Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Skopje and Samsun

For one person, living is cheaper in Samsun: $940 a month against $1,112 in Skopje, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Skopje
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Skopje Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Samsun
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Samsun Living Index

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Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$1,112

/mo nomad

Samsun

🇹🇷 Turkey

$940

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Skopje 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 Skopje and in Samsun actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,112 in Skopje versus $940 in Samsun.

Skopje $1,112
Samsun $940

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,657 in Skopje versus $1,631 in Samsun.

Skopje $1,657
Samsun $1,631

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,202 in Skopje versus $2,321 in Samsun.

Skopje $2,202
Samsun $2,321

Living in Skopje is roughly 18% more expensive than in Samsun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Skopje 18% lower, Samsun 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.68 MKD 534

$10.06 ₺501

-3.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.35 MKD 1,894

$59.3 ₺2,955

-42.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 MKD 360

$10.45 ₺521

-37.61%

Cappuccino

$2.14 MKD 118

$3.97 ₺198

-46.10%

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

$1.81 MKD 99.8

$0.84 ₺41.83

115.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 MKD 76.1

$0.29 ₺14.35

375.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.68 MKD 148

$1.86 ₺92.5

44.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MKD 167

$2.03 ₺101

49.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 MKD 70.4

$1.17 ₺58.4

9.40%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 MKD 40.87

$1.94 ₺96.6

-61.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MKD 102

$2.73 ₺136

-32.23%

Eggs

$2.50 MKD 138

$2.44 ₺121

2.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 MKD 447

$8.20 ₺408

-1.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.36 MKD 406

$5.53 ₺276

33.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 MKD 827

$26.33 ₺1,312

-43.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.43 MKD 78.7

$2.40 ₺120

-40.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 MKD 77.5

$2.34 ₺117

-39.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 MKD 72.4

$1.46 ₺72.7

-10.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.86 MKD 103

$1.04 ₺51.8

78.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 MKD 48.43

$0.44 ₺21.86

100.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.78 MKD 42.84

$0.34 ₺16.79

129.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 MKD 34.73

$0.82 ₺40.77

-23.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 MKD 32.41

$0.68 ₺33.70

-13.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.36 MKD 185

$2.16 ₺108

55.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 MKD 412

$8.79 ₺438

-14.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MKD 58.5

$1.61 ₺80.2

-34.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 MKD 82.5

$2.28 ₺114

-34.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MKD 38.92

$0.60 ₺30.14

18.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.73 MKD 1,418

$11.88 ₺592

116.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 MKD 59.3

$2.03 ₺101

-46.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 MKD 31.68

$0.63 ₺31.22

-9.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.50 MKD 413

$6.33 ₺315

18.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.59 MKD 87.6

$1.29 ₺64.1

23.26%

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

$34.3K MKD 1.9M

$41.2K ₺2.1M

-16.77%

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

$26.1K MKD 1.4M

$39.0K ₺1.9M

-33.11%

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

$158 MKD 8,729

$87.1 ₺4,343

81.72%

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

$18.80 MKD 1,036

$12.43 ₺620

51.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.20 MKD 1,058

$12.50 ₺623

53.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.03 MKD 2,041

$30.67 ₺1,529

20.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.35 MKD 956

$5.89 ₺294

194.57%

Cinema Ticket

$7.44 MKD 410

$4.05 ₺202

83.70%

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

$369 MKD 20.3K

$256 ₺12.8K

43.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,668 MKD 312.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.6 MKD 4,717

$23.82 ₺1,187

259.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.99 MKD 2,039

$30.41 ₺1,515

21.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MKD 5,594

$69.7 ₺3,472

45.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MKD 6,189

$60.4 ₺3,012

85.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 MKD 21.7K

$354 ₺17.6K

11.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$314 MKD 17.3K

$246 ₺12.3K

27.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$715 MKD 39.4K

$738 ₺36.8K

-3.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$483 MKD 26.6K

$612 ₺30.5K

-21.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,745 MKD 151.3K

$973 ₺48.5K

182.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,844 MKD 101.6K

$664 ₺33.1K

177.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 MKD 48.3K

$934 ₺46.6K

-6.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

-91.37%

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

Last update for Skopje: October 24, 2026

Last update for Samsun: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Skopje

$314 28.2%

Samsun

$246 26.2% 21.5% $67

Groceries & Markets

Skopje

$211 19%

Samsun

$264 28% 25% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Skopje

$196 17.7%

Samsun

$112 11.9% 42.9% $84

Eating Out

Skopje

$155 13.9%

Samsun

$177 18.9% 14.3% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Skopje

$151 13.6%

Samsun

$83 8.8% 45.2% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Skopje

$52 4.7%

Samsun

$39 4.1% 25.3% $13

Getting Around

Skopje

$33 2.9%

Samsun

$19 2.1% 40.1% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $394 in Skopje and $354 in Samsun. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Samsun pays 7% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34 in Skopje vs $59 in Samsun for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $211 vs $264 per month, with Skopje cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Skopje

🇹🇷 Samsun

🕒 Local time

05:26 5:26 AM

07:26 7:26 AM

2 h ahead of Skopje

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

422,540 Capital

1,295,927

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.81 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 55.12 MKD (100 MKD = 1.81 USD). 1 EUR = 61.36 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.48 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Skopje Samsun 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Skopje
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

Skopje vs Samsun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Samsun is about 15% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Skopje. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $394 in Skopje versus $354 in Samsun. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Skopje – a meal for two runs $34 versus $59 in Samsun. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,112 per month in Skopje versus $940 in Samsun – Samsun is about 15% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.