Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samsun and Skopje

For one person, living is cheaper in Samsun: $950 a month against $1,117 in Skopje, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index

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Samsun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$950

/mo nomad

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,117

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Samsun and in Skopje

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $950 in Samsun versus $1,117 in Skopje.

Samsun $950
Skopje $1,117

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,647 in Samsun versus $1,654 in Skopje.

Samsun $1,647
Skopje $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,344 in Samsun versus $2,191 in Skopje.

Samsun $2,344
Skopje $2,191

Living in Samsun costs roughly 15% less than in Skopje, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Samsun 30% lower, Skopje 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.15 ₺503

$9.29 MKD 507

9.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 ₺3,001

$34.04 MKD 1,857

78.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.54 ₺522

$6.28 MKD 343

67.83%

Cappuccino

$3.94 ₺195

$2.05 MKD 112

92.20%

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

$0.79 ₺39.25

$1.84 MKD 101

-57.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ₺14.32

$1.31 MKD 71.3

-77.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.77 ₺87.8

$2.67 MKD 146

-33.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ₺101

$3.11 MKD 170

-34.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 ₺58.2

$1.22 MKD 66.7

-3.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.00 ₺99.2

$0.74 MKD 40.54

170.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.67 ₺132

$1.75 MKD 95.5

52.57%

Eggs

$2.48 ₺123

$2.40 MKD 131

3.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.50 ₺421

$8.16 MKD 445

4.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 ₺280

$7.43 MKD 405

-23.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.52 ₺1,313

$14.85 MKD 810

78.59%

Apples (1kg)

$2.33 ₺116

$1.43 MKD 78.1

62.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.47 ₺122

$1.44 MKD 78.5

71.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.53 ₺75.8

$1.37 MKD 74.6

11.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.04 ₺51.6

$1.90 MKD 103

-45.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.44 ₺21.59

$0.89 MKD 48.32

-50.56%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₺17.89

$0.84 MKD 46.04

-57.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 ₺41.25

$0.63 MKD 34.61

31.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₺33.65

$0.55 MKD 29.98

23.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.11 ₺105

$3.40 MKD 185

-37.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.19 ₺455

$7.47 MKD 407

23.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 ₺82.0

$1.01 MKD 55.2

64.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 ₺111

$1.43 MKD 78.3

56.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 ₺30.48

$0.76 MKD 41.68

-18.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.22 ₺605

$27.14 MKD 1,480

-54.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.99 ₺98.3

$1.11 MKD 60.3

79.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 ₺30.92

$0.61 MKD 33.03

1.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.34 ₺314

$7.55 MKD 412

-16.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₺65.8

$1.56 MKD 85.0

-14.74%

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

$41.6K ₺2.1M

$34.9K MKD 1.9M

19.24%

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

$40.6K ₺2.0M

$27.3K MKD 1.5M

48.66%

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

$88.1 ₺4,360

$154 MKD 8,393

-42.76%

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

$12.35 ₺612

$18.77 MKD 1,024

-34.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.44 ₺616

$18.72 MKD 1,021

-33.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.40 ₺1,505

$38.00 MKD 2,073

-20.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.95 ₺294

$17.14 MKD 935

-65.29%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ₺204

$7.24 MKD 395

-42.96%

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

$252 ₺12.5K

$351 MKD 19.1K

-28.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,732 MKD 312.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.48 ₺1,212

$85.6 MKD 4,671

-71.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.45 ₺1,507

$37.04 MKD 2,020

-17.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.1 ₺3,569

$101 MKD 5,498

-28.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 ₺2,999

$113 MKD 6,150

-46.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$349 ₺17.3K

$422 MKD 23.0K

-17.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$248 ₺12.3K

$328 MKD 17.9K

-24.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$755 ₺37.4K

$721 MKD 39.3K

4.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$613 ₺30.4K

$487 MKD 26.6K

25.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$976 ₺48.3K

$2,700 MKD 147.3K

-63.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$656 ₺32.5K

$1,811 MKD 98.8K

-63.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$918 ₺45.5K

$876 MKD 47.8K

4.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

1058.39%

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

Last update for Samsun: October 13, 2026

Last update for Skopje: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Samsun

$268 28.3%

Skopje

$210 18.8% 21.9% $59

Accommodation & Living

Samsun

$248 26.2%

Skopje

$328 29.4% 32% $79

Eating Out

Samsun

$177 18.7%

Skopje

$150 13.4% 15.5% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Samsun

$113 11.9%

Skopje

$191 17.1% 69.5% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Samsun

$84 8.9%

Skopje

$151 13.6% 79.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Samsun

$39 4.1%

Skopje

$52 4.7% 35.7% $14

Getting Around

Samsun

$20 2.1%

Skopje

$34 3.1% 73.5% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $349 in Samsun and $422 in Skopje. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Samsun pays 5% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Samsun vs $34.00 in Skopje for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $268 vs $210 per month, with Skopje cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Samsun

🇲🇰 Skopje

🕒 Local time

09:09 9:09 AM

08:09 8:09 AM

1 h behind Samsun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,295,927

422,540 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇷 Turkish Lira (₺)

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Samsun Skopje 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Samsun
Skopje

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 Skopje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samsun is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and utilities. The 18% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Samsun, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $349 in Samsun versus $422 in Skopje. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Samsun – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $34.00 in Skopje. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $950 per month in Samsun versus $1,117 in Skopje – a 18% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $950 in Samsun versus $1,117 in Skopje, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Samsun but tight or insufficient in Skopje. The gap between the two cities makes Samsun the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Samsun is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Skopje, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Samsun and Skopje are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Samsun gentler on the wallet – expenses run 18% less than in Skopje. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.