Cost of living comparison
compared to
Essen vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Essen is 19.1% more expensive than Istanbul.
Essen vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Essen instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 76.6% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.19
TRY603.79
|
$20.16
€17.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.35
TRY462.91
|
$13.44
€11.96
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
TRY85.71
|
$3.20
€2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
TRY28.65
|
$2.71
€2.41
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of restaurants
pay 65.2% more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
TRY45.58
|
$2.13
€1.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
TRY261.28
|
$8.23
€7.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.69
TRY231.97
|
$4.70
€4.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.41
TRY119.39
|
$3.70
€3.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.54
TRY125.71
|
$4.73
€4.21
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
TRY42.16
|
$1.49
€1.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
TRY50.86
|
$0.94
€0.84
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.57
TRY28.34
|
$1.00
€0.89
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
TRY41.37
|
$1.81
€1.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY15.36
|
$0.61
€0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY14.17
|
$0.58
€0.52
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of groceries
pay 16.4% more for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.43
TRY269.03
|
$8.44
€7.51
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.03
TRY3,318.85
|
$64.94
€57.80
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
$32,914.63
€29,295.20
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.40
TRY416.09
|
$32.65
€29.06
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3% less for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$16.15
TRY799.42
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$996.85
TRY49,357.64
|
$637.02
€566.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$647.83
TRY32,076.47
|
$492.12
€438.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$68.87
TRY3,410.06
|
$297.02
€264.36
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of housing
pay 59.2% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,021.62
TRY50,584.39
|
$467.83
€416.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
$9,450.01
€8,410.85
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of childcare
pay 18.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.78
TRY236.49
|
$6.16
€5.48
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.31
TRY213.63
|
$3.82
€3.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
TRY115.73
|
$9.74
€8.67
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.22
TRY3,773.70
|
$41.21
€36.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.13
TRY402.53
|
$15.11
€13.45
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 61.9% more for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Essen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.35
TRY2,641.33
|
$96.07
€85.51
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.62
TRY1,961.62
|
$83.79
€74.58
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.91
TRY4,947.03
|
$109.88
€97.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.52
TRY4,729.71
|
$156.72
€139.48
|
|
Istanbul vs. Essen - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Istanbul vs. Essen
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cost of living in Turkey vs. Germany.
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