Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Mexico

Cancun vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Cancun is 9.7% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 4.3% more in Cancun
Groceries: pay 62.2% more in Cancun
Transportation: pay 28.0% less in Cancun
Housing: pay 14.8% less in Cancun
Childcare: pay 79.1% less in Cancun
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.4% less in Cancun
Clothing: pay 2.5% more in Cancun

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

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Cancun vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.3% more for restaurants

	Istanbul	Cancun
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY608.91	$11.13 MX$209.02	-8.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY466.83	$11.52 MX$216.51	+23.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY86.44	$1.34 MX$25.23	-22.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.89	$0.82 MX$15.50	+42.6%
Average			+4.3%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.2% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Cancun
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.97	$2.66 MX$49.94	+188.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY263.50	$4.94 MX$92.83	-6.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY233.94	$6.40 MX$120.23	+36.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY120.40	$2.75 MX$51.70	+14.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY126.78	$4.02 MX$75.45	+58.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.52	$1.31 MX$24.56	+53.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY51.29	$0.75 MX$14.07	-27.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.58	$1.42 MX$26.62	+147.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.72	$1.01 MX$19.01	+21.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.49	$0.91 MX$17.09	+193.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.29	$0.89 MX$16.73	+211.2%
Average			+62.2%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.0% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Cancun
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY271.32	$5.72 MX$107.40	+5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,347.00	$29.03 MX$545.27	-56.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$21,528.95 MX$404K	-57.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY419.62	$27.96 MX$525.20	+232.7%
Average			-28.0%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.8% less for housing

	Istanbul	Cancun
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY806.20	$38.80 MX$728.96	+140.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,776.31	$663.13 MX$12,457.68	-33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,348.56	$460.19 MX$8,645.13	-29.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,438.98	$130.28 MX$2,447.55	+89.2%
Average			-14.8%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of housing

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pay 79.1% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Cancun
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY51,013.47	$210.01 MX$3,945.28	-79.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$5,507.55 MX$103K	-78.8%
Average			-79.1%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Cancun
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY238.49	$3.17 MX$59.53	-33.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY215.45	$3.84 MX$72.12	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY116.71	$4.45 MX$83.61	+90.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,805.71	$33.38 MX$627.06	-56.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY405.94	$7.51 MX$141.09	-7.6%
Average			-23.4%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Cancun
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,663.74	$55.63 MX$1,045.11	+4.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,978.26	$55.63 MX$1,045.11	+40.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,989.00	$76.03 MX$1,428.31	-23.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,769.83	$94.57 MX$1,776.68	-1.0%
Average			+2.5%

Istanbul vs. Cancun - 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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