Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mechelen vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary
Mechelen is 33.7% more expensive than Istanbul.
Mechelen vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mechelen instead of Istanbul, you would:
pay 87.7% more for restaurants
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.19
TRY606.11
|
$22.39
€19.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.35
TRY464.68
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.73
TRY86.04
|
$3.43
€3.06
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
TRY28.76
|
$2.89
€2.58
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of restaurants
pay 81.9% more for groceries
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.92
TRY45.76
|
$2.74
€2.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
TRY262.29
|
$8.62
€7.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.69
TRY232.86
|
$4.48
€4.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.41
TRY119.84
|
$3.71
€3.31
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.54
TRY126.19
|
$5.42
€4.84
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.85
TRY42.32
|
$1.25
€1.12
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
TRY51.06
|
$1.08
€0.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.57
TRY28.45
|
$1.17
€1.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
TRY41.53
|
$1.31
€1.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.31
TRY15.42
|
$0.97
€0.87
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.29
TRY14.22
|
$0.87
€0.78
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of groceries
pay 9.1% more for transportation
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.43
TRY270.07
|
$7.82
€6.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.03
TRY3,331.58
|
$54.87
€48.97
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
$35,462.03
€31,651.21
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.40
TRY417.69
|
$27.10
€24.19
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of transportation
pay 25.5% more for housing
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$16.15
TRY802.49
|
$47.40
€42.31
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$996.85
TRY49,547.03
|
$933.11
€832.84
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$647.83
TRY32,199.56
|
$783.81
€699.58
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$68.87
TRY3,423.14
|
$156.74
€139.90
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of housing
pay 32.9% less for childcare
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,021.62
TRY50,778.49
|
$559.87
€499.70
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
$21,386.95
€19,088.66
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of childcare
pay 12.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.78
TRY237.39
|
$5.49
€4.90
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.31
TRY214.45
|
$4.29
€3.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
TRY116.17
|
$13.13
€11.72
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$76.22
TRY3,788.18
|
$29.86
€26.65
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.13
TRY404.07
|
$15.12
€13.49
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 44.0% more for clothing
|
Istanbul
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.35
TRY2,651.47
|
$107.90
€96.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.62
TRY1,969.15
|
$49.83
€44.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.91
TRY4,966.02
|
$107.76
€96.18
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.52
TRY4,747.86
|
$149.69
€133.61
|
|
Istanbul vs. Mechelen - 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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