Cost of living comparison

compared to

Istanbul vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 16.6% cheaper than Athens.

Restaurants
pay 20.9% less in Istanbul
Groceries
pay 34.3% less in Istanbul
Transportation
pay 32.5% more in Istanbul
Housing
pay 23.1% less in Istanbul
Childcare
pay 3.5% less in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.1% less in Istanbul
Clothing
pay 9.1% more in Istanbul

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

Istanbul vs. Athens Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Istanbul instead of Athens, you would:

pay 20.9% less for restaurants

 
Athens
Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.00
 
$12.19
TRY611.44
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$9.35
TRY468.77
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.27
 
$1.73
TRY86.80

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pay 34.3% less for groceries

 
Athens
Istanbul
Bread
1 loaf
$2.10
 
$0.92
TRY46.16
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.40
 
$5.28
TRY264.59
Milk (1 gallon) $2.72
 
$4.69
TRY234.91

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pay 32.5% more for transportation

 
Athens
Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.46
 
$5.43
TRY272.44
Monthly public transit pass ?? $67.03
TRY3,360.91
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,168.00
 
$50,810.11
TRY3M

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pay 23.1% less for housing

 
Athens
Istanbul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.00
 
$16.15
TRY809.55
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,306.00
 
$996.85
TRY49,983.16
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $687.00
 
$647.83
TRY32,482.99

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pay 3.5% less for childcare

 
Athens
Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,462.50
 
$1,021.62
TRY51,225.46
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,510.00
 
$25,999.20
TRY1M

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pay 30.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Athens
Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$4.78
TRY239.48
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.96
 
$4.31
TRY216.34
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.00
 
$2.34
TRY117.19

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pay 9.1% more for clothing

 
Athens
Istanbul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.31
 
$53.35
TRY2,674.81
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.71
 
$39.62
TRY1,986.48
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$65.00
 
$99.91
TRY5,009.73

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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