Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Istanbul and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
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Istanbul Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
Learn more

South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Istanbul is 20% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 29.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Istanbul is 21.4% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 29.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.88 ₺585

$10.64 R 176

11.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.1 ₺2,714

$41.40 R 683

33.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.14 ₺450

$5.60 R 92.4

63.21%

Cappuccino

$4.24 ₺209

$2.28 R 37.63

85.96%

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

$1.75 ₺86.0

$1.16 R 19.17

50.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 ₺26.83

$0.92 R 15.22

-41.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

$2.45 R 40.40

91.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

$2.95 R 48.69

102.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ₺62.1

$1.19 R 19.63

5.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 ₺46.81

$1.12 R 18.42

-15.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 ₺114

$1.79 R 29.58

29.05%

Eggs

$2.47 ₺122

$2.48 R 40.88

-0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.55 ₺520

$8.08 R 133

30.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 ₺276

$5.13 R 84.7

9.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.21 ₺1,045

$7.81 R 129

171.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ₺95.1

$1.87 R 30.78

3.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 ₺113

$1.66 R 27.42

37.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 ₺63.1

$1.77 R 29.15

-27.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.84 ₺90.8

$1.80 R 29.67

2.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₺32.86

$1.49 R 24.53

-55.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 ₺29.31

$1.50 R 24.71

-60.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 ₺65.4

$1.28 R 21.16

3.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₺29.10

$1.09 R 17.97

-45.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 ₺116

$3.22 R 53.2

-26.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

$4.93 R 81.3

173.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

$1.48 R 24.47

63.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

$2.01 R 33.09

76.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 ₺40.64

$1.60 R 26.39

-48.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$66.5 ₺3,273

$60.7 R 1,001

9.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.35 ₺66.6

$1.09 R 17.98

23.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 ₺42.05

$0.98 R 16.23

-13.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.86 ₺535

$7.42 R 122

46.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ₺72.3

$1.49 R 24.63

-1.34%

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

$51.6K ₺2.5M

$35.0K R 578.2K

47.30%

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

$44.4K ₺2.2M

$31.6K R 521.1K

40.71%

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

$89.2 ₺4,395

$131 R 2,168

-32.11%

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

$11.60 ₺572

$34.71 R 573

-66.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.10 ₺793

$39.94 R 659

-59.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$77.3 ₺3,805

$33.88 R 559

128.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.66 ₺1,116

$11.39 R 188

98.95%

Cinema Ticket

$8.34 ₺411

$7.31 R 121

14.09%

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

$974 ₺48.0K

$225 R 3,715

332.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K ₺1.3M

$5,485 R 90.5K

369.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.7 ₺2,597

$52.0 R 858

1.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 ₺1,929

$33.30 R 549

17.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 ₺5,083

$99.4 R 1,640

3.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 ₺4,759

$87.4 R 1,441

10.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$994 ₺49.0K

$480 R 7,918

107.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 ₺31.0K

$406 R 6,692

55.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,024 ₺99.7K

$935 R 15.4K

116.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,155 ₺56.9K

$796 R 13.1K

45.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,160 ₺155.7K

$1,111 R 18.3K

184.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,838 ₺90.5K

$777 R 12.8K

136.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,203 ₺59.3K

$1,476 R 24.4K

-18.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.09

11.23

265.89%

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

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Istanbul

$629 41.2%

South Africa

$406 33.6% 35.5% $224

Groceries & Markets

Istanbul

$264 17.3%

South Africa

$196 16.2% 25.8% $68

Eating Out

Istanbul

$218 14.3%

South Africa

$156 12.9% 28.5% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Istanbul

$131 8.6%

South Africa

$122 10.1% 6.7% $8.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Istanbul

$117 7.7%

South Africa

$206 17.1% 76.2% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Istanbul

$94 6.1%

South Africa

$49 4% 48.4% $45

Getting Around

Istanbul

$75 4.9%

South Africa

$73 6.1% 3% $2.3

Good to know

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

15:07 3:07 PM

14:07 2:07 PM

1 h behind Istanbul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,701,602

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.26 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.2 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Istanbul South Africa 7,800 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Istanbul
South Africa

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

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