Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Poland

Warsaw vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Warsaw is 15.6% more expensive than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 18.1% more in Warsaw
Groceries: pay 17.3% more in Warsaw
Transportation: pay 22.7% less in Warsaw
Housing: pay 52.3% more in Warsaw
Childcare: pay 43.4% less in Warsaw
Clothing: pay 25.9% more in Warsaw

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

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Warsaw vs. Istanbul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.1% more for restaurants

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$11.51 PLN44.70	-5.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$10.23 PLN39.73	+9.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$2.24 PLN8.69	+29.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$2.24 PLN8.71	+287.5%
Average			+18.1%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$1.49 PLN5.78	+61.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$4.41 PLN17.13	-16.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$4.07 PLN15.80	-13.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$3.89 PLN15.11	+61.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$2.95 PLN11.46	+16.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$0.54 PLN2.11	-36.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$0.77 PLN3.00	-24.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$0.77 PLN3.00	+35.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$1.83 PLN7.12	+119.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.40 PLN1.56	+29.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$0.41 PLN1.59	+42.7%
Average			+17.3%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.7% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$6.61 PLN25.68	+21.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	$28.12 PLN109.26	-58.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$30,654.89 PLN119K	-39.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$12.78 PLN49.66	+52.1%
Average			-22.7%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.3% more for housing

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$16.12 PLN62.61	-0.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$1,178.19 PLN4,576.94	+18.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$950.41 PLN3,692.09	+46.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	$262.73 PLN1,020.62	+281.5%
Average			+52.3%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of housing

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pay 43.4% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$588.07 PLN2,284.47	-42.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$14,458.55 PLN56,167.35	-44.4%
Average			-43.4%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of childcare

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pay about the same for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$4.60 PLN17.88	-3.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$4.27 PLN16.58	-1.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$6.39 PLN24.83	+173.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$46.71 PLN181.45	-38.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	$9.20 PLN35.76	+13.2%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.9% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Warsaw
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$107.88 PLN419.08	+102.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$39.61 PLN153.88
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$106.17 PLN412.46	+6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$111.84 PLN434.46	+17.1%
Average			+25.9%

Istanbul vs. Warsaw - 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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Size Comparison · See true size

Istanbul is about 10 times bigger than Warsaw.

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