Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,550 a month against $2,133 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
Learn more

Scarborough Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

Jump to prices

Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Scarborough vs $1,550 in Istanbul, rent included.

Scarborough $2,133
Istanbul $1,550

A couple spends around $3,068 per month in Scarborough vs $2,415 in Istanbul, rent included.

Scarborough $3,068
Istanbul $2,415

A family of three spends $4,002 per month in Scarborough vs $3,281 in Istanbul, rent included.

Scarborough $4,002
Istanbul $3,281

Scarborough costs about 38% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Scarborough and Istanbul sit above the global median – Scarborough by 58%, Istanbul by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 £11.07

$12.30 ₺609

20.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 £52.0

$54.7 ₺2,708

26.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$9.22 ₺456

26.68%

Cappuccino

$3.37 £2.53

$4.40 ₺218

-23.41%

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

$2.08 £1.56

$1.68 ₺83.1

23.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 £0.74

$0.59 ₺29.40

67.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.76 £3.57

$4.70 ₺233

1.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.25

$5.91 ₺292

-26.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.21 ₺60.0

0.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 £1.02

$0.89 ₺44.10

51.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 £0.81

$2.19 ₺108

-51.14%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$2.35 ₺116

51.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.84

$10.42 ₺516

-25.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 £5.46

$5.65 ₺280

28.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 £10.57

$20.94 ₺1,037

-32.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$1.90 ₺94.1

69.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$2.31 ₺114

-10.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.28 ₺63.1

107.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.80 ₺89.0

15.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$0.65 ₺32.16

169.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.64 ₺31.91

150.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.25 ₺62.1

-8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$0.56 ₺27.58

253.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £16.95

$2.37 ₺118

853.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.06 £6.80

$13.42 ₺664

-32.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.67

$2.40 ₺119

47.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$3.48 ₺172

4.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$0.89 ₺43.84

276.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 £65.3

$67.4 ₺3,338

29.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.09

$1.29 ₺64.1

322.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.92 ₺45.70

448.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.92 £24.70

$10.96 ₺542

200.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.47 ₺72.9

31.97%

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

$35.7K £26.7K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-29.79%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-12.52%

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

$356 £267

$88.6 ₺4,387

301.48%

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

$25.73 £19.30

$11.59 ₺574

122.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 £25.02

$15.81 ₺783

111.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 £48.70

$77.2 ₺3,820

-15.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.72 £9.54

$22.74 ₺1,126

-44.06%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 £7.93

$8.14 ₺403

29.85%

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

$1,742 £1,307

$1,008 ₺49.9K

72.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.0K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-42.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.0

$54.0 ₺2,671

23.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 £26.59

$40.83 ₺2,021

-13.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$98.9 ₺4,895

6.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.6

$96.6 ₺4,783

18.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$985 ₺48.7K

-11.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 £632

$650 ₺32.2K

29.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 £1,152

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-22.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 £999

$1,180 ₺58.4K

12.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 £686

$1,205 ₺59.7K

-24.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

40.92

-86.49%

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

Last update for Scarborough: 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

Scarborough

$842 39.5%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 22.8% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 72% $299

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 12.9%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 5.8% $16

Eating Out

Scarborough

$238 11.2%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 6.3% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$145 6.8%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 9.8% $14

Getting Around

Scarborough

$131 6.2%

Istanbul

$77 5% 41.3% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$86 4%

Istanbul

$93 6% 8.6% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $867 in Scarborough 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 32% higher in Istanbul, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Scarborough versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $260 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

12:15 12:15 PM

2 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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 →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Scarborough Istanbul 2,620 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Scarborough is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,199 per month in Scarborough 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 $1,742 per month in Scarborough 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 6% more in Scarborough, 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 Scarborough at $2,133. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scarborough 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, Scarborough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.