Cost of living comparison
compared to
Dubai vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Dubai is 68.7% more expensive than Istanbul.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.0% more in Dubai
- Groceries
-
pay 44.0% more in Dubai
- Transportation
-
pay 7.1% more in Dubai
- Housing
-
pay 3.7 times more in Dubai
- Childcare
-
pay 21.2% less in Dubai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.3 times more in Dubai
- Clothing
-
pay 31.3% more in Dubai
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, restaurants, and transportation in Dubai are more expensive than in Istanbul. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Dubai.
Dubai vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Dubai instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 18.0% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.83
TRY459.94
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.42
TRY357.73
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.41
TRY60.09
|
$1.19
AED4.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.52
TRY22.00
|
$0.90
AED3.31
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants
pay 44.0% more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.74
TRY31.52
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
TRY199.92
|
$5.45
AED20.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.92
TRY166.74
|
$7.12
AED26.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.56
TRY108.85
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.81
TRY119.28
|
$4.21
AED15.45
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.70
TRY29.64
|
$1.05
AED3.86
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
TRY44.28
|
$0.86
AED3.16
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.61
TRY26.12
|
$0.78
AED2.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.66
TRY27.95
|
$0.65
AED2.40
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY12.97
|
$0.53
AED1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY12.20
|
$0.52
AED1.92
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries
pay 7.1% more for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.52
TRY191.84
|
$2.82
AED10.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$51.00
TRY2,166.84
|
$87.13
AED320.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$46,262.10
TRY1,965,487.12
|
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.40
TRY271.88
|
$8.71
AED32.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7 times more for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$14.42
TRY612.60
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$944.04
TRY40,108.43
|
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$600.84
TRY25,527.41
|
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$51.55
TRY2,190.30
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of housing
pay 21.2% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,054.93
TRY44,819.80
|
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,729.11
TRY795,722.91
|
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.61
TRY153.31
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.73
TRY158.41
|
$5.65
AED20.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.17
TRY91.99
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.55
TRY2,572.47
|
$84.61
AED310.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.94
TRY337.29
|
$14.98
AED55.00
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.3% more for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.12
TRY2,341.93
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.04
TRY1,956.22
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.25
TRY4,768.88
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$100.05
TRY4,250.82
|
$124.75
AED458.15
|
|
Istanbul vs. Dubai - 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
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