Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 62.7% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 69.7% more in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 2.4% more in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 30.7% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.6% more in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 56.7% more in Istanbul

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Istanbul are more expensive than in Nairobi. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Istanbul.

Planning a move to Turkey? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Istanbul vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 69.7% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES800.43	$12.19 TRY611.44	+98.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES850.46	$9.35 TRY468.77	+42.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.62	$1.73 TRY86.80	+169.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.71	$0.58 TRY29.01	-2.0%
Average			+69.7%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.30	$0.92 TRY46.16	+67.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES691.76	$5.28 TRY264.59	-0.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.82	$4.69 TRY234.91	+41.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.35	$2.41 TRY120.90	+39.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES376.50	$2.54 TRY127.30	-12.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.76	$0.85 TRY42.69	-44.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.17	$1.03 TRY51.51	+111.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.28	$0.57 TRY28.70	-37.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES66.06	$0.84 TRY41.89	+64.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES64.02	$0.31 TRY15.56	-37.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.28	$0.29 TRY14.35	-41.2%
Average			+2.4%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.7% more for transportation

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES775.00	$5.43 TRY272.44	-8.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES6,003.23	$67.03 TRY3,360.91	+45.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+135.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,800.97	$8.40 TRY421.37	-39.4%
Average			+30.7%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,540.91	$16.15 TRY809.55	-53.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,884.12	$996.85 TRY49,983.16	+123.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,140.16	$647.83 TRY32,482.99	+199.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,555.61	$68.87 TRY3,453.27	+61.1%
Average			+121.1%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,303.11	$1,021.62 TRY51,225.46	+311.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+111.1%
Average			+194.5%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES300.16	$4.78 TRY239.48	+106.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.52	$4.31 TRY216.34	+63.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES460.25	$2.34 TRY117.19	-34.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,545.19	$76.22 TRY3,821.53	+51.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES1,000.54	$8.13 TRY407.63	+5.6%
Average			+37.6%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.7% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,651.97	$53.35 TRY2,674.81	+89.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,774.21	$39.62 TRY1,986.48	+36.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,086.71	$99.91 TRY5,009.73	+42.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,612.76	$95.52 TRY4,789.65	+63.1%
Average			+56.7%

Nairobi vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Nairobi vs. Istanbul

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Istanbul?

More cost comparisons

Nairobi vs.

Moscow

Nairobi vs.

New York City

Nairobi vs.

Shanghai

Nairobi vs.

Reykjavik

Nairobi vs.

Lima

Nairobi vs.

Rome

Nairobi vs.

Berlin

Nairobi vs.

Toronto

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Kenya vs. Turkey. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Kenya and Turkey.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Nairobi

Add prices for Istanbul

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Istanbul or Nairobi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.