Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Sarajevo is 25.0% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 7.0% less in Sarajevo
Groceries: pay 13.3% more in Sarajevo
Transportation: pay 21.9% less in Sarajevo
Housing: pay 36.1% less in Sarajevo
Childcare: pay 82.6% less in Sarajevo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.6% less in Sarajevo
Clothing: pay 10.6% more in Sarajevo

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

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Sarajevo vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.0% less for restaurants

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$8.58 BAM14.93	-29.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$8.58 BAM14.93	-8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$2.20 BAM3.82	+26.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$1.45 BAM2.52	+150.0%
Average			-7.0%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.3% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$1.19 BAM2.08	+29.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$5.15 BAM8.96	-2.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$4.50 BAM7.83	-3.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$3.04 BAM5.29	+26.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$3.43 BAM5.97	+35.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$0.66 BAM1.15	-22.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$0.75 BAM1.31	-26.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$0.70 BAM1.21	+21.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$0.92 BAM1.60	+9.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.44 BAM0.76	+40.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$0.51 BAM0.89	+79.4%
Average			+13.3%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.9% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$6.41 BAM11.15	+17.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	$34.33 BAM59.73	-48.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$29,737.21 BAM51,736.89	-41.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$10.58 BAM18.42	+26.0%
Average			-21.9%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.1% less for housing

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$27.86 BAM48.47	+72.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$454.54 BAM790.80	-54.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$310.33 BAM539.92	-52.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	$167.00 BAM290.54	+142.5%
Average			-36.1%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of housing

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pay 82.6% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$206.61 BAM359.46	-79.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$3,870.15 BAM6,733.30	-85.1%
Average			-82.6%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$2.86 BAM4.98	-40.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$2.29 BAM3.99	-46.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$3.95 BAM6.87	+68.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$40.01 BAM69.61	-47.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	$6.87 BAM11.95	-15.5%
Average			-31.6%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.6% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Sarajevo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$87.64 BAM152.48	+64.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$37.97 BAM66.06	-4.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$90.59 BAM157.61	-9.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$100.13 BAM174.20	+4.8%
Average			+10.6%

Istanbul vs. Sarajevo - 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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