Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,072 a month against $1,550 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,072

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,550

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Benoni and in Istanbul

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Benoni and in Istanbul actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,072 in Benoni versus $1,550 in Istanbul.

Benoni $1,072
Istanbul $1,550

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,331 in Benoni versus $2,415 in Istanbul.

Benoni $1,331
Istanbul $2,415

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,589 in Benoni versus $3,281 in Istanbul.

Benoni $1,589
Istanbul $3,281

Living in Benoni costs roughly 31% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Benoni is 21% below, Istanbul is 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 R 168

$12.30 ₺609

-17.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.46 R 617

$54.7 ₺2,708

-31.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.86 R 96.5

$9.22 ₺456

-36.44%

Cappuccino

$2.22 R 36.61

$4.40 ₺218

-49.55%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.64

$1.68 ₺83.1

-29.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 14.00

$0.59 ₺29.40

44.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 R 38.33

$4.70 ₺233

-50.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 R 45.15

$5.91 ₺292

-53.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 R 20.16

$1.21 ₺60.0

0.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 R 18.65

$0.89 ₺44.10

26.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.33

$2.19 ₺108

-21.46%

Eggs

$2.46 R 40.48

$2.35 ₺116

4.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 R 137

$10.42 ₺516

-20.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.86 R 80.1

$5.65 ₺280

-13.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 117

$20.94 ₺1,037

-66.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.55

$1.90 ₺94.1

-8.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.81

$2.31 ₺114

-29.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.58

$1.28 ₺63.1

40.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.70

$1.80 ₺89.0

-13.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.39

$0.65 ₺32.16

72.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.10

$0.64 ₺31.91

90.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.29

$1.25 ₺62.1

-1.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.97

$0.56 ₺27.58

126.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 R 55.5

$2.37 ₺118

42.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 R 83.8

$13.42 ₺664

-62.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 24.94

$2.40 ₺119

-37.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 R 32.14

$3.48 ₺172

-43.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.89 ₺43.84

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.4 ₺3,338

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.72

$1.29 ₺64.1

-77.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R 14.67

$0.92 ₺45.70

-3.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.73 R 243

$10.96 ₺542

34.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.41

$1.47 ₺72.9

4.76%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.1K R 578.8K

$50.8K ₺2.5M

-30.83%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.5K R 534.9K

$44.5K ₺2.2M

-27.08%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 R 3,342

$88.6 ₺4,387

128.94%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$38.42 R 633

$11.59 ₺574

231.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.63 R 604

$15.81 ₺783

131.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.06 R 297

$77.2 ₺3,820

-76.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 ₺1,126

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 R 117

$8.14 ₺403

-12.78%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$246 R 4,051

$1,008 ₺49.9K

-75.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,577 R 91.9K

$25.6K ₺1.3M

-78.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 R 882

$54.0 ₺2,671

-0.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.40 R 534

$40.83 ₺2,021

-20.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 R 1,515

$98.9 ₺4,895

-7.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 R 1,397

$96.6 ₺4,783

-12.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$398 R 6,557

$985 ₺48.7K

-59.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$296 R 4,881

$650 ₺32.2K

-54.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$487 R 8,029

$1,983 ₺98.2K

-75.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 ₺58.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,138 ₺155.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,780 ₺88.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,041 R 33.6K

$1,205 ₺59.7K

69.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

40.92

-73.34%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Benoni: October 11, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$296 27.6%

Istanbul

$650 41.9% 119% $353

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$278 25.9%

Istanbul

$116 7.5% 58.3% $162

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$192 17.9%

Istanbul

$260 16.8% 35.3% $68

Eating Out

Benoni

$151 14.1%

Istanbul

$223 14.4% 47.8% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$118 11%

Istanbul

$131 8.4% 10.5% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Istanbul

$93 6% 190% $61

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.7 * 0.4%

Istanbul

$77 5% 1522% $72

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $398 in Benoni and $985 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 69% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Benoni vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $260 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

09:10 9:10 AM

10:10 10:10 AM

1 h ahead of Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

15,701,602

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Benoni Istanbul 7,470 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
Istanbul

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Benoni vs Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Benoni and Istanbul differ by about 45% in total monthly costs ($1,072 vs $1,550 including rent). Benoni is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 69% higher in Benoni, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $398 in Benoni versus $985 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Istanbul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,072 per month in Benoni versus $1,550 in Istanbul – a 45% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,072 in Benoni versus $1,550 in Istanbul, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benoni but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Benoni the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Benoni and Istanbul are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Benoni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.