Cost of living comparison
compared to
Istanbul vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary
Istanbul is 39.7% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.1 times more in Istanbul
- Groceries
-
pay 24.1% less in Istanbul
- Transportation
-
pay 89.7% more in Istanbul
- Housing
-
pay 56.1% more in Istanbul
- Childcare
-
pay 2.6 times more in Istanbul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.5% more in Istanbul
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% less in Istanbul
The cost of childcare, restaurants, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports in Istanbul are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Istanbul. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Istanbul.
Istanbul vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Istanbul instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:
pay 2.1 times more for restaurants
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.89
MYR19.99
|
$12.19
TRY606.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.89
MYR19.99
|
$9.35
TRY464.68
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.81
MYR3.30
|
$1.73
TRY86.04
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.46
MYR1.88
|
$0.58
TRY28.76
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.1% less for groceries
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.09
MYR4.47
|
$0.92
TRY45.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.00
MYR28.59
|
$5.28
TRY262.29
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.96
MYR32.53
|
$4.69
TRY232.86
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.53
MYR10.33
|
$2.41
TRY119.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.02
MYR8.25
|
$2.54
TRY126.19
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.55
MYR6.32
|
$0.85
TRY42.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
MYR3.35
|
$1.03
TRY51.06
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
MYR4.23
|
$0.57
TRY28.45
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
MYR2.91
|
$0.84
TRY41.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
MYR2.42
|
$0.31
TRY15.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
MYR2.54
|
$0.29
TRY14.22
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries
pay 89.7% more for transportation
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.22
MYR13.15
|
$5.43
TRY270.07
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$12.24
MYR49.98
|
$67.03
TRY3,331.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,736.41
MYR171K
|
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.01
MYR44.99
|
$8.40
TRY417.69
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation
pay 56.1% more for housing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$26.27
MYR107.33
|
$16.15
TRY802.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$617.87
MYR2,524.20
|
$996.85
TRY49,547.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$371.37
MYR1,517.16
|
$647.83
TRY32,199.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$47.56
MYR194.31
|
$68.87
TRY3,423.14
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$299.09
MYR1,221.86
|
$1,021.62
TRY50,778.49
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,124.70
MYR53,618.32
|
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare
pay 28.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.40
MYR17.99
|
$4.78
TRY237.39
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.10
MYR12.65
|
$4.31
TRY214.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.40
MYR17.99
|
$2.34
TRY116.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.89
MYR199.72
|
$76.22
TRY3,788.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.02
MYR20.49
|
$8.13
TRY404.07
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% less for clothing
|
Kuala Lumpur
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$71.46
MYR291.93
|
$53.35
TRY2,651.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.92
MYR171.27
|
$39.62
TRY1,969.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.22
MYR352.24
|
$99.91
TRY4,966.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.07
MYR392.49
|
$95.52
TRY4,747.86
|
|
Kuala Lumpur vs. Istanbul - 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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