 in Onesti. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $197 – making Onesti the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

17:42 5:42 PM

16:42 4:42 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

57,333

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Onesti 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Onesti

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 Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,278 per month in Istanbul and $1,563 in Onesti. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Onesti, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $406 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

Kindergarten costs $948 per month in Istanbul and $389 in Onesti. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,519 in Istanbul and $1,042 in Onesti. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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