Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Al Ain vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Al Ain is 6.8% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 29.6% less in Al Ain
Groceries: pay 32.3% more in Al Ain
Transportation: pay 45.2% less in Al Ain
Housing: pay 7.8% more in Al Ain
Childcare: pay 59.7% less in Al Ain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.2% more in Al Ain
Clothing: pay 6.3% less in Al Ain

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

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Al Ain vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Al Ain instead of Istanbul, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 29.6% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY613.89	$8.17 AED30.00	-33.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY470.65	$8.58 AED31.50	-8.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY87.14	$0.72 AED2.65	-58.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY29.13	$0.34 AED1.25	-41.2%
Average			-29.6%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.3% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY46.35	$1.62 AED5.94	+75.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY265.65	$4.76 AED17.50	-9.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY235.85	$6.79 AED24.92	+44.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY121.38	$2.83 AED10.39	+17.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY127.81	$4.40 AED16.17	+73.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.86	$1.12 AED4.13	+32.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY51.71	$0.92 AED3.38	-10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.81	$0.84 AED3.09	+46.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY42.06	$0.71 AED2.60	-15.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.62	$0.52 AED1.93	+69.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.40	$0.53 AED1.96	+86.4%
Average			+32.3%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.2% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY273.53	$3.37 AED12.37	-38.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,374.37	$24.50 AED90.00	-63.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$29,949.09 AED110K	-41.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY423.05	$6.67 AED24.50	-20.6%
Average			-45.2%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.8% more for housing

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY812.79	$88.30 AED324.32	+446.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY50,183.32	$707.89 AED2,600.07	-29.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,613.07	$816.48 AED2,998.91	+26.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,467.10	$86.71 AED318.50	+25.9%
Average			+7.8%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of housing

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pay 59.7% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY51,430.60	$571.30 AED2,098.39	-44.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$7,532.65 AED27,667.42	-71.0%
Average			-59.7%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY240.44	$8.17 AED30.00	+71.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY217.21	$4.67 AED17.17	+8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY117.66	$6.26 AED23.00	+167.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,836.83	$57.29 AED210.42	-24.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY409.26	$13.61 AED50.00	+67.5%
Average			+32.2%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.3% less for clothing

	Istanbul	Al Ain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,685.52	$44.24 AED162.50	-17.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,994.44	$49.09 AED180.32	+23.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY5,029.79	$70.11 AED257.51	-29.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,808.83	$102.10 AED375.01	+6.9%
Average			-6.3%

Istanbul vs. Al Ain - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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