Cost of living comparison

compared to

Istanbul vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 19.8% more expensive than Poland overall.

Restaurants
pay 23.0% less in Istanbul
Groceries
pay 12.5% less in Istanbul
Transportation
pay 8.9% more in Istanbul
Housing
pay 8.5% less in Istanbul
Childcare
pay 2.7 times more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.7% more in Istanbul
Clothing
pay 3.0% more in Istanbul

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

Istanbul vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

pay 23.0% less for restaurants

 
Poland
Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.21
PLN36.81
$10.83
TRY462.22
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.43
PLN30.39
$8.42
TRY359.50
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.00
PLN7.22
$1.41
TRY60.38

Improve prices ·

pay 12.5% less for groceries

 
Poland
Istanbul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.31
PLN4.71
$0.74
TRY31.68
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.56
PLN16.45
$4.71
TRY200.91
Milk (1 gallon) $3.98
PLN14.33
$3.92
TRY167.56

Improve prices ·

pay 8.9% more for transportation

 
Poland
Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.51
PLN23.48
$4.52
TRY192.79
Monthly public transit pass $32.67
PLN117.78
$51.00
TRY2,177.56
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,516.14
PLN120,827.05
$46,262.10
TRY1,975,211.27

Improve prices ·

pay 8.5% less for housing

 
Poland
Istanbul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$16.32
PLN58.83
$14.42
TRY615.63
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $660.05
PLN2,379.51
$944.04
TRY40,306.86
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $540.72
PLN1,949.30
$600.84
TRY25,653.70

Improve prices ·

pay 2.7 times more for childcare

 
Poland
Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $372.18
PLN1,341.72
$1,054.93
TRY45,041.55
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,516.31
PLN27,096.61
$18,729.11
TRY799,659.72

Improve prices ·

pay 4.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Poland
Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.49
PLN12.59
$3.61
TRY154.07
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.46
PLN12.48
$3.73
TRY159.19
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.23
PLN18.86
$2.17
TRY92.44

Improve prices ·

pay 3.0% more for clothing

 
Poland
Istanbul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$87.74
PLN316.31
$55.12
TRY2,353.52
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.84
PLN136.40
$46.04
TRY1,965.89
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.94
PLN320.64
$112.25
TRY4,792.47

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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