Apple’s App Store pricing works differently depending on which country’s storefront your account is registered to, and Turkey has quietly become one of the most talked-about examples of this.
For years, iCloud storage plans, along with a huge range of apps and subscriptions, have been noticeably cheaper on the Turkish App Store compared to the US, UK, or most of Europe.
That price gap is exactly why so many people search for a way to pay using a Turkish gift card, even if they’ve never set foot in Turkey and have no plans to.
If you’re trying to figure out whether this actually works, how to set it up, and whether it’s worth the hassle, here’s a full rundown.
Why Turkey’s App Store Pricing Is Different
Apple prices its digital goods, including iCloud+ storage tiers, in local currency for each region, and those prices aren’t simply converted at the current exchange rate — they’re set independently, often adjusted much less frequently than currency values actually move.
Because of inflation and currency fluctuation in Turkey over recent years, iCloud storage plans priced in Turkish lira have ended up significantly cheaper than the equivalent US dollar or euro pricing, even after accounting for the conversion.
This isn’t a loophole or a bug — it’s simply how Apple’s regional pricing structure works, and it applies to nearly every country with high currency volatility relative to the US dollar. Turkey just happens to be one of the more dramatic and well-known examples.
Can You Actually Pay With a Turkish Gift Card From Outside Turkey?
Yes, but there’s a specific setup required to make it work, since Apple ties your payment method to the App Store region your account is registered to.
You can’t simply buy a Turkish gift card and redeem it on a US or UK Apple ID — the account first needs to be switched to the Turkey storefront, and Apple has rules about how and when you’re allowed to do that.
Here’s the general shape of what’s required:
Your Apple ID needs to be set to the Turkey region, which typically means having no existing balance on the account and updating your country/region setting in Apple ID account settings.
Apple usually won’t let you switch regions if you have a positive balance sitting on your current account, so this step often needs to happen when your balance is at zero.
You’ll also need a Turkish billing address, since Apple requires an address matching the region you’re switching to.
This doesn’t need to be a real residence — a valid-format address is generally enough to satisfy the account settings, since Apple isn’t verifying physical residency for this step, only that the address format matches the country.
Once the region is switched, you can redeem a Turkish gift card, and pricing throughout the App Store, including iCloud+ subscription tiers, will now reflect Turkish lira converted at Apple’s set rate rather than your original region’s pricing.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up iCloud Payment With a Turkish Gift Card
1. Spend down or empty your current Apple ID balance. Apple won’t allow a region switch while there’s a remaining balance, so use up whatever’s currently on the account first, or make sure it’s already at zero.
2. Update your Apple ID country/region setting. Go to your Apple ID account page, find the country/region setting, and change it to Turkey. You’ll be asked to accept the updated terms and conditions for the Turkish store.
3. Enter a Turkish billing address. This is required to complete the region switch. The address needs to follow a valid Turkish format (city, postal code, etc.) but doesn’t require proof of residency.
4. Buy a Turkish Apple/App Store gift card. Since Turkish gift cards are region-locked to the Turkish store, you’ll need one specifically issued for Turkey rather than a US or UK Apple gift card. These are widely available through resellers who specialize in region-specific digital gift cards.
5. Redeem the card on your Apple ID. Go to the redeem gift card section in the App Store or Apple ID account page, enter the code, and the balance will be added in Turkish lira.
6. Subscribe to or upgrade your iCloud+ plan. With a Turkish lira balance now sitting on your account, go to iCloud settings and select or upgrade your storage plan. The price will be charged in lira, deducted directly from your gift card balance.
What Actually Happens to Your Existing Apps and Subscriptions
This is usually the biggest worry people have before trying this. Switching your Apple ID’s region to Turkey generally doesn’t delete your purchased apps or wipe your data, but it can temporarily affect access to region-locked apps that aren’t available on the Turkish store, and any active subscriptions billed in your original currency may need to be re-subscribed after the switch.
iCloud data itself, including photos, backups, and files, stays intact regardless of which region your account is set to, since that’s tied to your Apple ID account, not your billing region specifically.
If you rely heavily on region-specific apps or subscriptions tied to your home country’s store, it’s worth weighing that inconvenience against the savings before switching.
Is It Actually Worth Doing?
For iCloud storage specifically, the price difference can be substantial enough that even accounting for the cost of buying a Turkish gift card through a reseller, you often still come out ahead compared to paying full price directly through your home region’s store — sometimes by a wide margin, especially on the higher storage tiers.
For a one-time app purchase, the savings might not justify the setup effort, but for an ongoing monthly subscription like iCloud+, the savings compound every single month, which is exactly why this method has become popular among people looking to cut recurring subscription costs.
The main trade-off is convenience. Setting the region switch up correctly takes a bit of care the first time, and you’ll want a reliable source for the Turkish gift card itself, since not every reseller issues codes that redeem properly outside Turkey.
Where to Get a Reliable Turkish Gift Card
Since the entire process depends on having a genuine, properly-issued Turkish gift card, sourcing it from a trustworthy provider matters more than almost any other step here.
You can pick up a Turkish Prepaid Visa Card or Turkish Prepaid Card suited for App Store and iCloud purchases at CardCompony, where cards are issued specifically for use on region-locked platforms like the Turkish App Store.