Istanbulkart Guide: Card Price, Top-Ups, Sharing Rules and Airports

An Istanbulkart costs 165 TL from the Biletmatik ticket machines found at metro, tram and ferry stations, and each ride you pay with it costs 46.20 TL under the city tariff in force since 20 July 2026. The same ride costs 65 TL with a single-use ticket or a contactless bank card, so the card pays for itself after about nine rides for one person, and sooner when two or three of you share it. If you land late and would rather leave the machines for the next morning, our private airport transfer by Mercedes Vito starts from $60 per group.

Below: buying, topping up and sharing the card, transfers, the other ways to pay, the airports and leftover balances. For every fare by line, see our Istanbul public transport fares update.

What the card costs, and what one ride costs

The Istanbulkart is the official transport and payment card of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, run by BELBİM. The standard card is anonymous: no name, no passport, no registration. It costs 165 TL and carries no deposit, so it cannot be handed back for money later.

What matters more is the price per ride. This is one trip on the metro, tram, funicular or a city bus under the July 2026 tariff:

So a card bought on day one is cheaper from the ninth ride. A tram, a metro and a bus cost 138.60 TL on an anonymous card (3 × 46.20 TL), against 195 TL with three single tickets; on a registered card, the same three rides within two hours cost 107.02 TL (46.20 + 34.40 + 26.42 TL).

Where to buy an Istanbulkart

You buy the card from a Biletmatik, the ticket machine at metro and tram stations, ferry piers and major bus stops, or from authorised İstanbulkart dealers near the stops. Turkey Travel Planner notes that the machines take coins, lira notes and credit or debit cards.

According to İstanbulkart, if the money you put into the machine is more than the 165 TL card price, the rest is loaded onto the card as credit. Pay 200 TL, for example, and you walk away with a card holding 35 TL.

• Keep the receipt. It shows the card's serial number, which you need if you ever call the ALO 153 helpline about a failed top-up.
• Buy two cards if you are a family. One card can pay for everyone, but a second lets you split up for an afternoon.

Topping up: machines, supermarkets and the app

When the balance is too low, the reader gives a warning instead of taking the fare, and you cannot pay cash on board: the city tariff bans cash fares on rail, buses and ferries. Your options, from the official fee list:

• Biletmatik machines: a cash top-up on an anonymous card costs a 2 TL fee per transaction. Paying by credit card at a machine adds 3.5%.
• Chain supermarkets: top-ups at A101, BİM, CarrefourSA, Migros and ŞOK are free, as are Turkcell shops. Hand the card over at the till.
• Dealers and kiosks near the stops load cards over the counter.
• The İstanbulkart Mobil app: you pay by bank card and the top-up waits as an instruction until you hold the card to the phone's NFC reader, or on any reader for 10 seconds at least 15 minutes later. Fees run from 2 TL on a 30 TL top-up to 10 TL on 1,000 TL; 1,500 and 2,000 TL top-ups are free. Turkey Travel Planner reports that registering needs a Turkish ID number or a foreigner's ID number (YKN), so most short-stay visitors use the machines.

One card for two or more people

One anonymous Istanbulkart can pay for a couple or a family. İstanbulkart's rule is simple: each time you take the card away from the reader and touch it again, a new charge is made. The first person taps and walks through, hands the card back, and the next person taps.

• Budget for everyone. Four people at 46.20 TL each is 184.80 TL for one ride.
• Holding the card on the reader does not charge twice; moving it away and back does.
• Repeat taps are fine on full-fare cards. The city's 30-minute repeat-use limit applies only to discounted, season-ticket and free cards.
• Children ride free until they turn 7, then pay the normal fare.

Transfers, refunds at the exit and night fares

Transfer discounts and exit refunds do not apply to the anonymous card. Under the city tariff, they are only for Istanbulkarts and app QR accounts registered with a Turkish ID number or a foreigner ID number (YKN), so an anonymous card pays the full fare on every ride: 46.20 TL on the metro, tram and buses, and the highest fare on distance-based lines. How the rules work:

• Transfers (registered cards): you have 120 minutes from your first tap, there is no transfer at the same stop or station, and the discount covers the 2nd to the 6th ride. Marmaray (the rail line under the Bosphorus) and the Metrobüs (the express bus on the main highway) give no transfer discount when you board them.
• Distance-based lines: Marmaray, the M11 airport metro and the Metrobüs are priced by the number of stations or stops. The gate takes the highest fare, and a registered card gets the rest back at the refund machine at your exit; on the Metrobüs the refund window is 120 minutes. An anonymous card gets no refund.
• Ferries: refund machines at intermediate piers repay registered cards on shorter trips, and luggage over 50 litres or 30 kg is charged extra.
• Night trips between 00:30 and 05:30 cost double on the lines that run then, the Metrobüs excepted.

Bank cards, QR codes and the City Card

Contactless bank cards. You can also tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or Troy card on most readers. İstanbulkart charges this at the single-ticket price of 65 TL, and lines that count as more than one ticket cost more. There are no transfer discounts, and your bank may add a foreign transaction fee to every tap. It is a backup for the first ride, not a way to save.

QR in the app. Once registered in İstanbulkart Mobil, the QR code pays on all public transport at the card tariff, with transfers, and works offline through the "QR göster" option.

SMS QR. Text "BİRGEÇ" to 1213, answer "EVET", and a one-ride QR code arrives; the 65 TL goes on your phone bill, so it is designed for Turkish mobile lines.

The Istanbul City Card. This is an Istanbulkart for tourists, which İstanbulkart describes as unlimited public transport for 1, 3, 5, 7 or 15 days, sold from City Card machines at central points and by authorised sellers. Its two official price lists do not match: İstanbulkart's own list shows 855 TL for 1 day, 1,660 TL for 3 days, 3,390 TL for 5 days, 4,345 TL for 7 days and 6,540 TL for 15 days, while the city tariff in force since 20 July 2026 sets 615 TL, 1,380 TL, 3,080 TL, 4,000 TL and 6,160 TL. Check the price on the machine before you pay.

Is it worth it? Even at the lower tariff prices, against the 46.20 TL card fare, the one-day card only comes out ahead on the 14th full-fare ride of the day, the three-day card needs 30 rides, 10 a day, and the seven-day card 87. A busy day of tram to Sultanahmet and back, a ferry to Kadıköy and back and one metro ride is five taps, so the ordinary card wins for almost every visitor.

Getting from the airports with an Istanbulkart

Istanbul Airport (IST). The M11 metro is priced by the number of stations, from 37.40 TL for one to three stations up to 73.19 TL for 15 to 16. The gate takes the 73.19 TL maximum; a registered card gets the difference back at your exit, an anonymous card does not. Our new metro lines update explains where the M11 runs and where to change.

The airport express buses on the city's HVL list charge fixed fares: 420 TL to Sultanahmet (HVL-11), 405 TL to Levent and Beşiktaş (HVL-5), 515 TL to Kadıköy (HVL-6) and 530 TL to Sabiha Gökçen (HVL-10). You pay with an Istanbulkart, the app's QR code, or a credit or debit card, with no discounts or transfers, so you can ride into town without lira and buy your card at your first station.

Sabiha Gökçen (SAW). The Asian-side airport has been on the M4 metro since 2 October 2022, at normal card fares. Airport buses run to Sultanahmet for 405 TL (HVL-13), to Taksim for 485.10 TL (SG-2) and to Kadıköy for 300.30 TL (SG-1).

With heavy bags, children or a late landing, the per-person saving is small. Compare our Istanbul Airport private transfer and Sabiha Gökçen airport transfer pages, or the Istanbul airport taxi guide.

Where the card works, and when to leave it in your pocket

The card covers the trams, including the nostalgic tram, the metro, the historic Tünel, city and private buses, Marmaray, the Metrobüs and the commuter ferries, including private boats on the same crossings. Typical ferry fares are 58.52 TL from Eminönü to Üsküdar, 65.21 TL from Eminönü or Karaköy to Kadıköy and 50.15 TL from Beşiktaş to Üsküdar. Our self-guided Bosphorus ferry guide strings these crossings into a cheap cruise, and things to do in Kadıköy covers the Asian side. The Şehir Hatları sightseeing tours are priced separately: 640 TL return for foreign passengers on the long Bosphorus tour, 340 TL on the short one.

A card saves money, not time. A day that combines Dolmabahçe, the Asian side and Çamlıca Hill means several lines and changes; for that, compare a private car with driver using our private driver or taxi comparison, or choose Istanbul tours with hotel pickup.

Leaving with money on the card. İstanbulkart offers a balance refund for a fee of 5 TL plus 2% on amounts up to 100 TL and 10 TL plus 2% above that, but it is easier to spend a small balance on your last rides or pass the card on. A lost anonymous card cannot be blocked and its balance cannot be moved, so load only a few days of fares at a time. Chip faults are replaced free within the 2-year warranty; cracked or broken cards are not.

Tours that cover this

• Istanbul airport VIP transfer by private Mercedes Vito: from $60 per group, 45 to 90 minutes to your hotel.
• Istanbul private driver tour: Mercedes Vito for 8 hours, 1 to 6 guests: from $299 per group.
• Morning Bosphorus cruise with a Spice Bazaar stop: from $40 per person.
• Istanbul full-day tour with Bosphorus cruise: Balat, Galata and lunch: from $57 per person.

All our day tours are listed under Istanbul tours, and the Istanbul destination guide covers the city as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions