Cost of living comparison
compared to
Istanbul vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Istanbul is 27.3% cheaper than Madrid.
Istanbul vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Istanbul instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 35.5% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.92
€15.95
|
$12.19
TRY603.79
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.20
€9.97
|
$9.35
TRY462.91
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
€2.94
|
$1.73
TRY85.71
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
€2.05
|
$0.58
TRY28.65
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.1% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.57
€1.39
|
$0.92
TRY45.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.35
€7.43
|
$5.28
TRY261.28
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
€4.67
|
$4.69
TRY231.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.15
€3.69
|
$2.41
TRY119.39
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.23
€3.76
|
$2.54
TRY125.71
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.04
|
$0.85
TRY42.16
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.85
|
$1.03
TRY50.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.15
€1.02
|
$0.57
TRY28.34
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.03
|
$0.84
TRY41.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.89
|
$0.31
TRY15.36
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.86
|
$0.29
TRY14.17
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries
pay 11.9% more for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.88
€6.12
|
$5.43
TRY269.03
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.95
€32.89
|
$67.03
TRY3,318.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,271.67
€31,393.06
|
$50,810.11
TRY3M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.84
€14.10
|
$8.40
TRY416.09
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation
pay 42.6% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.86
€31.03
|
$16.15
TRY799.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,491.38
€1,327.38
|
$996.85
TRY49,357.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,193.86
€1,062.58
|
$647.83
TRY32,076.47
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.11
€128.26
|
$68.87
TRY3,410.06
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing
pay 49.2% more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$668.48
€594.97
|
$1,021.62
TRY50,584.39
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,859.91
€15,895.97
|
$25,999.20
TRY1M
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.92
€3.49
|
$4.78
TRY236.49
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.07
€2.74
|
$4.31
TRY213.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.72
€5.98
|
$2.34
TRY115.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.67
€45.10
|
$76.22
TRY3,773.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.20
€9.97
|
$8.13
TRY402.53
|
|
Madrid vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.5% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Istanbul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.50
€76.99
|
$53.35
TRY2,641.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.98
€38.25
|
$39.62
TRY1,961.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.99
€97.00
|
$99.91
TRY4,947.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.77
€100.37
|
$95.52
TRY4,729.71
|
|
Madrid 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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Compare further: Madrid vs. Istanbul
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cost of living in Spain vs. Turkey.
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