Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 23.5% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 28.0% more in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 28.2% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 71.8% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 54.1% less in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 50.5% more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.6% less in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 14.1% less in Istanbul

The cost of transportation, childcare, and restaurants in Istanbul are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Istanbul.

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Istanbul vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Istanbul instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.0% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$12.19 TRY603.79	+49.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.35 TRY462.91	-1.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$1.73 TRY85.71	+50.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.58 TRY28.65	+39.1%
Average			+28.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.2% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$0.92 TRY45.58	-43.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$5.28 TRY261.28	-9.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$4.69 TRY231.97	-36.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$2.41 TRY119.39	-30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$2.54 TRY125.71	-42.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.85 TRY42.16	-24.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.03 TRY50.86	+8.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.57 TRY28.34	-31.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.84 TRY41.37	+18.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.31 TRY15.36	-43.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.29 TRY14.17	-46.3%
Average			-28.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.8% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$5.43 TRY269.03	+49.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	+152.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+69.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$8.40 TRY416.09	+10.2%
Average			+71.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.1% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$16.15 TRY799.42	-81.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	-49.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	-53.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	-53.5%
Average			-54.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 50.5% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	+29.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+75.4%
Average			+50.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$4.78 TRY236.49	-58.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$4.31 TRY213.63	-27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$2.34 TRY115.73	-65.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	-20.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$8.13 TRY402.53	-45.7%
Average			-42.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.1% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	-13.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	-19.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	-10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	-13.3%
Average			-14.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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