Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samsun and Cape Town

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.

47

Cost of Living Index in Samsun
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Samsun Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Samsun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$960

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

Samsun $960
Cape Town $1,568

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

Samsun $1,651
Cape Town $2,438

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

Samsun $2,341
Cape Town $3,307

Samsun is about 39% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.34 ₺510

$11.78 R 194

-12.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.9 ₺2,999

$46.55 R 768

30.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.80 ₺532

$5.96 R 98.4

81.21%

Cappuccino

$4.03 ₺198

$2.47 R 40.80

63.16%

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

$0.79 ₺38.71

$1.33 R 21.91

-40.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ₺14.70

$1.03 R 16.99

-70.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 ₺91.7

$3.01 R 49.72

-38.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ₺97.3

$3.66 R 60.4

-45.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 ₺58.3

$1.39 R 22.96

-15.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 ₺101

$1.19 R 19.60

72.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.81 ₺138

$2.11 R 34.84

33.18%

Eggs

$2.60 ₺128

$3.01 R 49.58

-13.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.57 ₺422

$8.96 R 148

-4.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.77 ₺284

$6.65 R 110

-13.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.69 ₺1,315

$9.29 R 153

187.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 ₺118

$1.83 R 30.13

30.60%

Banana (1kg)

$2.42 ₺119

$1.90 R 31.31

27.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 ₺74.3

$1.75 R 28.83

-13.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 ₺53.8

$2.09 R 34.41

-47.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.47 ₺23.26

$1.55 R 25.64

-69.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.34 ₺16.93

$1.49 R 24.53

-77.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 ₺43.80

$1.30 R 21.41

-31.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₺31.03

$1.16 R 19.19

-45.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.09 ₺103

$3.71 R 61.2

-43.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.96 ₺441

$6.06 R 100

47.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 ₺82.0

$1.39 R 22.85

20.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 ₺110

$2.20 R 36.32

1.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 ₺29.73

$1.51 R 24.98

-60.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.01 ₺591

$61.0 R 1,006

-80.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.07 ₺102

$0.63 R 10.33

228.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 ₺33.58

$1.53 R 25.29

-55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.62 ₺326

$4.81 R 79.4

37.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ₺66.2

$1.58 R 26.08

-15.19%

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

$41.6K ₺2.0M

$35.5K R 585.7K

17.10%

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

$40.3K ₺2.0M

$31.7K R 523.8K

26.81%

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

$91.5 ₺4,509

$116 R 1,920

-21.34%

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

$12.75 ₺628

$28.37 R 468

-55.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.56 ₺619

$40.69 R 671

-69.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.29 ₺1,542

$48.85 R 806

-35.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.13 ₺302

$11.13 R 184

-44.92%

Cinema Ticket

$3.99 ₺197

$8.83 R 146

-54.81%

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

$256 ₺12.6K

$261 R 4,314

-1.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.15 ₺1,189

$55.4 R 914

-56.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.51 ₺1,503

$32.27 R 532

-5.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 ₺3,452

$118 R 1,939

-40.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.9 ₺3,048

$107 R 1,766

-42.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$349 ₺17.2K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-65.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$258 ₺12.7K

$715 R 11.8K

-63.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$752 ₺37.1K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-58.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$618 ₺30.4K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-53.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$984 ₺48.5K

$2,331 R 38.5K

-57.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$666 ₺32.8K

$1,513 R 25.0K

-55.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$934 ₺46.0K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-42.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

346.67%

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

Last update for Samsun: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Samsun

$270 27.9%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 17.8% $48

Accommodation & Living

Samsun

$258 26.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 177% $457

Eating Out

Samsun

$181 18.7%

Cape Town

$174 11% 4.1% $7.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samsun

$117 12.1%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 58.7% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Samsun

$84 8.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 67.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Samsun

$39 4.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 69.3% $27

Getting Around

Samsun

$20 2.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 278% $55

Cost Breakdown

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

Good to know

🇹🇷 Samsun

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:32 10:32 AM

09:32 9:32 AM

1 h behind Samsun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,295,927

3,740,026 Capital

💱 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 = 5.4 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 = 55.25 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Samsun
Cape Town

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

Samsun vs Cape Town: 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 $1,441 per month in Samsun and $2,352 in Cape Town. 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 $960 in Samsun and $1,568 in Cape Town. 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.