Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Istanbul: $1,526 a month against $2,255 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,255 per month in St. Andrews vs $1,526 in Istanbul, rent included.

St. Andrews $2,255
Istanbul $1,526

A couple spends around $3,874 per month in St. Andrews vs $2,399 in Istanbul, rent included.

St. Andrews $3,874
Istanbul $2,399

A family of three spends $5,492 per month in St. Andrews vs $3,272 in Istanbul, rent included.

St. Andrews $5,492
Istanbul $3,272

St. Andrews costs about 48% more than Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St. Andrews and Istanbul sit above the global median – St. Andrews by 68%, Istanbul by 14%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.47 £16.23

$11.88 ₺585

80.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 £63.9

$55.1 ₺2,715

53.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £8.03

$9.14 ₺450

16.19%

Cappuccino

$4.67 £3.53

$4.24 ₺209

10.14%

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

$2.81 £2.13

$1.75 ₺86.0

60.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.54 ₺26.84

298.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.51 £4.92

$4.69 ₺231

38.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.59 £4.98

$5.97 ₺294

10.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.26 ₺62.1

24.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.32

$0.95 ₺46.82

83.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.31 ₺114

-12.55%

Eggs

$4.45 £3.37

$2.47 ₺122

80.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 £5.59

$10.55 ₺520

-29.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.44 £7.13

$5.60 ₺276

68.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.43 £11.66

$21.21 ₺1,045

-27.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 £1.85

$1.93 ₺95.1

26.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 £1.00

$2.29 ₺113

-42.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.14

$1.28 ₺63.1

121.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 £2.15

$1.84 ₺90.8

54.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$0.67 ₺32.87

162.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.13

$0.59 ₺29.31

152.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.95

$1.33 ₺65.4

-6.02%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 £1.85

$0.59 ₺29.11

315.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.65 £17.12

$2.36 ₺116

859.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.91 £8.25

$13.47 ₺664

-19.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 £2.06

$2.42 ₺119

12.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.28

$3.54 ₺174

-14.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.65 £3.52

$0.83 ₺40.65

460.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,274

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.98

$1.35 ₺66.6

192.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.84

$0.85 ₺42.06

187.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.22 £18.31

$10.86 ₺535

123.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.47 ₺72.3

42.18%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-27.33%

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

$41.2K £31.2K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-7.25%

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

$239 £181

$89.2 ₺4,396

167.68%

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

$12.98 £9.81

$11.60 ₺572

11.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.73 £32.30

$16.10 ₺793

165.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.2 £69.7

$77.3 ₺3,806

19.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

Cinema Ticket

$13.16 £9.94

$8.34 ₺411

57.79%

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

$1,773 £1,340

$974 ₺48.0K

82.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.6K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-9.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.7 £71.6

$52.7 ₺2,597

79.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.10 £36.36

$39.16 ₺1,930

22.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.7

$103 ₺5,084

0.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 £66.1

$96.6 ₺4,760

-9.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 £1,023

$994 ₺49.0K

36.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 £777

$629 ₺31.0K

63.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,082 £2,330

$2,024 ₺99.7K

52.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,706 £2,045

$1,155 ₺56.9K

134.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,113 £4,621

$3,160 ₺155.7K

93.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,693 £2,036

$1,838 ₺90.5K

46.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,284 £2,483

$1,203 ₺59.3K

172.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

41.09

-86.83%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: 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

St. Andrews

$1K 45.6%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 38.8% $399

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$325 14.4%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 33% $107

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$305 13.5%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 13.3% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$295 13.1%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 60.3% $178

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$151 6.7%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 12.8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$119 5.3%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 20.8% $25

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.5%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 117% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,354 in St. Andrews 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.

Salaries run about 173% higher in St. Andrews, 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 $84.0 in St. Andrews versus $55.0 in Istanbul. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $264 – making Istanbul the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

01:34 1:34 AM

03:34 3:34 AM

2 h ahead of St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

15,701,602

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.27 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.26 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Andrews Istanbul 2,850 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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

St. Andrews vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Andrews is pricier by about 48%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,383 per month in St. Andrews 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 Istanbul, 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 $84.0 in St. Andrews 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 15% more in St. Andrews, 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 $1,526, than in St. Andrews at $2,255. In Istanbul it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Andrews 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, St. Andrews makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.