Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Turkey

Turkey vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Turkey is 26.4% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.7% less in Turkey
Groceries: pay 14.2% less in Turkey
Transportation: pay 12.5% more in Turkey
Housing: pay 22.1% less in Turkey
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Turkey
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.5% more in Turkey
Clothing: pay 9.2% more in Turkey

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Turkey are more expensive than in South Africa. Expenses including housing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Turkey. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Turkey.

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Turkey vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Turkey instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Turkey
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR151.51	$7.27 TRY340.00	-22.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR82.99	$7.68 TRY358.96	+50.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR16.74	$1.18 TRY55.06	+14.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.04	$0.44 TRY20.78	-44.7%
Average			-0.7%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.2% less for groceries

	South Africa	Turkey
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.28	$0.67 TRY31.29	-33.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR63.05	$4.49 TRY210.18	+15.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR70.94	$3.45 TRY161.47	-21.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR37.87	$1.94 TRY90.82	-16.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR34.64	$2.46 TRY115.18	+15.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR11.82	$0.62 TRY28.92	-15.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR10.58	$0.96 TRY44.68	+46.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.09	$0.53 TRY24.68	-22.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.51	$0.60 TRY27.88	-15.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.50	$0.29 TRY13.63	-50.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR9.74	$0.25 TRY11.57	-58.8%
Average			-14.2%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.5% more for transportation

	South Africa	Turkey
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR79.91	$4.58 TRY214.31	-6.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR911.83	$29.01 TRY1,356.59	-48.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR347K	$48,018.50 TRY2M	+124.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR151.57	$7.53 TRY352.29	-19.3%
Average			+12.5%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.1% less for housing

	South Africa	Turkey
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR638.83	$13.68 TRY639.64	-65.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,560.11	$515.16 TRY24,092.53	+27.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR5,869.16	$348.65 TRY16,305.37	-3.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,430.45	$46.83 TRY2,190.15	-46.9%
Average			-22.1%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Turkey
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,815.76	$523.46 TRY24,481.01	+201.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR64,310.96	$10,105.64 TRY473K	+155.1%
Average			+178.4%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Turkey
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR35.35	$2.98 TRY139.21	+36.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR33.26	$2.92 TRY136.67	+42.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR48.11	$2.10 TRY98.34	-29.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR491.19	$52.68 TRY2,463.71	+74.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR111.16	$5.69 TRY265.90	-17.0%
Average			+21.5%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.2% more for clothing

	South Africa	Turkey
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR823.63	$46.89 TRY2,192.85	-7.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR531.62	$43.49 TRY2,033.97	+32.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,528.87	$101.73 TRY4,757.73	+8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,327.66	$84.94 TRY3,972.32	+3.8%
Average			+9.2%

South Africa vs. Turkey - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

Compare further: South Africa vs. Turkey

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272 people moved from South Africa to Turkey.

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