Cost of living comparison
compared to
Columbia vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Columbia is 38.2% more expensive than Istanbul.
Columbia vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Columbia instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 63.0% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.19
TRY611.44
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.35
TRY468.77
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
TRY86.80
|
$2.77
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
TRY29.01
|
$2.16
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
TRY46.16
|
$2.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
TRY264.59
|
$5.14
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.69
TRY234.91
|
$3.08
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.41
TRY120.90
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.54
TRY127.30
|
$5.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
TRY42.69
|
$2.33
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
TRY51.51
|
$0.73
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.57
TRY28.70
|
$2.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
TRY41.89
|
$2.75
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY15.56
|
$1.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY14.35
|
$1.94
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of groceries
pay 28.2% less for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.43
TRY272.44
|
$3.59
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.03
TRY3,360.91
|
$40.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
$35,112.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.40
TRY421.37
|
$14.43
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of transportation
pay 55.0% more for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$16.15
TRY809.55
|
$64.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$996.85
TRY49,983.16
|
$1,254.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$647.83
TRY32,482.99
|
$853.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$68.87
TRY3,453.27
|
$210.21
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of housing
pay 2.0% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,021.62
TRY51,225.46
|
$1,133.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
$22,500.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of childcare
pay 18.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.78
TRY239.48
|
$5.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.31
TRY216.34
|
$5.32
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
TRY117.19
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.22
TRY3,821.53
|
$37.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.13
TRY407.63
|
$15.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.0% less for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.35
TRY2,674.81
|
$52.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.62
TRY1,986.48
|
$39.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.91
TRY5,009.73
|
$82.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.52
TRY4,789.65
|
$113.75
|
|
Istanbul vs. Columbia - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: Istanbul vs. Columbia
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