Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbabane and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $747 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$747

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $747 per month in Mbabane vs $1,526 in Istanbul, rent included.

Mbabane $747
Istanbul $1,526

A couple spends around $1,223 per month in Mbabane vs $2,399 in Istanbul, rent included.

Mbabane $1,223
Istanbul $2,399

A family of three spends $1,700 per month in Mbabane vs $3,272 in Istanbul, rent included.

Mbabane $1,700
Istanbul $3,272

Mbabane is about 51% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mbabane sits 44% below the global median, while Istanbul is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.27 SZL 169

$11.88 ₺585

-13.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.04 SZL 561

$55.1 ₺2,714

-38.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.74 SZL 94.6

$9.14 ₺450

-37.20%

Cappuccino

$2.62 SZL 43.16

$4.24 ₺209

-38.21%

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

$1.12 SZL 18.41

$1.75 ₺86.0

-36.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 SZL 10.21

$0.54 ₺26.83

14.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 SZL 35.58

$4.69 ₺231

-53.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 SZL 40.46

$5.97 ₺294

-58.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 SZL 25.29

$1.26 ₺62.1

21.43%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 SZL 13.34

$0.95 ₺46.81

-14.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 SZL 28.82

$2.31 ₺114

-24.24%

Eggs

$1.78 SZL 29.32

$2.47 ₺122

-27.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.01 SZL 181

$10.55 ₺520

4.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 SZL 92.3

$5.60 ₺276

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.98 SZL 82.0

$21.21 ₺1,045

-76.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 SZL 28.72

$1.93 ₺95.1

-9.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.63 SZL 10.38

$2.29 ₺113

-72.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.25 SZL 20.56

$1.28 ₺63.1

-2.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 SZL 23.18

$1.84 ₺90.8

-23.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 SZL 20.57

$0.67 ₺32.86

86.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 SZL 24.48

$0.59 ₺29.31

152.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 SZL 11.74

$1.33 ₺65.4

-46.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 SZL 12.56

$0.59 ₺29.10

28.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.85 SZL 46.91

$2.36 ₺116

20.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 SZL 97.8

$13.47 ₺664

-55.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 SZL 25.10

$2.42 ₺119

-37.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 SZL 27.59

$3.54 ₺174

-52.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 SZL 12.18

$0.83 ₺40.64

-10.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 SZL 22.80

$0.85 ₺42.05

62.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 SZL 50.0

$10.86 ₺535

-72.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 SZL 20.98

$1.47 ₺72.3

-13.61%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

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

$64.0 SZL 1,056

$89.2 ₺4,395

-28.22%

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

$38.40 SZL 633

$11.60 ₺572

231.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.97 SZL 445

$16.10 ₺793

67.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.61 SZL 373

$77.3 ₺3,805

-70.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.04 SZL 50.1

$22.66 ₺1,116

-86.58%

Cinema Ticket

$3.65 SZL 60.1

$8.34 ₺411

-56.24%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,330 SZL 104.3K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-75.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.21 SZL 580

$52.7 ₺2,597

-33.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$14.80 SZL 244

$39.16 ₺1,929

-62.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.1 SZL 1,139

$103 ₺5,083

-33.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.2 SZL 877

$96.6 ₺4,759

-44.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 SZL 4,406

$994 ₺49.0K

-73.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$179 SZL 2,950

$629 ₺31.0K

-71.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 SZL 7,332

$2,024 ₺99.7K

-78.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$347 SZL 5,720

$1,155 ₺56.9K

-69.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$473 SZL 7,794

$3,160 ₺155.7K

-85.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$359 SZL 5,915

$1,838 ₺90.5K

-80.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.25

41.09

-82.36%

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

Last update for Mbabane: October 3, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbabane

$180 23.7%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 47% $84

Accommodation & Living

Mbabane

$179 23.6%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 252% $450

Eating Out

Mbabane

$153 20.2%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 42% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbabane

$129 17.1%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 9.7% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Mbabane

$78 10.2%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 69.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Mbabane

$30 3.9%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 214% $64

Getting Around

Mbabane

$9.9 * 1.3%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 664% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $267 in Mbabane versus $994 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 $34.00 in Mbabane versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $180 vs $264 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

08:28 8:28 AM

09:28 9:28 AM

1 h ahead of Mbabane

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

94,874 Capital

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 SZL = 6.07 USD

100 SZL = 5.41 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to SZL – Eswatini Lilangeni Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇿 Eswatini Lilangeni (L)

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 SZL (100 SZL = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 SZL (100 SZL = 5.41 EUR).

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).

USD to SZL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mbabane Istanbul 7,490 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbabane
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

Mbabane vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 104%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,121 per month in Mbabane and $2,289 in Istanbul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 47% 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 mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in Mbabane and $55.0 in Istanbul. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbabane, where all-in costs run around $747, than in Istanbul at $1,526. In Mbabane it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbabane – 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 Mbabane. 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.