Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Mexico

Monterrey vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Monterrey is 5.1% more expensive than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 19.1% more in Monterrey
Groceries: pay 73.5% more in Monterrey
Transportation: pay 32.3% less in Monterrey
Housing: pay 8.9% more in Monterrey
Childcare: pay 44.8% less in Monterrey
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.7% less in Monterrey
Clothing: pay 20.6% more in Monterrey

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

Planning a move to Mexico? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Monterrey vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.1% more for restaurants

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY606.11	$13.91 MX$259.64	+14.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY464.68	$11.13 MX$207.71	+19.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY86.04	$1.68 MX$31.29	-3.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.76	$1.03 MX$19.21	+77.9%
Average			+19.1%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.5% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.76	$2.95 MX$55.15	+220.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY262.29	$6.13 MX$114.52	+16.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY232.86	$7.20 MX$134.45	+53.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.84	$2.56 MX$47.84	+6.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY126.19	$4.28 MX$79.94	+68.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.32	$1.52 MX$28.31	+78.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY51.06	$0.71 MX$13.32	-30.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.45	$0.98 MX$18.36	+71.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.53	$1.12 MX$20.92	+34.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.42	$1.06 MX$19.70	+240.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.22	$1.23 MX$22.99	+330.4%
Average			+73.5%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.3% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY270.07	$5.91 MX$110.39	+8.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,331.58	$32.04 MX$598.21	-52.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$21,528.95 MX$402K	-57.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY417.69	$10.57 MX$197.33	+25.8%
Average			-32.3%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.9% more for housing

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY802.49	$26.79 MX$500.12	+65.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,547.03	$981.90 MX$18,330.52	-1.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,199.56	$685.94 MX$12,805.40	+5.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,423.14	$91.91 MX$1,715.79	+33.5%
Average			+8.9%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.8% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,778.49	$703.26 MX$13,128.81	-31.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$11,496.80 MX$215K	-55.8%
Average			-44.8%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY237.39	$2.36 MX$44.14	-50.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY214.45	$4.04 MX$75.39	-6.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY116.17	$4.90 MX$91.39	+109.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,788.18	$31.22 MX$582.75	-59.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY404.07	$5.29 MX$98.66	-35.0%
Average			-33.7%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.6% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Monterrey
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,651.47	$73.56 MX$1,373.20	+37.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,969.15	$42.76 MX$798.25	+7.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,966.02	$112.51 MX$2,100.32	+12.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,747.86	$120.67 MX$2,252.66	+26.3%
Average			+20.6%

Istanbul vs. Monterrey - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Istanbul vs. Monterrey

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Monterrey?

More cost comparisons

Istanbul vs.

Shanghai

Istanbul vs.

Athens

Istanbul vs.

Moscow

Istanbul vs.

Madrid

Istanbul vs.

Sydney

Istanbul vs.

London

Istanbul vs.

Vienna

Istanbul vs.

Toronto

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Turkey vs. Mexico. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Turkey and Mexico.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Istanbul

Add prices for Monterrey

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Monterrey or Istanbul. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.