Cost of living comparison

compared to

Istanbul vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 11.6% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 42.7% less in Istanbul
Groceries
pay 48.2% less in Istanbul
Transportation
pay 6.4% less in Istanbul
Housing
pay 48.6% less in Istanbul
Childcare
pay 78.3% more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.9% less in Istanbul
Clothing
pay 0.4% more in Istanbul

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

Istanbul vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

pay 42.7% less for restaurants

 
Rome
Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.52
€15.05
$10.83
TRY460.38
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
€10.03
$8.42
TRY358.07
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
€2.15
$1.41
TRY60.14

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pay 48.2% less for groceries

 
Rome
Istanbul
Bread
1 loaf
$2.21
€1.90
$0.74
TRY31.55
Local cheese (8 oz) $9.54
€8.19
$4.71
TRY200.11
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
€6.11
$3.92
TRY166.89

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pay 6.4% less for transportation

 
Rome
Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.66
€6.58
$4.52
TRY192.02
Monthly public transit pass $40.88
€35.11
$51.00
TRY2,168.88
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $29,199.74
€25,077.06
$46,262.10
TRY1,967,342.23

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pay 48.6% less for housing

 
Rome
Istanbul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$32.12
€27.58
$14.42
TRY613.18
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,436.63
€1,233.79
$944.04
TRY40,146.28
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $927.65
€796.68
$600.84
TRY25,551.50

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pay 78.3% more for childcare

 
Rome
Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $568.18
€487.96
$1,054.93
TRY44,862.11
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,951.36
€9,405.15
$18,729.11
TRY796,473.95

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pay 13.9% less for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
€5.02
$3.61
TRY153.46
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.01
€1.73
$3.73
TRY158.56
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.18
€6.17
$2.17
TRY92.08

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pay 0.4% more for clothing

 
Rome
Istanbul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.76
€70.22
$55.12
TRY2,344.15
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.76
€32.43
$46.04
TRY1,958.06
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$88.68
€76.16
$112.25
TRY4,773.38

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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
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