Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,525 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lerwick 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 Lerwick and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,368 per month in Lerwick vs $1,525 in Istanbul, rent included.

Lerwick $2,368
Istanbul $1,525

A couple spends around $3,415 per month in Lerwick vs $2,390 in Istanbul, rent included.

Lerwick $3,415
Istanbul $2,390

A family of three spends $4,462 per month in Lerwick vs $3,256 in Istanbul, rent included.

Lerwick $4,462
Istanbul $3,256

Lerwick costs about 55% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lerwick and Istanbul sit above the global median – Lerwick by 75%, Istanbul by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$11.96 ₺592

68.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$57.2 ₺2,834

72.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$9.51 ₺471

8.83%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$4.40 ₺218

22.73%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$1.75 ₺86.6

28.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$0.56 ₺27.57

192.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$4.71 ₺233

36.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$6.14 ₺304

-4.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.24 ₺61.6

25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$0.95 ₺47.25

77.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$2.28 ₺113

-3.07%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$2.45 ₺121

64.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$10.56 ₺523

-11.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$5.50 ₺272

55.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$21.65 ₺1,072

-33.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$1.83 ₺90.6

65.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$2.29 ₺113

-34.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$1.28 ₺63.4

115.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$1.82 ₺90.1

80.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.66 ₺32.74

177.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$0.63 ₺31.14

171.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.27 ₺62.8

-0.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$0.56 ₺27.62

176.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$2.36 ₺117

917.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$12.98 ₺642

-19.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$2.48 ₺123

20.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$3.50 ₺174

-6.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$0.82 ₺40.77

274.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$65.2 ₺3,228

27.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$1.33 ₺65.7

218.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$0.90 ₺44.60

161.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$10.91 ₺540

120.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.43 ₺70.7

63.64%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$49.6K ₺2.5M

-21.57%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$43.2K ₺2.1M

-20.19%

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

$309 £232

$88.8 ₺4,395

248.62%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$11.69 ₺579

65.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$16.09 ₺797

181.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$76.3 ₺3,776

-30.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.72 ₺1,125

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$8.26 ₺409

61.26%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$1,015 ₺50.2K

37.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-5.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$53.3 ₺2,636

66.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$40.55 ₺2,008

24.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$100 ₺4,956

-11.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$93.5 ₺4,630

17.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$977 ₺48.4K

13.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$627 ₺31.0K

65.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$1,980 ₺98.0K

20.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$1,147 ₺56.8K

32.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$3,095 ₺153.2K

50.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$1,787 ₺88.5K

92.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,213 ₺60.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

40.69

-87.49%

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

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Istanbul

$627 41.1% 39.5% $409

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Istanbul

$117 7.6% 68.8% $258

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Istanbul

$222 14.6% 29.9% $95

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Istanbul

$263 17.2% 12% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Istanbul

$129 8.5% 15.1% $23

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Istanbul

$74 4.9% 33.2% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Istanbul

$93 6.1% 16.8% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,112 in Lerwick 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $99.0 in Lerwick versus $57.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $263 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

22:08 10:08 PM

00:08 12:08 AM

2 h ahead of Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

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 20, 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 20, 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 →

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Between locations

Lerwick Istanbul 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

Lerwick vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lerwick is pricier by about 55%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,552 per month in Lerwick 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 $1,392 per month in Lerwick and $1,015 in Istanbul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 14% more in Lerwick, 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 Lerwick at $2,368. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lerwick 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, Lerwick makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.