Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Esenyurt

For one person, living is cheaper in Esenyurt: $1,258 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Esenyurt
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Esenyurt Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Esenyurt

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,258

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Esenyurt actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,258 in Esenyurt, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Esenyurt $1,258

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,663 in Esenyurt, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Esenyurt $1,663

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,069 in Esenyurt, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Esenyurt $2,069

Cape Town costs about 26% more than Esenyurt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Esenyurt is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$7.62 ₺377

59.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$30.62 ₺1,516

48.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.05 ₺349

-16.60%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.85 ₺191

-35.06%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.99 ₺49.05

28.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.39 ₺19.52

151.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.77 ₺87.9

68.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.42 ₺120

53.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.97 ₺48.03

34.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.89 ₺44.08

40.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.09 ₺103

6.70%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.42 ₺120

28.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.92 ₺442

1.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$2.94 ₺146

135.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$18.26 ₺904

-49.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.82 ₺89.9

1.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.98 ₺98.1

-1.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.79 ₺39.09

111.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.66 ₺82.0

30.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.59 ₺29.20

166.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.28 ₺13.82

428.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.75 ₺37.27

73.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.56 ₺27.68

101.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$1.97 ₺97.7

82.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$13.32 ₺659

-53.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.50 ₺124

-44.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.53 ₺175

-39.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.55 ₺27.33

172.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$43.45 ₺2,151

39.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.04 ₺51.6

-43.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.84 ₺41.63

78.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$11.10 ₺549

-53.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.40 ₺69.2

10.71%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$48.8K ₺2.4M

-25.77%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$44.6K ₺2.2M

-30.00%

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

$114 R 1,883

$90.0 ₺4,454

27.06%

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

$28.91 R 476

$10.16 ₺503

184.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$14.12 ₺699

181.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$47.04 ₺2,329

4.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$12.34 ₺611

-10.94%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$8.31 ₺411

10.11%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,009 ₺50.0K

-74.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$20.3K ₺1.0M

-66.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$38.45 ₺1,903

46.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$40.91 ₺2,026

-20.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$96.3 ₺4,766

25.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$70.2 ₺3,476

53.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$515 ₺25.5K

98.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$547 ₺27.1K

31.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$763 ₺37.8K

138.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$499 ₺24.7K

166.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,500 ₺74.3K

59.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,011 ₺50.0K

52.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$1,336 ₺66.2K

22.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

40.92

-73.19%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Esenyurt: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Esenyurt

$547 43.5% 23.7% $170

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Esenyurt

$224 17.8% 0.6% $1.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Esenyurt

$114 9.1% 37.6% $69

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Esenyurt

$148 11.7% 16.2% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Esenyurt

$111 8.8% 22.5% $32

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Esenyurt

$51 4.1% 32% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Esenyurt

$64 5.1% 5.4% $3.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $515 in Esenyurt. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 23% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $31.00 in Esenyurt. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $224 – making Esenyurt the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇷 Esenyurt

🕒 Local time

23:46 11:46 PM

00:46 12:46 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

978,007

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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

Cape Town Esenyurt 8,400 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Esenyurt

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 Esenyurt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 26% more than Esenyurt, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,886 in Esenyurt. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Esenyurt, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,258 in Esenyurt. That's a gap of about 26%.

Public transport costs about 40% less in Esenyurt. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Esenyurt, where all-in costs run around $1,258, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Esenyurt it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Esenyurt costs $1,258 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Esenyurt. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.