Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 13.3% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 3.3% less in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 51.7% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 71.2% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 27.8% less in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.8% more in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 12.3% less in Istanbul

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

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Istanbul vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Istanbul instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$12.19 TRY603.79	+6.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$9.35 TRY462.91	+16.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$1.73 TRY85.71	-12.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$0.58 TRY28.65	-63.8%
Average			-3.3%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.7% less for groceries

	Panama City	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$0.92 TRY45.58	-63.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$5.28 TRY261.28	-14.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$4.69 TRY231.97	-33.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$2.41 TRY119.39	-12.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$2.54 TRY125.71	-17.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$0.85 TRY42.16	-54.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$1.03 TRY50.86	+24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$0.57 TRY28.34	-70.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$0.84 TRY41.37	-55.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.31 TRY15.36	-79.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$0.29 TRY14.17	-85.4%
Average			-51.7%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.2% more for transportation

	Panama City	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$5.43 TRY269.03	+17.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	+219.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+139.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	$8.40 TRY416.09	-50.5%
Average			+71.2%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.8% less for housing

	Panama City	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$16.15 TRY799.42	-66.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	-21.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	-25.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	-31.3%
Average			-27.8%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Panama City	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	+88.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+169.7%
Average			+125.2%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$4.78 TRY236.49	+44.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$4.31 TRY213.63	+5.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$2.34 TRY115.73	-61.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	+64.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	$8.13 TRY402.53	-4.4%
Average			+10.8%

Panama City vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.3% less for clothing

	Panama City	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	-20.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	-18.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	+5.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	-14.5%
Average			-12.3%

Panama City 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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