Cost of living comparison

Oman

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 13.5% more expensive than Muscat.

Restaurants: pay 79.8% more in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 24.0% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 42.9% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 12.6% more in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.2% less in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 1.3% more in Istanbul

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

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Istanbul vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 79.8% more for restaurants

	Muscat	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR1.990	$12.19 TRY603.79	+134.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 OMR2.980	$9.35 TRY462.91	+19.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 OMR0.340	$1.73 TRY85.71	+97.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 OMR0.110	$0.58 TRY28.65	+105.4%
Average			+79.8%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.0% less for groceries

	Muscat	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.21 OMR0.460	$0.92 TRY45.58	-24.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.66 OMR1.400	$5.28 TRY261.28	+44.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.79 OMR3.360	$4.69 TRY231.97	-46.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.98 OMR1.140	$2.41 TRY119.39	-19.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.17 OMR1.210	$2.54 TRY125.71	-19.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.63 OMR0.620	$0.85 TRY42.16	-47.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.90 OMR0.340	$1.03 TRY50.86	+14.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 OMR0.410	$0.57 TRY28.34	-47.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 OMR0.220	$0.84 TRY41.37	+43.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 OMR0.210	$0.31 TRY15.36	-42.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 OMR0.220	$0.29 TRY14.17	-50.0%
Average			-24.0%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.9% more for transportation

	Muscat	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 OMR0.900	$5.43 TRY269.03	+130.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$78.03 OMR29.840	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	-14.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,485.84 OMR9,746.120	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+99.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.06 OMR9.200	$8.40 TRY416.09	-65.1%
Average			+42.9%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.6% more for housing

	Muscat	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.55 OMR26.980	$16.15 TRY799.42	-77.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.91 OMR260.390	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	+46.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$453.13 OMR173.280	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	+43.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$136.85 OMR52.330	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	-49.7%
Average			+12.6%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Muscat	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$287.32 OMR109.880	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	+255.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,536.61 OMR4,029.340	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+146.8%
Average			+196.2%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Muscat	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.00 OMR4.970	$4.78 TRY236.49	-63.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.07 OMR1.940	$4.31 TRY213.63	-14.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.50 OMR2.480	$2.34 TRY115.73	-64.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.02 OMR23.720	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	+22.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.40 OMR3.980	$8.13 TRY402.53	-21.9%
Average			-29.2%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.3% more for clothing

	Muscat	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.51 OMR21.610	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	-5.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.24 OMR16.540	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	-8.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.59 OMR34.260	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	+11.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.56 OMR33.480	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	+9.1%
Average			+1.3%

Muscat vs. Istanbul - 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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