Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
Learn more

Bursa Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Bursa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,556 in Cape Town versus $1,047 in Bursa.

Cape Town $1,556
Bursa $1,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,432 in Cape Town versus $1,654 in Bursa.

Cape Town $2,432
Bursa $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,260 in Bursa.

Cape Town $3,307
Bursa $2,260

Living in Cape Town is roughly 49% more expensive than in Bursa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 14% above, Bursa is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$9.79 ₺488

23.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 738

$30.03 ₺1,496

47.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.75 ₺386

-20.65%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.24

$3.65 ₺182

-35.34%

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

$1.26 R 21.03

$1.06 ₺52.7

18.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.56

$0.38 ₺18.69

163.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$2.29 ₺114

34.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.5

$2.93 ₺146

26.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.38

$0.96 ₺47.89

39.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.86

$0.80 ₺39.96

48.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.96

$2.26 ₺112

-7.08%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.7

$2.28 ₺114

33.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$10.26 ₺511

-14.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.90 ₺244

42.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$18.96 ₺945

-50.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.39

$1.66 ₺82.9

13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.27

$1.96 ₺97.7

-4.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.04

$1.04 ₺52.0

62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.02

$1.30 ₺64.7

56.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.08

$0.58 ₺28.79

170.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.61

$0.39 ₺19.64

279.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.33

$0.73 ₺36.46

75.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$0.72 ₺35.84

65.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.4

$2.07 ₺103

75.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$14.15 ₺705

-56.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.10

$2.08 ₺103

-33.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.27

$2.25 ₺112

-3.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.79

$0.98 ₺48.92

39.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,020

$36.23 ₺1,805

69.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.56

$1.03 ₺51.2

-44.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.58

$0.87 ₺43.11

70.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.5

$6.89 ₺343

-28.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.25

$1.37 ₺68.2

15.33%

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

$34.7K R 577.5K

$44.3K ₺2.2M

-21.63%

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

$34.1K R 567.4K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-12.41%

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

$117 R 1,945

$75.9 ₺3,784

53.96%

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

$28.35 R 472

$10.92 ₺544

159.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 675

$14.81 ₺738

174.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 808

$61.2 ₺3,047

-20.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$23.04 ₺1,148

-53.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$5.88 ₺293

54.93%

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

$302 R 5,024

$548 ₺27.3K

-44.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.8K

$10.9K ₺542.7K

-38.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 919

$44.43 ₺2,213

24.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 544

$34.51 ₺1,719

-5.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,961

$78.4 ₺3,906

50.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,728

$92.6 ₺4,613

12.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$401 ₺20.0K

159.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$310 ₺15.5K

122.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$723 ₺36.0K

173.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$607 ₺30.2K

128.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,191 ₺59.4K

103.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

$1,217 ₺60.6K

27.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

$1,028 ₺51.2K

53.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

42.67

-74.29%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Bursa

$310 29.6% 55.1% $380

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Bursa

$236 22.5% 5.5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Bursa

$102 9.7% 45.3% $84

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Bursa

$168 16.1% 4% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Bursa

$112 10.7% 19.3% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Bursa

$46 4.4% 39.1% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Bursa

$73 7% 9.2% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,041 in Cape Town and $401 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 53% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $44 in Cape Town vs $30 in Bursa. Groceries flip the comparison at $224 vs $236, with Cape Town cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

12:06 12:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,238,618

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bursa 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bursa

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

Cape Town vs Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in utilities, transport, and clothing. The 49% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 53% higher in Cape Town, 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: $1,041 in Cape Town versus $401 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cape Town pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $44 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,047 in Bursa versus $1,556 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa 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.

It comes down to priorities – Bursa wins on affordability, Cape Town on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.