Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Male is 4.1% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 31.5% less in Male
Groceries: pay 68.7% more in Male
Transportation: pay 31.6% less in Male
Housing: pay 13.8% more in Male
Childcare: pay 85.5% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.3% more in Male
Clothing: pay 18.3% less in Male

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

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Male vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.5% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$6.00 MVR92.80	-50.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$9.73 MVR150.49	+4.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$1.63 MVR25.14	-6.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$0.30 MVR4.59	-48.7%
Average			-31.5%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 68.7% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$1.65 MVR25.58	+79.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$5.34 MVR82.48	+1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$7.69 MVR118.88	+64.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$1.92 MVR29.72	-20.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$2.77 MVR42.75	+8.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$1.80 MVR27.85	+111.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$1.39 MVR21.42	+34.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$1.85 MVR28.67	+224.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$1.22 MVR18.85	+45.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.93 MVR14.41	+200.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$0.86 MVR13.31	+200.9%
Average			+68.7%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.6% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$3.81 MVR58.85	-29.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	$30.82 MVR476.54	-54.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$32,446.46 MVR502K	-36.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$17.52 MVR270.88	+108.5%
Average			-31.6%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.8% more for housing

	Istanbul	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	+352.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$951.14 MVR14,704.70	-4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$699.92 MVR10,820.71	+8.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	$90.98 MVR1,406.51	+32.1%
Average			+13.8%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 85.5% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$184.98 MVR2,859.75	-81.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$3,004.83 MVR46,454.64	-88.4%
Average			-85.5%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$4.87 MVR75.24	+1.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$3.55 MVR54.87	-17.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$14.93 MVR230.75	+538.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	-7.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	$9.73 MVR150.49	+19.7%
Average			+19.3%

Istanbul vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.3% less for clothing

	Istanbul	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$39.51 MVR610.88	-25.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$49.64 MVR767.37	+25.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$87.13 MVR1,346.98	-12.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$52.52 MVR811.92	-45.0%
Average			-18.3%

Istanbul vs. Male - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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