Cost of living comparison

Sweden

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Helsingborg Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 7.4% cheaper than Helsingborg.

Restaurants: pay 27.2% less in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 44.7% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 0.6% less in Istanbul
Housing: pay 1.3% more in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 5.9 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.6% less in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 4.8% less in Istanbul

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

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Istanbul vs. Helsingborg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.2% less for restaurants

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.00 SEK128.83	$12.19 TRY603.79	-6.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.45 SEK123.38	$9.35 TRY462.91	-24.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.87 SEK28.49	$1.73 TRY85.71	-39.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.31 SEK22.90	$0.58 TRY28.65	-75.0%
Average			-27.2%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.7% less for groceries

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$2.75 SEK27.25	$0.92 TRY45.58	-66.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.67 SEK56.20	$5.28 TRY261.28	-6.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.49 SEK54.39	$4.69 TRY231.97	-14.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.85 SEK38.18	$2.41 TRY119.39	-37.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.97 SEK49.30	$2.54 TRY125.71	-48.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 SEK13.65	$0.85 TRY42.16	-38.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.11 SEK11.04	$1.03 TRY50.86	-7.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 SEK13.21	$0.57 TRY28.34	-57.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 SEK19.64	$0.84 TRY41.37	-57.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 SEK7.53	$0.31 TRY15.36	-59.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 SEK6.89	$0.29 TRY14.17	-58.8%
Average			-44.7%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% less for transportation

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.58 SEK65.19	$5.43 TRY269.03	-17.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$62.88 SEK623.33	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	+6.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,980.57 SEK327K	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+54.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.55 SEK193.80	$8.40 TRY416.09	-57.0%
Average			-0.6%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.3% more for housing

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.94 SEK326.53	$16.15 TRY799.42	-51.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$840.16 SEK8,328.25	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	+18.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$645.22 SEK6,395.83	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	+0.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$79.29 SEK785.96	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	-13.1%
Average			+1.3%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 5.9 times more for childcare

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.95 SEK1,724.32	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	+487.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$25,999.20 TRY1M
Average			+487.3%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.95 SEK68.87	$4.78 TRY236.49	-31.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.58 SEK45.42	$4.31 TRY213.63	-5.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.30 SEK82.25	$2.34 TRY115.73	-71.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.16 SEK378.23	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	+99.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00 SEK148.65	$8.13 TRY402.53	-45.8%
Average			-17.6%

Helsingborg vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.8% less for clothing

	Helsingborg	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$78.98 SEK782.88	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	-32.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.97 SEK326.84	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	+20.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.70 SEK869.34	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	+13.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.47 SEK1,065.31	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	-11.1%
Average			-4.8%

Helsingborg 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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