Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Lesotho

Maseru vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Maseru is 64.8% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 16.8% less in Maseru
Groceries: pay 17.6% more in Maseru
Transportation: pay 41.1% less in Maseru
Housing: pay 89.1% less in Maseru
Childcare: pay 95.2% less in Maseru
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.2% less in Maseru
Clothing: pay 18.7% more in Maseru

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

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Maseru vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.8% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Maseru
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$9.01 LSL148.38	-26.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$8.41 LSL138.49	-10.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$1.07 LSL17.56	-38.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$0.84 LSL13.85	+45.4%
Average			-16.8%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.6% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Maseru
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$0.83 LSL13.60	-10.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$3.30 LSL54.39	-37.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$4.38 LSL72.07	-6.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$1.54 LSL25.32	-36.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$2.79 LSL45.98	+10.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$0.85 LSL14.02
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$1.02 LSL16.71	-1.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$1.23 LSL20.19	+114.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$1.09 LSL17.95	+30.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.71 LSL11.66	+128.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$0.73 LSL12.00	+154.8%
Average			+17.6%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.1% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Maseru
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$4.98 LSL81.93	-8.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	$30.04 LSL494.60	-55.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$21,030.86 LSL346K	-58.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$6.01 LSL98.92	-28.5%
Average			-41.1%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.1% less for housing

	Istanbul	Maseru
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$38.30 LSL630.53	+137.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$93.14 LSL1,533.25	-90.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$55.58 LSL915.01	-91.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	??
Average			-89.1%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of housing

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pay 95.2% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Maseru
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$52.06 LSL857.06	-94.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$1,181.73 LSL19,454.17	-95.5%
Average			-95.2%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Maseru
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$1.80 LSL29.68	-62.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$2.00 LSL32.97	-53.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$5.11 LSL84.08	+118.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$23.03 LSL379.19	-69.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	??
Average			-53.2%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.7% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Maseru
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$46.07 LSL758.38	-13.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$55.58 LSL915.01	+40.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$104.15 LSL1,714.61	+4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$150.22 LSL2,472.99	+57.3%
Average			+18.7%

Istanbul vs. Maseru - 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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