Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kirkwall and in Istanbul

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

A single person spends $2,121 per month in Kirkwall vs $1,525 in Istanbul, rent included.

Kirkwall $2,121
Istanbul $1,525

A couple spends around $3,026 per month in Kirkwall vs $2,390 in Istanbul, rent included.

Kirkwall $3,026
Istanbul $2,390

A family of three spends $3,931 per month in Kirkwall vs $3,256 in Istanbul, rent included.

Kirkwall $3,931
Istanbul $3,256

Kirkwall costs about 39% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$11.96 ₺592

97.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$57.2 ₺2,834

65.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$9.51 ₺471

11.15%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$4.40 ₺218

-10.91%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$1.75 ₺86.6

86.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$0.56 ₺27.57

133.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$4.71 ₺233

31.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$6.14 ₺304

37.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.24 ₺61.6

-36.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.95 ₺47.25

66.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.28 ₺113

-10.09%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$2.45 ₺121

31.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$10.56 ₺523

-37.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$5.50 ₺272

63.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$21.65 ₺1,072

-26.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.83 ₺90.6

20.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$2.29 ₺113

-13.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.28 ₺63.4

22.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$1.82 ₺90.1

-27.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$0.66 ₺32.74

68.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$0.63 ₺31.14

73.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.27 ₺62.8

-39.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$0.56 ₺27.62

92.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$2.36 ₺117

751.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$12.98 ₺642

-29.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$2.48 ₺123

9.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$3.50 ₺174

-17.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$0.82 ₺40.77

1181.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$65.2 ₺3,228

64.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$1.33 ₺65.7

290.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$0.90 ₺44.60

186.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$10.91 ₺540

148.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.43 ₺70.7

43.36%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$49.6K ₺2.5M

-23.65%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$43.2K ₺2.1M

-4.71%

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

$282 £212

$88.8 ₺4,395

218.19%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$11.69 ₺579

157.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$16.09 ₺797

105.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$76.3 ₺3,776

-45.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$8.26 ₺409

38.74%

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

$1,237 £928

$1,015 ₺50.2K

21.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$53.3 ₺2,636

71.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$40.55 ₺2,008

7.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$100 ₺4,956

-5.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$93.5 ₺4,630

47.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$977 ₺48.4K

-4.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$627 ₺31.0K

26.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$1,980 ₺98.0K

-40.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,147 ₺56.8K

-15.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,095 ₺153.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,787 ₺88.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$1,213 ₺60.1K

57.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

40.69

-87.54%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Istanbul

$627 41.1% 20.8% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Istanbul

$117 7.6% 66.3% $229

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Istanbul

$222 14.6% 33.5% $112

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Istanbul

$263 17.2% 4.2% $10

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Istanbul

$74 4.9% 55.6% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 21.8% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Istanbul

$93 6.1% 43.5% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $935 in Kirkwall versus $977 in Istanbul. 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 58% higher in Kirkwall, 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 $95.0 in Kirkwall versus $57.0 in Istanbul. Groceries tell a different story – $252 in Kirkwall vs $263 in Istanbul – so Kirkwall wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

16:22 4:22 PM

2 h ahead of Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kirkwall Istanbul 2,980 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
Istanbul

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

Kirkwall vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,182 per month in Kirkwall and $2,287 in Istanbul. 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 $1,237 per month in Kirkwall and $1,015 in Istanbul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 4% cheaper in Kirkwall – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Istanbul, where all-in costs run around $1,525, than in Kirkwall at $2,121. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kirkwall 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, Kirkwall makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.