Cost of living comparison
compared to
Beirut vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Beirut is 15.4% more expensive than Istanbul.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.6% more in Beirut
- Groceries
-
pay 21.4% more in Beirut
- Transportation
-
pay 48.1% more in Beirut
- Housing
-
pay 71.1% more in Beirut
- Childcare
-
pay 66.3% less in Beirut
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.5% more in Beirut
- Clothing
-
pay 6.6% more in Beirut
The cost of housing, transportation, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Beirut are more expensive than in Istanbul.
Beirut vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Beirut instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 16.6% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.83
TRY460.38
|
$10.82
LBP969,037
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.42
TRY358.07
|
$8.00
LBP716,459
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.41
TRY60.14
|
$1.76
LBP157,223
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.52
TRY22.02
|
$0.76
LBP68,287
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.4% more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.74
TRY31.55
|
$0.75
LBP67,016
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
TRY200.11
|
$5.06
LBP453,384
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.92
TRY166.89
|
$6.20
LBP555,196
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.56
TRY108.95
|
$3.05
LBP273,299
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.81
TRY119.39
|
$4.28
LBP383,658
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.70
TRY29.67
|
$0.92
LBP81,956
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
TRY44.32
|
$0.66
LBP59,411
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.61
TRY26.15
|
$0.60
LBP53,960
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.66
TRY27.97
|
$0.51
LBP45,265
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY12.98
|
$0.42
LBP37,271
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY12.21
|
$0.55
LBP49,327
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of groceries
pay 48.1% more for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.52
TRY192.02
|
$3.51
LBP313,977
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$51.00
TRY2,168.88
|
$72.50
LBP6,492,907
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$46,262.10
TRY1,967,342.23
|
$35,000.00
LBP3,134,506,791
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.40
TRY272.13
|
$19.00
LBP1,701,589
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of transportation
pay 71.1% more for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$14.42
TRY613.18
|
$37.92
LBP3,396,290
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$944.04
TRY40,146.28
|
$842.31
LBP75,434,834
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$600.84
TRY25,551.50
|
$372.22
LBP33,335,231
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$51.55
TRY2,192.36
|
$139.38
LBP12,482,089
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of housing
pay 66.3% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,054.93
TRY44,862.11
|
$362.50
LBP32,464,535
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,729.11
TRY796,473.95
|
$6,187.50
LBP554,136,022
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of childcare
pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.61
TRY153.46
|
$4.00
LBP358,229
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.73
TRY158.56
|
$3.28
LBP294,161
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.17
TRY92.08
|
$2.55
LBP228,371
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.55
TRY2,574.89
|
$66.33
LBP5,940,637
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.94
TRY337.61
|
$10.00
LBP895,573
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.6% more for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Beirut
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.12
TRY2,344.15
|
$59.38
LBP5,317,467
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.04
TRY1,958.06
|
$50.00
LBP4,477,867
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.25
TRY4,773.38
|
$120.56
LBP10,796,634
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.05
TRY4,254.83
|
$102.86
LBP9,211,612
|
|
Istanbul vs. Beirut - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Turkey vs. Lebanon.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Turkey and Lebanon.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Beirut or Istanbul. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.