Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 5.9% more expensive than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 3.5% more in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 57.4% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 14.5% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 19.3% less in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 89.7% more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.4% less in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 19.6% more in Istanbul

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

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Istanbul vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5% more for restaurants

	Seoul	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.49 ₩12,634	$10.83 TRY510.35	+27.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.30 ₩9,370	$8.42 TRY396.94	+33.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.64 ₩2,438	$1.41 TRY66.67	-13.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ₩1,162	$0.52 TRY24.41	-33.7%
Average			+3.5%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.4% less for groceries

	Seoul	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$3.24 ₩4,818	$0.74 TRY34.98	-77.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.79 ₩10,107	$4.71 TRY221.83	-30.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.85 ₩11,676	$3.92 TRY185.01	-50.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.93 ₩4,362	$2.56 TRY120.78	-12.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.67 ₩6,946	$2.81 TRY132.35	-39.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.45 ₩5,127	$0.70 TRY32.89	-79.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.52 ₩2,268	$1.04 TRY49.13	-31.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.35 ₩3,499	$0.61 TRY28.98	-73.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.77 ₩4,125	$0.66 TRY31.01	-76.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 ₩2,409	$0.31 TRY14.39	-81.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.30 ₩1,930	$0.29 TRY13.54	-77.9%
Average			-57.4%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.5% more for transportation

	Seoul	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.43 ₩6,592	$4.52 TRY212.87	+1.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.99 ₩68,432	$51.00 TRY2,404.33	+10.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,072.36 ₩37M	$46,262.10 TRY2M	+84.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.50 ₩15,624	$6.40 TRY301.68	-39.1%
Average			+14.5%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.3% less for housing

	Seoul	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.56 ₩30,586	$14.42 TRY679.74	-29.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$925.55 ₩1M	$944.04 TRY44,504.45	+2.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$559.33 ₩832K	$600.84 TRY28,325.30	+7.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.88 ₩177K	$51.55 TRY2,430.36	-56.6%
Average			-19.3%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 89.7% more for childcare

	Seoul	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$360.15 ₩536K	$1,054.93 TRY49,732.21	+192.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,667.04 ₩32M	$18,729.11 TRY883K	-13.6%
Average			+89.7%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.54 ₩5,264	$3.61 TRY170.12	+2.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.70 ₩5,502	$3.73 TRY175.77	+0.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,738	$2.17 TRY102.07	-32.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$56.34 ₩83,824	$60.55 TRY2,854.42	+7.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 ₩15,792	$7.94 TRY374.26	-25.2%
Average			-9.4%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.6% more for clothing

	Seoul	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.77 ₩74,047	$55.12 TRY2,598.62	+10.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.49 ₩58,759	$46.04 TRY2,170.62	+16.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.94 ₩112K	$112.25 TRY5,291.56	+49.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.06 ₩147K	$100.05 TRY4,716.72	+1.0%
Average			+19.6%

Seoul vs. Istanbul - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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