Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Targovishte

For one person, living is cheaper in Targovishte: $559 a month against $1,519 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
27

Cost of Living Index in Targovishte
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Targovishte Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,519

/mo nomad

Targovishte

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$559

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Targovishte

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

A single person spends $1,519 per month in Istanbul vs $559 in Targovishte, rent included.

Istanbul $1,519
Targovishte $559

A couple spends around $2,365 per month in Istanbul vs $1,135 in Targovishte, rent included.

Istanbul $2,365
Targovishte $1,135

A family of three spends $3,212 per month in Istanbul vs $1,711 in Targovishte, rent included.

Istanbul $3,212
Targovishte $1,711

Istanbul costs about 172% more than Targovishte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 12% above the global median, while Targovishte is 59% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.81 ₺592

$6.96 BGN 12.11

69.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.9 ₺2,754

$39.99 BGN 69.6

37.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 ₺465

$6.48 BGN 11.28

42.90%

Cappuccino

$4.30 ₺216

$1.52 BGN 2.65

182.89%

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

$1.77 ₺89.0

$1.05 BGN 1.82

68.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺28.32

$0.62 BGN 1.07

-9.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺235

$0.95 BGN 1.66

393.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.12 ₺357

$4.52 BGN 7.86

57.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₺62.7

$1.55 BGN 2.69

-19.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 ₺44.17

$0.71 BGN 1.24

23.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 ₺111

$2.15 BGN 3.74

2.33%

Eggs

$2.43 ₺122

$2.68 BGN 4.66

-9.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 ₺526

$8.38 BGN 14.58

25.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.31 ₺267

$5.75 BGN 10.01

-7.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 ₺1,058

$8.48 BGN 14.75

148.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 ₺93.1

$1.70 BGN 2.96

9.41%

Banana (1kg)

$2.30 ₺115

$1.86 BGN 3.24

23.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₺61.0

$1.73 BGN 3.01

-29.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 ₺90.2

$2.59 BGN 4.51

-30.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 ₺34.83

$1.10 BGN 1.91

-37.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.64 ₺32.16

$1.07 BGN 1.86

-40.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 ₺68.0

$0.93 BGN 1.62

46.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ₺28.94

$0.55 BGN 0.95

5.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.34 ₺117

$3.43 BGN 5.97

-31.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 ₺653

$5.99 BGN 10.42

117.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 ₺118

$0.71 BGN 1.24

232.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.32 ₺166

$1.01 BGN 1.75

228.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 ₺44.07

$0.48 BGN 0.83

83.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.1 ₺3,316

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 ₺64.4

$1.16 BGN 2.01

10.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.80

$0.56 BGN 0.97

51.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.09 ₺556

$10.62 BGN 18.48

4.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ₺74.0

$1.72 BGN 2.99

-13.95%

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

$48.6K ₺2.4M

$30.2K BGN 52.5K

61.06%

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

$42.0K ₺2.1M

$20.3K BGN 35.4K

106.41%

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

$92.7 ₺4,650

$56.7 BGN 98.7

63.45%

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

$11.20 ₺562

$8.51 BGN 14.81

31.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.89 ₺797

$12.69 BGN 22.08

25.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$74.7 ₺3,745

$16.84 BGN 29.30

343.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.95 ₺1,151

$22.88 BGN 39.81

0.31%

Cinema Ticket

$8.05 ₺404

$5.86 BGN 10.20

37.37%

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

$948 ₺47.6K

$597 BGN 1,039

58.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.9K ₺1.9M

$10.8K BGN 18.8K

241.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₺2,702

$69.0 BGN 120

-21.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.49 ₺2,081

$41.63 BGN 72.4

-0.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 ₺5,060

$91.1 BGN 159

10.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.3 ₺4,580

$106 BGN 184

-13.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 ₺50.8K

$145 BGN 251

601.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$625 ₺31.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,005 ₺100.6K

$374 BGN 650

436.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺56.5K

$337 BGN 587

233.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,988 ₺149.8K

$1,364 BGN 2,374

118.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,730 ₺86.8K

$1,146 BGN 1,994

50.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,136 ₺57.0K

$1,275 BGN 2,219

-10.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.42

3.1

1203.87%

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

Last update for Istanbul: November 2, 2026

Last update for Targovishte: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$625 41.1%

Targovishte

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$258 17%

Targovishte

$194 34.7% 24.9% $64

Eating Out

Istanbul

$221 14.6%

Targovishte

$114 20.4% 48.5% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Targovishte

$138 24.8% 6.9% $8.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$120 7.9%

Targovishte

$78 14% 35% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$91 6%

Targovishte

$29 5.1% 68.5% $62

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 5%

Targovishte

$5.9 * 1.1% 92.2% $69

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 $145 in Targovishte. 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 12% higher in Targovishte, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul versus $40 in Targovishte. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $194 – making Targovishte the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇧🇬 Targovishte

🕒 Local time

20:13 8:13 PM

19:13 7:13 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

39,578

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, 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).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Istanbul Targovishte 320 km

From you

Istanbul
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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 Targovishte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 172%, 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 $838 in Targovishte. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Targovishte, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $145 there versus $1,014 in Istanbul.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $55 in Istanbul and $40 in Targovishte. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Istanbul, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Targovishte, where all-in costs run around $559, than in Istanbul at $1,519. In Targovishte it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Targovishte – 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.