Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Van and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Van
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Van Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Van 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 Van and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $956 per month in Van vs $1,556 in Cape Town, rent included.

Van $956
Cape Town $1,556

A couple spends around $1,536 per month in Van vs $2,432 in Cape Town, rent included.

Van $1,536
Cape Town $2,432

A family of three spends $2,116 per month in Van vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Van $2,116
Cape Town $3,307

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

Van sits 30% below the global median, while Cape Town is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.48 ₺373

$12.09 R 202

-38.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.59 ₺1,724

$44.34 R 739

-21.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.93 ₺395

$6.15 R 102

28.94%

Cappuccino

$3.57 ₺178

$2.36 R 39.30

51.27%

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

$1.14 ₺56.6

$1.26 R 21.06

-9.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 ₺21.18

$1.00 R 16.59

-58.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 ₺166

$3.08 R 51.3

8.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 ₺154

$3.70 R 61.6

-16.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 ₺47.68

$1.34 R 22.41

-28.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 ₺49.81

$1.19 R 19.89

-15.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 ₺112

$2.10 R 35.01

7.14%

Eggs

$1.48 ₺73.9

$3.05 R 50.8

-51.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.99 ₺448

$8.73 R 146

2.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ₺203

$6.97 R 116

-41.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.62 ₺1,127

$9.39 R 157

140.89%

Apples (1kg)

$1.82 ₺90.9

$1.89 R 31.44

-3.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 ₺91.1

$1.88 R 31.32

-2.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 ₺54.4

$1.69 R 28.08

-35.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 ₺57.4

$2.04 R 34.07

-43.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 ₺25.74

$1.57 R 26.12

-66.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 ₺17.45

$1.48 R 24.65

-76.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 ₺36.88

$1.28 R 21.36

-42.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 ₺30.54

$1.19 R 19.81

-48.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 ₺108

$3.63 R 60.5

-40.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.36 ₺516

$6.17 R 103

67.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 ₺100.0

$1.39 R 23.14

44.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₺139

$2.18 R 36.33

27.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 ₺36.60

$1.37 R 22.83

-46.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 ₺64.6

$0.57 R 9.58

128.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 ₺37.86

$1.48 R 24.62

-48.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.21 ₺359

$4.90 R 81.6

47.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 ₺64.0

$1.58 R 26.29

-18.99%

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

$42.2K ₺2.1M

$34.7K R 578.4K

21.69%

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

$38.9K ₺1.9M

$34.1K R 568.2K

14.09%

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

$79.9 ₺3,982

$117 R 1,948

-31.66%

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

$10.46 ₺522

$28.35 R 472

-63.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.39 ₺667

$40.58 R 676

-67.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.0 ₺2,842

$48.54 R 809

17.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ₺324

$9.11 R 152

-28.76%

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

$624 ₺31.1K

$302 R 5,032

106.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.4K ₺566.2K

$6,720 R 112.0K

69.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.86 ₺2,285

$55.2 R 920

-16.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.35 ₺1,662

$32.70 R 545

1.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 ₺3,970

$118 R 1,964

-32.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.8 ₺4,426

$104 R 1,731

-14.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$469 ₺23.4K

$1,041 R 17.3K

-54.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$278 ₺13.9K

$691 R 11.5K

-59.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$816 ₺40.7K

$1,981 R 33.0K

-58.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$586 ₺29.2K

$1,388 R 23.1K

-57.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,491 ₺74.3K

$2,420 R 40.3K

-38.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$968 ₺48.2K

$1,552 R 25.9K

-37.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

41.33

10.97

276.75%

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

Last update for Van: October 26, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Van

$278 29.1%

Cape Town

$691 44.4% 148% $413

Groceries & Markets

Van

$229 23.9%

Cape Town

$224 14.4% 2.3% $5.2

Eating Out

Van

$156 16.3%

Cape Town

$175 11.3% 12.7% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Van

$111 11.7%

Cape Town

$139 9% 25% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Van

$104 10.9%

Cape Town

$186 11.9% 79.1% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Van

$70 7.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.3% 4.6% $3.3

Getting Around

Van

$8 * 0.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 831% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $469 in Van versus $1,041 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in Van versus $44 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $229 in Van vs $224 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇷 Van

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

15:55 3:55 PM

14:55 2:55 PM

1 h behind Van

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,141,015

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.46 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to TRY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Van Cape Town 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Van
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

Van vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,434 per month in Van and $2,335 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Van, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $469 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $956 in Van and $1,556 in Cape Town. That’s a gap of about 63%.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35 in Van and $44 in Cape Town. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $956 in Van to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.