Cost of living comparison

compared to

Istanbul vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 2.8 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 2.8% more in Istanbul
Groceries
pay 14.0% less in Istanbul
Housing
pay 9.0 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.8% more in Istanbul

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Istanbul are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Istanbul.

Istanbul vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Istanbul instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 2.8% more for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$12.19
TRY603.79
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$9.35
TRY462.91
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$1.73
TRY85.71

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pay 14.0% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$0.92
TRY45.58
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $5.28
TRY261.28
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$4.69
TRY231.97

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.43
TRY269.03
Monthly public transit pass ?? $67.03
TRY3,318.85
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $50,810.11
TRY3M

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pay 9.0 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $16.15
TRY799.42
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$996.85
TRY49,357.64
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$647.83
TRY32,076.47

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $1,021.62
TRY50,584.39
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $25,999.20
TRY1M

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pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$4.78
TRY236.49
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$4.31
TRY213.63
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $2.34
TRY115.73

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Istanbul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $53.35
TRY2,641.33
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $39.62
TRY1,961.62
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $99.91
TRY4,947.03

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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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