Imagine you’ve booked an Iran tour and you are planning to visit it for 2 weeks. First off, understanding the currency helps you plan your budget effectively for the entire time of the trip, so you can make the most of your trip without overspending. Plus, knowing the exchange rates ensures you get a fair deal when converting your cash. It also comes in handy during transactions, so you can avoid any confusion or scams.
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Iran Currency
In Iran, similar to many other countries, there is one official currency. However, Iranians commonly use a different currency for their day-to-day transactions, making the use of alternative currencies widespread among the population.
Iranian Rial
Iranian currency name is the rial. Iranian banknotes all have their values written on them in Iranian rial.
To give you a better sense of how Iran’s currency works, let’s review some grocery item prices in rial:
Note: Kindly note that at the time of writing this article, the Iran exchange rate in the free market is 1 USD = 660,000, Rial and that is the exchange rate used throughout this article. Due to the fluctuation in Iran’s currency, there’s no guarantee how long this price will hold. So please, take into consideration that the current exchange rate might be different, so check the latest exchange rate and update the prices for yourself.
| Item | Price in rial |
| 1 bottle of Pepsi coke (1.5 liters) | 900,000 |
| 1 jar of a pickle (590 grams) | 900,000 |
| 1 bar of dark chocolate (335 grams) | 700,000 |
| 1 carton of milk (1 liter) | 400,000 |
As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward. And because Iranian banknotes have the prices written on them in both Persian and English numerals, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Now, let’s get to other currencies people use.
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Iranian Toman
So, if we were to write the table above for Toman, it would be like this:
| Item | Price in toman |
| 1 bottle of Pepsi coke (1.5 liters) | 90,000 |
| 1 jar of a pickle (590 grams) | 90,000 |
| 1 bar of dark chocolate (335 grams) | 70,000 |
| 1 carton of milk (1 liter) | 40,000 |
As you can see, one zero has been removed.
It’s important to learn to deal with tomans because even though the official Iranian currency is rial, almost no one tells you the price of anything in rials. Everybody uses tomans.
People will omit another three zeroes in their conversations and tell you the price like that. For example, if something is 70000 rials, the store clerk won’t tell you it’s 7000 tomans; he’ll tell you it’s 7 tomans. (Or hold up 7 fingers).
So, let’s go through the table above one last time:
| Item | Price in toman (used in conversation) |
| 1 bottle of Pepsi coke (1.5 liters) | 90 |
| 1 jar of a pickle (590 grams) | 90 |
| 1 bar of dark chocolate (335 grams) | 70 |
| 1 carton of milk (1 liter) | 40 |
So if you were to buy that dark chocolate in a store, the store clerk would say something like this: “That would be 70.” Which means 70000 tomans or 700000 rials.
We know that these might seem a little confusing right now, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time. And if after all you ever felt like you don’t know what you’re doing, just ask people to tell you the prices in rials. Also, almost all of the products in an Iranian supermarket have the prices written on them in rial.
To get a better sense of Iran’s currency, let’s take a look at one of the Iranian banknotes.
You can see that it’s 20000 rials,
Or 2 tomans!
Visa and MasterCard in Iran
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Mah card and DaricPay
Currency Exchange Offices
The following are a couple of tips about exchanging money in Iran:
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- You can search for “exchange” on Google Maps to find the nearest exchange offices. Please remember to take your passport with you because some of exchanges ask for a passport to give you services.
- Don’t trust individuals wandering around exchange centers to change your money. If somebody comes up to you at the Imam Khomeini airport and asks to change your money for you, don’t do it. As a foreigner, you’re most likely to get ripped off.
And that’s all there is to it.
Tehran Money Exchange
The Ferdosi St. in Tehran is the center of money exchange shops. They exchange your currency for the daily announced value which is far more than the government price. Also, there are many shops of this kind all over the city. You can google them based on your residence location.
Pooya exchange: Enqelab Square, North Karegar – 02188968433
Tehran exchange: Sadeghiyeh, Sattarkhan St. – 02144215134
Isfahan Money Exchange
Like Tehran, it is possible to exchange money almost everywhere in Isfahan. But, Sepah St. Maybe an easy-to-reach location. It is near Naqshe-Jahan Square and you surely pay a visit there through your itinerary.
Avval Money Exchange: Tohid St. – 03136291010
Shiraz Money Exchange
Besides the airport exchange shop, Zand St. near Shohada Square is also where several exchange shops are located.
Jahanbani Money Exchange: Mollasadra Intersection, Pars Jewelry Market – 07132360291
Yazd Money Exchange
Imam Khomeini St. and near Yazd’s Fire Temple are two money exchange centers.
Amiran Exchange: located in Dad Hotel, Imam Khomeini St.- 03536275615
Tabriz Money Exchange
Tabriz Grand Bazaar is not just a place for buying precious carpets. One of its sub-bazaars, Amir Bazaar, is the center of money exchange in this city. The exchange shops are centered there.
Kashan Money Exchange
Kashan is not a big city. There are numerous exchange shops most of them are near Kashan old bazaar.
Kerman Money Exchange
Dor Exchange: Emam Jome St. – 0912 093 4454
Sharifi exchange: one of three exchange shops between Tohid Sq and Dr. Shari’ati St. – 0343222 3502
Iran Travel Cost
But, there remains that big question: how much money do you need to bring with you to Iran? Besides tour costs that you can check from our website (and other websites), some things are either not included in tour costs or just happen to pop up when you’re in the country.
Therefore, we have divided these costs into three categories: meals, sightseeing, and souvenirs. Let’s go through them one by one.
Meals
Prices of meals in restaurants can vary from 3 to 1o euros (for one person). How much it costs depends on
- The kind of restaurant you’re in. Is it a luxury one? Is it located in an upscale neighborhood?
- The kind of food you order. Fast food, or big meal? meat course or vegetable? traditional meal or an international one?
You may wonder what we mean by “traditional restaurants”. Well, we’re talking about the restaurants that serve local Best Persian food. Persian food mainly consists of rice with a side dish. The most expensive Iranian meals in Iran are those made with beef; such as Kebab.
Sightseeing
Did you know that Iran is
Hypothetically, if you visit about 5 monuments each day and the average cost for their entrance fee is 200,000 rials, you would have to pay approximately 1,000,000 rials or 100,000 tomans or about 8 USD for sightseeing every day.
What should you do then? You can’t possibly visit all the gardens, buildings, and museums in the limited time you have. You can:
- Prepare in advance. Choose which museums and historical sites you are going to visit before you travel. This way, you know how much money you need to work into your Iran travel budget for sightseeing.
- Take a tour. Tour leaders are the best guides. They have been to every one of these places and based on their experience, they know which ones a foreign tourist would enjoy the most.
Iranian Souvenirs’ Costs
There are many souvenirs you can get for your family and friends, but for the sake of this article, we have covered the two most popular souvenirs amongst foreign tourists: Persian carpets and rugs and Iranian sweets.
Carpet and Rugs
Iran is famous for its Persian carpets and rugs, amongst other things. One of the things many tourists love to buy as souvenirs is a Persian carpet.
Many factors set the price of Iranian carpets and rugs; such as size, color, style, and origin, whether it’s handmade or not, and a lot of other things. That’s why carpet prices can vary from 1,000 USD to 20000 USD.
Iranian Sweets
Other popular Iranian souvenirs are Iranian sweets. They are delicious and almost every city has its unique kind of sweet.
Check out the table below for different Iranian sweets you can buy and their prices.
| Products | Price in rial | Price in USD |
| Persian nougat Gazz (400 grams) | 1200,000 | 5 |
| Persian Baklava (980 grams) | 1700,000 | 7 |
| Rock Sugar (20 pieces) | 400,000 | 2 |
Please note that there are so many other sweets that you can buy as souvenirs in Iran. Also, Iran is one of the major dried fruit and nut exporters in the world. Many people come to Iran and see a lot of stuff they might have liked to buy if they had brought more money. Don’t be one of those people! It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Tipping in Iran
Tipping is not that common in Iran. But people are not offended by it, rather they appreciate it. Of course, if you’re staying at a 4 or 5-star hotel, then you may as well tip the doorman and the hotel porter. Because they will be expecting it.
Also, if you’re couch surfing, bring a little gift or souvenir from your hometown for the host or buy some sweets on your way there. It is not mandatory, but it’s an Iranian custom to thank your host with a little something.
Conclusion
Iran’s currency has lost its value due to the sanctions. This means a bad economy for the Iranian people but relatively cheap travel for foreign tourists. If you’re looking to explore Iran without breaking the bank, check out our cheap Iran tours, offering an affordable way to dive into the country’s rich culture, art, and history—worth every penny you spend.
- If you’re a low-budget traveler, 80 USD should be enough.
- If you spend moderately, bring about 140 USD.
- If you’re planning on a luxury trip, prepare to spend more than 250 USD.
If you have any questions or doubts about Iran’s currency or your travel costs, leave a comment down below. In IranAmaze we’re always happy to help.
Happy traveling!
