Istanbul vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Istanbul Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1125
$892
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2885
$2135
🏠 One person rent
$587
$450
🏘️ Family rent
$1119
$787
🍽️ Food expenses
$308
$295
🚐 Transport expenses
$117
$69.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$820
$1450
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
95
93
😀 Quality of life
77
76
🏙️ Population
15.5M
1.98M

The cost of living in Istanbul is 26% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 4816th and 6160th ($1125 vs $892) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Turkey and Malaysia, respectively. Check Turkey vs Malaysia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Istanbul compared to 1.6 months in Kuala Lumpur. Istanbul ranked 1st best city to live in Turkey vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 790th and 883rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Istanbul vs Kuala Lumpur infographic

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Prices in Istanbul vs Kuala Lumpur

Prices for goods and services in Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Istanbul Kuala Lumpur
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$8.84
$4.35
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$41
$27.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.35
$4.78
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.29
$4.99
 Cappuccino
$3.27
$3.17
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.42
$0.85
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$769
$495
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$475
$343
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1529
$1006
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$921
$604
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$40.5
$48.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$63.2
$75.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$12.9
$27.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
45.66%
4.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3275
$3145
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1719
$1425
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.58
$0.72
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$39.7
$12.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.27
$9.79
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.25
$0.51
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.06
$2.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.8
$1.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.94
$2.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.45
$14.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.14
$5.14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.8
$10.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.19
$2.94
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$2.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.15
$1.55
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.66
$1.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.57
$1.15
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.27
$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.49
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.7
$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.02
$3.2
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.01
$4.31
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.18
$3.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.25
$3.34
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.93
$1.46
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.73
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$45.2
$46.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.86
$4.89
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$70.6
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$12.8
$6.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.8
$59.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$94.3
$80.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$626
$259
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$13982
$9485

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Istanbul

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Cayirova
$594
46 km or 28 mi Gebze
$579
73 km or 45 mi Korfez
$643
79 km or 49 mi Kocaeli
$695
83 km or 51 mi Golcuk
$642
87 km or 54 mi Izmit
$652
91 km or 56 mi Kapakli
$683
92 km or 57 mi Bursa
$789
96 km or 59 mi Kartepe
$633
98 km or 61 mi Corlu
$694
111 km or 69 mi Bandirma
$655
113 km or 70 mi Inegol
$690
121 km or 75 mi Tekirdag
$705
124 km or 77 mi Adapazari
$502
124 km or 77 mi Sakarya
$605
129 km or 80 mi Bilecik
$692
141 km or 88 mi Luleburgaz
$646
166 km or 103 mi Kirklareli
$596
176 km or 110 mi Balikesir
$584
186 km or 115 mi Duzce
$461
190 km or 118 mi Eskisehir
$716
192 km or 120 mi Uzunkopru
$645
197 km or 122 mi Kutahya
$700
207 km or 129 mi Burgas
$573
208 km or 129 mi Karadeniz Eregli
$589
214 km or 133 mi Edirne
$635
224 km or 139 mi Bolu
$599
234 km or 145 mi Soma
$642
236 km or 147 mi Canakkale
$668
259 km or 161 mi Varna
$931
260 km or 162 mi Alexandroupoli
$999
261 km or 162 mi Yambol
$561
261 km or 162 mi Usak
$648
284 km or 177 mi Afyonkarahisar
$463
287 km or 178 mi Sliven
$624
290 km or 180 mi Salihli
$657
290 km or 180 mi Bartin
$672
295 km or 184 mi Manisa
$612
296 km or 184 mi Mytilene
$899
299 km or 186 mi Komotini
$985

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$738
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$732
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$687
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$571
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$617
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$729
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$630
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$699
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$673
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$752
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$585
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$670
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$518
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$750
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$538
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$759
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$745
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$579
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$504
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$671
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$544
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$590
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$518
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$669
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$709
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$637
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3168
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2852
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$624
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$517
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$519
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$604
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$503
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$523
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$549
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$563
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$594
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$490
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$561
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$742