Istanbul vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Istanbul	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1305	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3329	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$689	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$1222	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$350	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$152	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1095	$164
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	95	1
😀 Quality of life	78	28
🏙️ Population	15.7M	63.4K

The cost of living in Istanbul is 142% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 4562nd and 8474th ($1305 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Turkey and Kiribati, respectively. Check Turkey vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Istanbul compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Istanbul ranked 1st best city to live in Turkey vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 925th and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/istanbul/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Istanbul vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/istanbul/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Istanbul vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Istanbul vs South Tarawa

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

	Istanbul	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$10.5	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$43.5	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$9.13	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.11	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$3.92	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.63	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$896	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$561	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1645	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1007	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$47.4	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$73.1	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$13.7	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	43.72%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3111	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1596	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.79	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$54.8	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$7.53	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.2	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.12	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.68	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.7	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.46	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.1	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.91	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.7	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.37	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.32	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.57	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.52	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.39	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.43	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.1	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.18	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.19	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.32	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.23	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.1	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.29	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$57.5	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.96	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$57.5	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.88	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$54.7	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$105	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1021	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$20004	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Istanbul

Distance	City	Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi	Cayirova	$671
46 km or 28 mi	Gebze	$652
73 km or 45 mi	Korfez	$817
79 km or 49 mi	Kocaeli	$867
83 km or 51 mi	Golcuk	$828
87 km or 54 mi	Izmit	$945
91 km or 56 mi	Kapakli	$733
92 km or 57 mi	Bursa	$894
96 km or 59 mi	Kartepe	$836
98 km or 61 mi	Corlu	$691
111 km or 69 mi	Bandirma	$731
113 km or 70 mi	Inegol	$769
121 km or 75 mi	Tekirdag	$590
124 km or 77 mi	Adapazari	$543
124 km or 77 mi	Sakarya	$681
129 km or 80 mi	Bilecik	$806
141 km or 88 mi	Luleburgaz	$688
166 km or 103 mi	Kirklareli	$552
176 km or 110 mi	Balikesir	$746
186 km or 115 mi	Duzce	$662
190 km or 118 mi	Eskisehir	$748
192 km or 120 mi	Uzunkopru	$819
197 km or 122 mi	Kutahya	$601
207 km or 129 mi	Burgas	$872
208 km or 129 mi	Karadeniz Eregli	$711
214 km or 133 mi	Edirne	$1137
224 km or 139 mi	Bolu	$705
234 km or 145 mi	Soma	$752
236 km or 147 mi	Canakkale	$712
259 km or 161 mi	Varna	$1099
260 km or 162 mi	Alexandroupoli	$1029
261 km or 162 mi	Yambol	$644
261 km or 162 mi	Usak	$698
284 km or 177 mi	Afyonkarahisar	$626
287 km or 178 mi	Sliven	$607
290 km or 180 mi	Salihli	$742
290 km or 180 mi	Bartin	$710
295 km or 184 mi	Manisa	$767
296 km or 184 mi	Mytilene	$1079
299 km or 186 mi	Komotini	$1041

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1507
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1510
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$783
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$718
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1422
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2062
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$633
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1039
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$857
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$879
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$791
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1865
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1928
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$558
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$572
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$539
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1415
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2401
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3009
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1695
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$506
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1640
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1839
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2821
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1864
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1988
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2269
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2610