Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 28.6% more expensive than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 30.4% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 43.8% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 20.9% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 51.9% less in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.2% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 10.8% more in Riyadh

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

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Riyadh vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.4% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.83 TRY510.35	$8.00 SAR30.05	-26.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.42 TRY396.94	$8.00 SAR30.05	-5.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 TRY66.67	$0.75 SAR2.82	-46.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 TRY24.41	$0.29 SAR1.10	-43.6%
Average			-30.4%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.8% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 TRY34.98	$1.31 SAR4.91	+76.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.71 TRY221.83	$4.27 SAR16.03	-9.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.92 TRY185.01	$6.23 SAR23.41	+58.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 TRY120.78	$2.81 SAR10.55	+9.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 TRY132.35	$4.67 SAR17.55	+66.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.70 TRY32.89	$1.03 SAR3.86	+47.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 TRY49.13	$0.76 SAR2.87	-26.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.61 TRY28.98	$0.82 SAR3.07	+32.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 TRY31.01	$0.70 SAR2.63	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY14.39	$0.58 SAR2.18	+89.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY13.54	$0.66 SAR2.49	+130.4%
Average			+43.8%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.9% more for transportation

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.52 TRY212.87	$2.31 SAR8.66	-48.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$51.00 TRY2,404.33	$37.33 SAR140.25	-26.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$46,262.10 TRY2M	$33,328.67 SAR125K	-28.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.40 TRY301.68	$18.40 SAR69.12	+187.5%
Average			+20.9%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.42 TRY679.74	$74.49 SAR279.89	+416.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$944.04 TRY44,504.45	$1,119.84 SAR4,207.41	+18.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$600.84 TRY28,325.30	$846.11 SAR3,178.95	+40.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$51.55 TRY2,430.36	$82.07 SAR308.36	+59.2%
Average			+133.8%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 51.9% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,054.93 TRY49,732.21	$461.83 SAR1,735.15	-56.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,729.11 TRY883K	$9,810.75 SAR36,860.40	-47.6%
Average			-51.9%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 TRY170.12	$1.87 SAR7.01	-48.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.73 TRY175.77	$4.10 SAR15.41	+10.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.17 TRY102.07	$7.33 SAR27.55	+238.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$60.55 TRY2,854.42	$104.43 SAR392.36	+72.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.94 TRY374.26	$15.33 SAR57.60	+93.1%
Average			+73.2%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.12 TRY2,598.62	$59.01 SAR221.71	+7.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.04 TRY2,170.62	$64.27 SAR241.48	+39.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.25 TRY5,291.56	$110.52 SAR415.23	-1.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.05 TRY4,716.72	$98.25 SAR369.15	-1.8%
Average			+10.8%

Istanbul vs. Riyadh - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

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