Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Samsun

For one person, living is cheaper in Samsun: $960 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Samsun
Learn more

Samsun Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Samsun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$960

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $960 in Samsun, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Samsun $960

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,651 in Samsun, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Samsun $1,651

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,341 in Samsun, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Samsun $2,341

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Samsun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Samsun is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$10.34 ₺510

13.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$60.9 ₺2,999

-23.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$10.80 ₺532

-44.81%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.03 ₺198

-38.71%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.79 ₺38.71

68.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.30 ₺14.70

243.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.86 ₺91.7

61.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$1.98 ₺97.3

84.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.18 ₺58.3

17.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$2.05 ₺101

-41.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.81 ₺138

-24.91%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.60 ₺128

15.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$8.57 ₺422

4.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.77 ₺284

15.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$26.69 ₺1,315

-65.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.39 ₺118

-23.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$2.42 ₺119

-21.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.51 ₺74.3

15.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.09 ₺53.8

91.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.47 ₺23.26

229.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.34 ₺16.93

338.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.89 ₺43.80

46.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.63 ₺31.03

84.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$2.09 ₺103

77.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$8.96 ₺441

-32.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.67 ₺82.0

-16.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.23 ₺110

-1.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.60 ₺29.73

151.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$12.01 ₺591

407.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.07 ₺102

-69.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.68 ₺33.58

125.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$6.62 ₺326

-27.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.34 ₺66.2

17.91%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$41.6K ₺2.0M

-14.60%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$40.3K ₺2.0M

-21.14%

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

$116 R 1,920

$91.5 ₺4,509

27.14%

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

$28.37 R 468

$12.75 ₺628

122.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$12.56 ₺619

223.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$31.29 ₺1,542

56.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$6.13 ₺302

81.57%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$3.99 ₺197

121.30%

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

$261 R 4,314

$256 ₺12.6K

1.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$24.15 ₺1,189

129.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$30.51 ₺1,503

5.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$70.1 ₺3,452

67.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$61.9 ₺3,048

73.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$349 ₺17.2K

190.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$258 ₺12.7K

177.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$752 ₺37.1K

139.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$618 ₺30.4K

115.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$984 ₺48.5K

136.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$666 ₺32.8K

127.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$934 ₺46.0K

75.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-77.61%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Samsun: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Samsun

$258 26.6% 63.9% $457

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Samsun

$270 27.9% 21.6% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Samsun

$117 12.1% 37% $69

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Samsun

$181 18.7% 4.3% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Samsun

$84 8.7% 40.2% $57

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Samsun

$20 2.1% 73.6% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Samsun

$39 4.1% 40.9% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $349 in Samsun. 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 75% 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $61.0 in Samsun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $270 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇷 Samsun

🕒 Local time

10:28 10:28 AM

11:28 11:28 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,295,927

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.25 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Samsun 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Samsun

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 Samsun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Samsun, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,441 in Samsun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Samsun, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $960 in Samsun. That's a gap of about 63%.

Public transport costs about 408% less in Samsun. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Samsun, where all-in costs run around $960, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Samsun 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. Samsun costs $960 versus $1,568 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 Samsun. 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.