Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Izmir and Mecca

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $936 a month against $1,207 in Izmir, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Izmir
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Izmir Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index

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Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,207

/mo nomad

Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Izmir and in Mecca

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Izmir and in Mecca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,207 in Izmir versus $936 in Mecca.

Izmir $1,207
Mecca $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,906 in Izmir versus $1,453 in Mecca.

Izmir $1,906
Mecca $1,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,606 in Izmir versus $1,970 in Mecca.

Izmir $2,606
Mecca $1,970

Living in Izmir is roughly 29% more expensive than in Mecca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Izmir 11% lower, Mecca 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.20 ₺505

$4.57 SAR 17.14

123.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.97 ₺1,831

$26.89 SAR 101

37.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.43 ₺417

$7.07 SAR 26.52

19.24%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.61

Cappuccino

$3.54 ₺175

$2.61 SAR 9.79

35.63%

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

$1.50 ₺74.3

$0.67 SAR 2.51

123.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₺31.18

$0.23 SAR 0.86

173.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.39 ₺168

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.19 ₺257

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 ₺54.4

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-37.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 ₺52.5

$1.03 SAR 3.85

2.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 ₺115

$2.11 SAR 7.91

9.95%

Eggs

$2.55 ₺126

$2.52 SAR 9.46

1.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.29 ₺460

$5.92 SAR 22.20

56.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.14 ₺255

$8.08 SAR 30.33

-36.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.02 ₺1,041

$12.95 SAR 48.59

62.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.98 ₺97.9

$2.09 SAR 7.84

-5.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.08 ₺103

$1.58 SAR 5.94

31.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 ₺50.6

$1.61 SAR 6.05

-36.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 ₺71.0

$1.47 SAR 5.52

-2.72%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 ₺27.60

$1.12 SAR 4.21

-50.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 ₺20.50

$1.30 SAR 4.87

-68.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₺54.7

$1.05 SAR 3.94

4.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ₺37.49

$0.50 SAR 1.86

52.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SAR 6.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 ₺109

$6.81 SAR 25.56

-67.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 ₺571

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₺100

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 ₺153

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 ₺33.71

$1.34 SAR 5.03

-49.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.37 ₺2,147

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.61 ₺179

$2.43 SAR 9.11

48.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 ₺51.3

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-40.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.36 ₺266

$13.15 SAR 49.33

-59.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ₺67.1

$0.63 SAR 2.38

115.87%

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

$40.6K ₺2.0M

$47.5K SAR 178.2K

-14.46%

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

$46.7K ₺2.3M

$21.1K SAR 79.3K

121.28%

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

$82.5 ₺4,086

$66.9 SAR 251

23.44%

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

$10.63 ₺526

$35.35 SAR 133

-69.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.18 ₺801

$63.2 SAR 237

-74.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.0 ₺3,171

$80.7 SAR 303

-20.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.09 ₺1,737

$42.52 SAR 160

-17.47%

Cinema Ticket

$7.99 ₺396

$11.96 SAR 44.88

-33.19%

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

$685 ₺33.9K

$775 SAR 2,907

-11.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K ₺700.2K

$16.2K SAR 60.8K

-12.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.16 ₺2,286

$13.57 SAR 50.9

240.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.59 ₺1,812

$56.9 SAR 214

-35.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.4 ₺4,527

$39.67 SAR 149

130.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.2 ₺3,971

$53.3 SAR 200

50.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$606 ₺30.0K

$533 SAR 2,001

13.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 ₺20.6K

$290 SAR 1,088

43.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,126 ₺55.7K

$830 SAR 3,114

35.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$800 ₺39.6K

$523 SAR 1,963

52.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,455 ₺72.0K

$6,375 SAR 23.9K

-77.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,006 ₺49.8K

$2,298 SAR 8,624

-56.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,158 ₺57.3K

$1,083 SAR 4,063

6.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

42.33

5.25

706.29%

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

Last update for Izmir: October 12, 2026

Last update for Mecca: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Izmir

$416 34.5%

Mecca

$290 31% 30.3% $126

Groceries & Markets

Izmir

$247 20.5%

Mecca

$193 20.6% 21.7% $54

Eating Out

Izmir

$185 15.4%

Mecca

$93 9.9% 50% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Izmir

$114 9.5%

Mecca

$74 7.9% 35.7% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Izmir

$109 9.1%

Mecca

$165 17.7% 51.3% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Izmir

$80 6.6%

Mecca

$105 11.2% 30.8% $25

Getting Around

Izmir

$55 4.6%

Mecca

$17 * 1.8% 69.8% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $606 in Izmir and $533 in Mecca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Izmir pays 7% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $37.00 in Izmir vs $27.00 in Mecca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $247 vs $193 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Izmir

🇸🇦 Mecca

🕒 Local time

07:16 7:16 AM

Same time as Izmir

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,493,242

1,675,368

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Izmir Mecca 2,250 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Izmir
Mecca

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

Izmir vs Mecca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mecca wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Izmir. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Mecca the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Izmir, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $606 in Izmir versus $533 in Mecca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Izmir. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,207 per month in Izmir versus $936 in Mecca – a 29% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $936 in Mecca versus $1,207 in Izmir, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Izmir. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Mecca delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $936 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Mecca hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Izmir and Mecca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Mecca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Izmir. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.