Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and Tembisa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,106 a month against $1,525 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
Learn more

Tembisa Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Istanbul and in Tembisa

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

A single person spends $1,525 per month in Istanbul vs $1,106 in Tembisa, rent included.

Istanbul $1,525
Tembisa $1,106

A couple spends around $2,390 per month in Istanbul vs $1,692 in Tembisa, rent included.

Istanbul $2,390
Tembisa $1,692

A family of three spends $3,256 per month in Istanbul vs $2,279 in Tembisa, rent included.

Istanbul $3,256
Tembisa $2,279

Istanbul costs about 38% more than Tembisa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Istanbul sits 13% above the global median, while Tembisa is 18% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.96 ₺592

$9.55 R 157

25.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.2 ₺2,834

$40.71 R 671

40.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.51 ₺471

$5.67 R 93.5

67.72%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₺218

$2.24 R 36.98

96.43%

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

$1.75 ₺86.6

$1.05 R 17.34

66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.57

$0.87 R 14.40

-35.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.71 ₺233

$2.42 R 39.79

94.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₺304

$2.78 R 45.74

120.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ₺61.6

$1.21 R 19.90

2.48%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺47.25

$1.13 R 18.68

-15.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.28 ₺113

$1.75 R 28.88

30.29%

Eggs

$2.45 ₺121

$2.54 R 41.85

-3.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.56 ₺523

$8.67 R 143

21.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 ₺272

$5.08 R 83.7

8.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.65 ₺1,072

$7.38 R 122

193.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 ₺90.6

$1.79 R 29.57

2.23%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.68 R 27.65

36.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.4

$1.81 R 29.74

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.1

$1.67 R 27.52

8.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 ₺32.74

$1.53 R 25.22

-56.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 ₺31.14

$1.40 R 23.09

-55.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 ₺62.8

$1.24 R 20.48

2.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 ₺27.62

$1.05 R 17.35

-46.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺117

$3.61 R 59.5

-34.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.98 ₺642

$5.31 R 87.5

144.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ₺123

$1.43 R 23.50

73.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 ₺174

$1.80 R 29.68

94.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 ₺40.77

$1.36 R 22.38

-39.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₺3,228

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₺65.7

$0.68 R 11.20

95.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 ₺44.60

$0.98 R 16.21

-8.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.91 ₺540

$11.10 R 183

-1.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₺70.7

$1.54 R 25.38

-7.14%

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

$49.6K ₺2.5M

$32.4K R 534.0K

52.94%

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

$43.2K ₺2.1M

$31.7K R 521.5K

36.43%

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

$88.8 ₺4,395

$148 R 2,438

-40.01%

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

$11.69 ₺579

$31.88 R 525

-63.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.09 ₺797

$38.41 R 633

-58.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.3 ₺3,776

$32.17 R 530

137.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

$9.83 R 162

131.13%

Cinema Ticket

$8.26 ₺409

$6.34 R 105

30.28%

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

$1,015 ₺50.2K

$246 R 4,057

312.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$6,091 R 100.3K

324.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 ₺2,636

$60.3 R 993

-11.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.55 ₺2,008

$37.09 R 611

9.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 ₺4,956

$101 R 1,665

-0.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 ₺4,630

$82.4 R 1,358

13.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$977 ₺48.4K

$406 R 6,686

140.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 ₺31.0K

$365 R 6,008

71.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 ₺98.0K

$688 R 11.3K

187.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,147 ₺56.8K

$673 R 11.1K

70.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

$942 R 15.5K

228.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

$694 R 11.4K

157.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

$574 R 9,454

111.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.69

10.94

271.94%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Last update for Tembisa: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$627 41.1%

Tembisa

$365 33% 41.8% $262

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$263 17.2%

Tembisa

$195 17.6% 25.7% $67

Eating Out

Istanbul

$222 14.6%

Tembisa

$146 13.2% 34.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$129 8.5%

Tembisa

$126 11.4% 2.3% $3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.6%

Tembisa

$218 19.7% 87.3% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$93 6.1%

Tembisa

$45 4.1% 51.6% $48

Getting Around

Istanbul

$74 4.9%

Tembisa

$11 * 1% 85.2% $63

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 $406 in Tembisa. 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 111% higher in Istanbul, 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 $41.00 in Tembisa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $263 vs $195 – making Tembisa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

00:55 12:55 AM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

463,109

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul Tembisa 7,450 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
Tembisa

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 Tembisa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,287 per month in Istanbul and $1,659 in Tembisa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $57.0 in Istanbul and $41.00 in Tembisa. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 35% more in Istanbul, 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 Tembisa, where all-in costs run around $1,106, than in Istanbul at $1,525. In Tembisa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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