Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malta and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $1,992 in Malta, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇲🇹 Malta
$1,992
/mo nomad
Istanbul
🇹🇷 Turkey
$1,526
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Malta is 11% more expensive than Istanbul without rent, and 30.5% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Malta is 19.5% more expensive than Istanbul without rent, and 23.9% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$17.10 €15.26
$11.88 ₺585
43.94%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$82.9 €74.0
$55.1 ₺2,714
50.46%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$12.21 €10.89
$9.14 ₺450
33.59%
Cappuccino
$2.81 €2.51
$4.24 ₺209
-33.73%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.50 €2.23
$1.75 ₺86.0
42.86%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 €1.49
$0.54 ₺26.83
209.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.59 €4.10
$4.69 ₺231
-2.13%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.47 €3.99
$5.97 ₺294
-25.13%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.32 €1.18
$1.26 ₺62.1
4.76%
White Bread (500g)
$1.29 €1.15
$0.95 ₺46.81
35.79%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.62 €3.23
$2.31 ₺114
56.71%
Eggs
$4.00 €3.57
$2.47 ₺122
61.94%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.78 €9.62
$10.55 ₺520
2.18%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.18 €9.09
$5.60 ₺276
81.79%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.99 €15.16
$21.21 ₺1,045
-19.90%
Apples (1kg)
$3.20 €2.85
$1.93 ₺95.1
65.80%
Banana (1kg)
$2.15 €1.92
$2.29 ₺113
-6.11%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.93 €2.61
$1.28 ₺63.1
128.91%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.24 €2.89
$1.84 ₺90.8
76.09%
Potato (1kg)
$1.96 €1.75
$0.67 ₺32.86
192.54%
Onion (1kg)
$2.13 €1.90
$0.59 ₺29.31
261.02%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.91 €1.70
$1.33 ₺65.4
43.61%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.95 €0.85
$0.59 ₺29.10
61.02%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.89 €6.15
$2.36 ₺116
191.95%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.27 €7.38
$13.47 ₺664
-38.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.81 €1.61
$2.42 ₺119
-25.21%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.37 €2.12
$3.54 ₺174
-33.05%
🚌 Getting Around
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.23 €1.99
$0.83 ₺40.64
168.67%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$66.5 ₺3,273
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.66 €5.05
$1.35 ₺66.6
319.26%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.28 €2.04
$0.85 ₺42.05
168.24%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$32.85 €29.32
$10.86 ₺535
202.49%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.48 €1.32
$1.47 ₺72.3
0.68%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.0K €25.0K
$51.6K ₺2.5M
-45.75%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.5K €34.4K
$44.4K ₺2.2M
-13.27%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$103 €92.0
$89.2 ₺4,395
15.53%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$27.11 €24.19
$11.60 ₺572
133.71%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$34.88 €31.13
$16.10 ₺793
116.65%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$67.5 €60.3
$77.3 ₺3,805
-12.61%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$21.31 €19.01
$22.66 ₺1,116
-5.96%
Cinema Ticket
$11.21 €10.00
$8.34 ₺411
34.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$413 €369
$974 ₺48.0K
-57.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$10.9K €9,687
$25.8K ₺1.3M
-57.89%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$99.9 €89.2
$52.7 ₺2,597
89.60%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$45.95 €41.01
$39.16 ₺1,929
17.34%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$105 €93.8
$103 ₺5,083
1.83%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$114 €102
$96.6 ₺4,759
18.14%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,181 €1,054
$994 ₺49.0K
18.80%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$988 €882
$629 ₺31.0K
57.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,974 €1,761
$2,024 ₺99.7K
-2.49%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,562 €1,394
$1,155 ₺56.9K
35.29%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,418 €3,943
$3,160 ₺155.7K
39.81%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,292 €2,938
$1,838 ₺90.5K
79.14%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Malta
Istanbul
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,792 €1,600
$1,203 ₺59.3K
48.94%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.13
41.09
-89.95%

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

Last update for Malta: October 6, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Malta
$988
Istanbul
$629 36.3% $359
Groceries & Markets
Malta
$307
Istanbul
$264 14% $43
Eating Out
Malta
$256
Istanbul
$218 14.8% $38
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Malta
$165
Istanbul
$117 29.2% $48
Clothing & Footwear
Malta
$164
Istanbul
$131 20.1% $33
Sport & Entertainment
Malta
$90
Istanbul
$94 4.4% $4
Getting Around
Malta
$26 *
Istanbul
$75 190% $49

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

Good to know
🇲🇹 Malta
🇹🇷 Istanbul
🕒 Local time
05:28 5:28 AM
06:28 6:28 AM
1 h ahead of Malta
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
553,214
15,701,602
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Malta Istanbul 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Malta
  • 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

Malta vs other spots: cost of living compared

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