Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Taby

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $2,122 in Taby, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Taby
Learn more

Taby Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Taby

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,122

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Taby

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

A single person spends $1,525 per month in Istanbul vs $2,122 in Taby, rent included.

Istanbul $1,525
Taby $2,122

A couple spends around $2,390 per month in Istanbul vs $3,043 in Taby, rent included.

Istanbul $2,390
Taby $3,043

A family of three spends $3,256 per month in Istanbul vs $3,964 in Taby, rent included.

Istanbul $3,256
Taby $3,964

Istanbul is about 28% cheaper than Taby, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Istanbul and Taby sit above the global median – Istanbul by 13%, Taby by 57%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$13.66 SEK 135

-12.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$65.8 SEK 652

-13.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$10.09 SEK 100.0

-5.75%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$4.28 SEK 42.41

2.80%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$3.58 SEK 35.48

-51.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$2.34 SEK 23.19

-76.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$6.95 SEK 68.9

-32.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$8.79 SEK 87.1

-30.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$1.70 SEK 16.83

-27.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$3.02 SEK 29.90

-68.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$3.91 SEK 38.75

-41.69%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$5.20 SEK 51.5

-52.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$12.81 SEK 127

-17.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$12.82 SEK 127

-57.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$17.59 SEK 174

23.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$3.13 SEK 31.05

-41.53%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$2.62 SEK 25.97

-12.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$1.97 SEK 19.52

-35.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$4.50 SEK 44.60

-59.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$1.70 SEK 16.88

-61.18%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$1.80 SEK 17.80

-65.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$2.33 SEK 23.13

-45.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$1.90 SEK 18.87

-70.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$7.00 SEK 69.4

-66.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$12.21 SEK 121

6.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$1.90 SEK 18.84

30.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$2.21 SEK 21.90

58.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

$4.17 SEK 41.32

-80.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

$101 SEK 1,002

-35.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$5.87 SEK 58.1

-77.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$1.55 SEK 15.38

-41.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$57.4 SEK 569

-80.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$1.84 SEK 18.22

-22.28%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$33.3K SEK 330.3K

48.69%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$32.7K SEK 324.2K

32.00%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$177 SEK 1,758

-49.98%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$27.61 SEK 274

-57.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$40.66 SEK 403

-60.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$17.11 SEK 170

-51.72%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$156 SEK 1,543

551.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$16.3K SEK 161.4K

58.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$98.0 SEK 971

-45.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$53.0 SEK 526

-23.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$94.4 SEK 935

6.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$183 SEK 1,813

-48.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$1,023 SEK 10.1K

-4.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$870 SEK 8,625

-27.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$1,411 SEK 14.0K

40.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$1,189 SEK 11.8K

-3.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

$5,994 SEK 59.4K

-48.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

$6,951 SEK 68.9K

-74.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

$3,306 SEK 32.8K

-63.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

2.8

1353.21%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Taby: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Taby

$870 41% 38.8% $243

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Taby

$380 17.9% 44.7% $117

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Taby

$267 12.6% 20.2% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Taby

$193 9.1% 49% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Taby

$246 11.6% 111% $129

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Taby

$34 * 1.6% 63.1% $59

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Taby

$131 6.2% 76.8% $57

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $977 in Istanbul versus $1,023 in Taby. 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 173% higher in Taby, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57.0 in Istanbul versus $66.0 in Taby. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $263 vs $380 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇸🇪 Taby

🕒 Local time

00:07 12:07 AM

23:07 11:07 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

58,123

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Istanbul Taby 2,190 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Taby

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 Taby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Taby is pricier by about 39%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,287 per month in Istanbul and $3,182 in Taby. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istanbul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $1,015 per month in Istanbul and $156 in Taby. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 45% more in Taby, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,525, than in Taby at $2,122. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Taby it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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