Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Maltepe

For one person, living is cheaper in Maltepe: $988 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Maltepe
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Maltepe Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Maltepe

🇹🇷 Turkey

$988

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $988 in Maltepe, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Maltepe $988

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,541 in Maltepe, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Maltepe $1,541

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,094 in Maltepe, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Maltepe $2,094

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Maltepe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Maltepe is 27% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.86 ₺491

22.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$29.96 ₺1,493

48.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.43 ₺370

-17.23%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$3.72 ₺186

-36.56%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.05 ₺52.3

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.37 ₺18.62

170.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.27 ₺113

35.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$2.94 ₺147

25.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$0.99 ₺49.35

35.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$0.75 ₺37.46

58.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$2.28 ₺114

-7.89%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.33 ₺116

30.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$10.23 ₺510

-14.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$5.05 ₺251

38.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$18.97 ₺946

-50.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$1.66 ₺82.9

13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.90 ₺94.9

-1.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.05 ₺52.5

60.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.25 ₺62.1

63.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$0.62 ₺30.73

153.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$0.39 ₺19.49

279.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$0.76 ₺37.70

68.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$0.59 ₺29.37

101.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$2.09 ₺104

73.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$12.94 ₺645

-52.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.99 ₺99.3

-30.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.18 ₺109

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$0.69 ₺34.38

98.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$1.03 ₺51.2

-44.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.89 ₺44.44

66.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$6.78 ₺338

-27.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.34 ₺67.0

17.91%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-21.87%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$40.3K ₺2.0M

-15.41%

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

$117 R 1,948

$75.1 ₺3,744

55.62%

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 676

$14.44 ₺720

181.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$53.2 ₺2,652

-8.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$6.08 ₺303

49.84%

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

$302 R 5,032

$619 ₺30.8K

-51.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$11.1K ₺551.0K

-39.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$44.01 ₺2,193

25.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$34.48 ₺1,718

-5.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$80.8 ₺4,027

45.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$90.9 ₺4,532

14.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$412 ₺20.5K

152.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$301 ₺15.0K

129.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$780 ₺38.9K

154.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$560 ₺27.9K

147.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,408 ₺70.2K

71.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$1,009 ₺50.3K

53.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

40.69

-73.04%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Maltepe: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Maltepe

$301 30.4% 56.5% $390

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Maltepe

$232 23.5% 3.7% $8.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Maltepe

$100 10.2% 45.9% $85

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Maltepe

$169 17.1% 3.7% $6.5

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Maltepe

$113 11.4% 19.2% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Maltepe

$8.3 * 0.8% 89% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Maltepe

$65 6.6% 2.1% $1.4

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $412 in Maltepe. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $30 in Maltepe. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $232 in Maltepe – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇷 Maltepe

🕒 Local time

20:35 8:35 PM

21:35 9:35 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

523,137

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.48 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Cape Town
Maltepe

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 Maltepe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Maltepe, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,482 in Maltepe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Maltepe, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $412 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $988 in Maltepe. That’s a gap of about 58%.

Kindergarten costs $302 per month in Cape Town and $619 in Maltepe. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $988 in Maltepe to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.