City comparison
Cost of living in Istanbul vs Valencia
One person needs about €963 a month in Istanbul and €1,489 in Valencia, rent included — Istanbul is 55% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Valencia the way you live in Istanbul on €3,000, you need
€4,639/ month net
55% more than today (+€1,639)
- Istanbul today
- Basket €963 · left over €2,037 (68%)
- Valencia at the matched salary
- Basket €1,489 · left over €3,150 (68%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 148% over in Valencia (adequate) vs 166% in Istanbul. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇹🇷 Istanbul
Enormous, cheap in euro terms, but inflation reprices everything every few months.
Monthly budget: €963
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇪🇸 Valencia
Flat, cyclable and cheap for a coastal capital-grade city with real infrastructure.
Monthly budget: €1,489
Sources: INE Spain + Eurostat, HICP & provincial rent index (2025) · 198 community reports
Should you move to Istanbul or Valencia?
On salary, Valencia pays more for tech roles (€2,200 versus €1,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €711 in Valencia at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €550 in Istanbul against €950 in Valencia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Istanbul at 70 and Valencia at 79 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.