Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,763 per month in Portsmouth vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Portsmouth $2,763
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $3,798 per month in Portsmouth vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Portsmouth $3,798
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $4,834 per month in Portsmouth vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Portsmouth $4,834
Istanbul $3,281

Portsmouth costs about 78% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Portsmouth and Istanbul sit above the global median – Portsmouth by 105%, Istanbul by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$12.30 ₺609

61.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$54.7 ₺2,708

21.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$9.22 ₺456

12.15%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$4.40 ₺218

8.86%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$1.68 ₺83.1

58.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$0.59 ₺29.40

284.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$4.70 ₺233

31.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$5.91 ₺292

-1.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.21 ₺60.0

16.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$0.89 ₺44.10

77.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$2.19 ₺108

68.49%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$2.35 ₺116

44.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$10.42 ₺516

27.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$5.65 ₺280

47.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$20.94 ₺1,037

-37.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$1.90 ₺94.1

103.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$2.31 ₺114

-17.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$1.28 ₺63.1

122.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$1.80 ₺89.0

85.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$0.65 ₺32.16

153.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$0.64 ₺31.91

154.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.25 ₺62.1

-4.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$0.56 ₺27.58

171.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$2.37 ₺118

873.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$13.42 ₺664

-15.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.40 ₺119

22.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$3.48 ₺172

-38.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$0.89 ₺43.84

358.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$67.4 ₺3,338

30.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$1.29 ₺64.1

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.92 ₺45.70

73.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$10.96 ₺542

82.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.47 ₺72.9

41.50%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-23.94%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-9.86%

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

$654 £491

$88.6 ₺4,387

638.54%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$11.59 ₺574

27.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$15.81 ₺783

165.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$77.2 ₺3,820

-50.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$22.74 ₺1,126

-24.58%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$8.14 ₺403

30.84%

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

$1,249 £937

$1,008 ₺49.9K

23.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-21.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$54.0 ₺2,671

67.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$40.83 ₺2,021

-2.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$98.9 ₺4,895

-0.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$96.6 ₺4,783

23.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$985 ₺48.7K

47.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$650 ₺32.2K

68.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$1,983 ₺98.2K

5.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,180 ₺58.4K

45.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$3,138 ₺155.4K

43.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$1,780 ₺88.1K

108.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$1,205 ₺59.7K

177.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

40.92

-87.39%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 40.8% $448

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 83.7% $595

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 16.3% $51

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 27.8% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 16.8% $26

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Istanbul

$77 5% 34.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Istanbul

$93 6% 56.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $985 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 178% higher in Portsmouth, 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 $66.0 in Portsmouth versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $260 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

00:10 12:10 AM

02:10 2:10 AM

2 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

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 17, 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 17, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Portsmouth Istanbul 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Portsmouth is pricier by about 78%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,144 per month in Portsmouth and $2,325 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 $1,249 per month in Portsmouth and $1,008 in Istanbul. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 19% more in Portsmouth, 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 $1,550, than in Portsmouth at $2,763. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth 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, Portsmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.