Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sabratha and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
Learn more

Sabratha Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $406 per month in Sabratha vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Sabratha $406
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $597 per month in Sabratha vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Sabratha $597
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $787 per month in Sabratha vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Sabratha $787
Istanbul $3,281

Sabratha is about 74% cheaper than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sabratha sits 70% below the global median, while Istanbul is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.04 LYD 19.46

$12.30 ₺609

-75.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.22 LYD 59.1

$54.7 ₺2,708

-83.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$1.52 LYD 9.75

$9.22 ₺456

-83.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

Cappuccino

$0.48 LYD 3.09

$4.40 ₺218

-89.09%

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

$0.30 LYD 1.90

$1.68 ₺83.1

-82.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.07 LYD 0.44

$0.59 ₺29.40

-88.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 ₺233

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.91 ₺292

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 LYD 5.67

$1.21 ₺60.0

-26.45%

White Bread (500g)

$0.22 LYD 1.41

$0.89 ₺44.10

-75.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 LYD 7.07

$2.19 ₺108

-49.77%

Eggs

$1.37 LYD 8.76

$2.35 ₺116

-41.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.27 LYD 33.79

$10.42 ₺516

-49.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.48 LYD 22.32

$5.65 ₺280

-38.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.58 LYD 61.4

$20.94 ₺1,037

-54.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 LYD 12.79

$1.90 ₺94.1

5.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 LYD 9.89

$2.31 ₺114

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

$1.28 ₺63.1

-42.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.57 LYD 3.64

$1.80 ₺89.0

-68.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.49 LYD 3.13

$0.65 ₺32.16

-24.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.29 LYD 1.89

$0.64 ₺31.91

-54.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 LYD 2.06

$1.25 ₺62.1

-74.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.17 LYD 1.06

$0.56 ₺27.58

-69.64%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 LYD 5.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LYD 5.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.84 LYD 11.79

$2.37 ₺118

-22.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.42 ₺664

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.40 ₺119

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ₺172

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 LYD 4.80

$0.89 ₺43.84

-15.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 LYD 4.88

$1.29 ₺64.1

-41.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 LYD 1.89

$0.92 ₺45.70

-67.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 LYD 5.22

$10.96 ₺542

-92.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.14

$1.47 ₺72.9

-98.64%

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

$22.9K LYD 146.9K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-54.87%

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

$21.3K LYD 136.5K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-52.18%

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

$92.0 LYD 590

$88.6 ₺4,387

3.85%

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

$3.99 LYD 25.56

$11.59 ₺574

-65.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.73 LYD 88.0

$15.81 ₺783

-13.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.85 LYD 69.5

$77.2 ₺3,820

-85.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.74 LYD 49.62

$22.74 ₺1,126

-65.96%

Cinema Ticket

$8.14 ₺403

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

$39.51 LYD 253

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-96.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$945 LYD 6,055

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-96.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.54 LYD 125

$54.0 ₺2,671

-63.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.60 LYD 113

$40.83 ₺2,021

-56.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.6 LYD 414

$98.9 ₺4,895

-34.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.66 LYD 100

$96.6 ₺4,783

-83.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$158 LYD 1,011

$985 ₺48.7K

-83.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$78.2 LYD 501

$650 ₺32.2K

-87.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$229 LYD 1,466

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-88.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$110 LYD 705

$1,180 ₺58.4K

-90.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$281 LYD 1,802

$3,138 ₺155.4K

-91.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$185 LYD 1,183

$1,780 ₺88.1K

-89.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$189 LYD 1,212

$1,205 ₺59.7K

-84.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

40.92

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

Last update for Sabratha: October 13, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sabratha

$113 27.9%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 129% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sabratha

$110 27%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 5.7% $6.3

Accommodation & Living

Sabratha

$78 19.3%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 731% $572

Clothing & Footwear

Sabratha

$53 13%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 147% $78

Eating Out

Sabratha

$36 8.9%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 519% $187

Sport & Entertainment

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7%

Istanbul

$93 6% 761% $83

Getting Around

Sabratha

$5.2 * 1.3%

Istanbul

$77 5% 1367% $72

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $158 in Sabratha 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 537% higher in Istanbul, 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 $9.00 in Sabratha versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $113 vs $260 – making Sabratha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

23:08 11:08 PM

00:08 12:08 AM

1 h ahead of Sabratha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

83,398

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sabratha Istanbul 1,720 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sabratha
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

Sabratha vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Istanbul is pricier by about 282%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $609 per month in Sabratha 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 Sabratha, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $9.00 in Sabratha and $55.0 in Istanbul. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 129% 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 $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sabratha, where all-in costs run around $406, than in Istanbul at $1,550. In Sabratha it covers expenses comfortably, while in Istanbul it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sabratha – 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 Sabratha. 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.