Why I Chose a Turkish Apple ID for iPhone and iPad

I keep my main Apple ID set to Russia, but for subscriptions and apps I specifically created a separate Turkish account. People regularly ask me why Turkey and not the USA — after all, it’s more stable there, all global releases come out first, and there are none of those wild lira exchange rate swings. All true. But when I sat down and honestly calculated how much a month of subscriptions costs me in both regions, the choice was no longer obvious. Let me show you the numbers — and you’ll understand why I stayed with Turkey.

A Turkish Apple ID is still more affordable than many other regions

How to Top Up a Turkish Apple ID in 2026

I top up my Apple ID account directly through Sberbank Online — no middlemen, exchanges, or crypto workarounds. The exchange rate at the time of writing is: 100 liras costs me 210.39 rubles. That means one Turkish lira is approximately 2.1 rubles.

Topping up a Turkish account is most affordable through Sber

For comparison, the same method via Sber for topping up an American account gives an exchange rate of 2 dollars for 160.36 rubles. That means one dollar comes out to 80.18 rubles — of course more expensive than the official Central Bank rate, but that’s the reality of all methods for topping up foreign accounts from Russia. All the math starts from these two numbers.

How Much Does iCloud+ Cost in Turkey and the USA

Let’s start with the most boring but essential thing for every iPhone owner — cloud storage. I use the 200 GB plan because 50 GB hasn’t been enough for a long time, and 2 TB is overkill for me. Here’s how prices look across three regions when converted using my top-up rates:

If you look only at iCloud+, the USA is indeed slightly more affordable. The difference is about 30-40 rubles per month on the 200 GB plan. Over a year, that’s about 400 rubles saved in favor of America. Not critical, but not zero either.

The Russian region, by the way, holds up well here — Apple still hasn’t touched the old prices for 2 TB, and technically it’s the cheapest option for those who need really large volumes. However, paying for it has become very difficult or even impossible.

Apple Music Price in Turkey

And now the main reason I created a Turkish account in the first place. An individual Apple Music subscription costs 59.99 liras in Turkey. Multiply by my top-up rate and you get 126 rubles per month.

An individual music subscription will cost you 60 liras

In the USA, the same subscription costs $10.99. At my exchange rate, that’s 881 rubles per month.

The difference is sevenfold. Not 30%, not double, but seven times. Over a year, a Turkish Apple Music subscription costs me about 1,500 rubles. An American one would cost over 10,500 rubles — that’s comparable to half the price of new AirPods.

At the same time, the music library in both regions is identical. Apple Music isn’t Netflix — the music is almost the same everywhere. I have zero grayed-out tracks in Turkey, playlists work like clockwork, and recommendations are no different from the American ones.

App Store Subscription Prices in Turkey

Apple Arcade in Turkey costs 69.99 liras (about 147 rubles), while in the USA it’s $6.99 (about 560 rubles). Again, a fourfold difference, and again — for the exact same content. All Arcade games are available without regional restrictions, and the library is identical.

Games cost another 70 liras

The same applies to subscriptions within third-party apps. YouTube Premium, ChatGPT Plus, fitness trackers, AI photo editing tools — everything purchased through the App Store costs several times less in the Turkish region. And this isn’t just about Apple — it’s about how developers set prices for different markets. Turkey has historically been one of the cheapest regions for in-app purchases, and so far nobody has changed that.

So Why Turkey and Not the USA?

In short — because I don’t just pay for cloud storage. Cloud storage is slightly cheaper in the USA, that’s true. But as soon as Apple Music, Arcade, and in-app subscriptions enter the equation, the balance shifts dramatically toward Turkey.

You can subscribe to YouTube Premium for 105 liras

Let me calculate my actual monthly spending:

• iCloud+ 200 GB — 129.99 TL
• Apple Music — 59.99 TL
• YouTube Premium via App Store — 104.99 TL
• AI photo editing subscription — about 70 TL

Total: 365 liras per month, or 768 rubles at my top-up rate through Sberbank Online.

The same bundle in the USA would cost me around 2,400-2,500 rubles per month. The annual savings exceed 20,000 rubles. That’s enough to buy a decent pair of headphones.

Downsides of the Turkish Apple ID Region

I don’t want to pretend that Turkey is a perfect solution with no pitfalls. There are some, and you should know about them in advance.

The lira exchange rate is volatile. Over the past two years, Apple raised prices in Turkey three times due to inflation — 50 GB of iCloud went from 14.99 to 39.99 liras during that time. By Turkish standards, that’s significant growth, but when converted to rubles, we barely noticed. However, nobody can guarantee it will stay that way forever.

Harder to find small-denomination cards. Sometimes codes for 25-50 liras disappear, leaving only large denominations. Not critical, but if you need exactly enough for one month’s subscription, it can be annoying.

Store content is regional. New games and apps often appear first in the USA. If being first to get new releases is important to you, Turkey won’t work — you need the USA.

Switching back is harder. If you want to return to the Russian region, you’ll first need to zero out your Turkish balance. That’s why I never top up with a large reserve — I only add enough for 2-3 months ahead.

Which Apple ID Region to Choose: Turkey or the USA

Here’s how I’ve summarized it for myself. Turkey is worth choosing if you:

• actively use Apple Music and aren’t willing to overpay seven times more
• subscribe to services through the App Store (YouTube Premium, AI tools, fitness apps)
• play Apple Arcade games
• want to minimize monthly spending on the ecosystem

The USA makes sense if:

• it’s critical for you to get new apps and games on release day
• you only use iCloud+ without other subscriptions
• you want stability and aren’t willing to deal with potential fluctuations