Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Turkey Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 7.3% more expensive than Turkey overall.

Restaurants: pay 15.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 31.6% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 17.4% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 64.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 63.9% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 6.9% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Turkey Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.8% more for restaurants

	Turkey	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.27 TRY308.88	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+28.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.68 TRY326.10	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-33.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.18 TRY50.02	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-12.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.44 TRY18.87	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+80.8%
Average			+15.8%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.6% more for groceries

	Turkey	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.67 TRY28.42	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+49.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.49 TRY190.94	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-13.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.45 TRY146.69	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+26.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 TRY82.50	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+20.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 TRY104.64	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-13.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.62 TRY26.27	$0.73 ZAR12.46	+17.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 TRY40.59	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-31.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.53 TRY22.42	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+29.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 TRY25.33	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+19.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY12.38	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+100.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.25 TRY10.51	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+142.6%
Average			+31.6%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.4% more for transportation

	Turkey	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 TRY194.69	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+7.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.01 TRY1,232.39	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+93.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$48,018.50 TRY2,040,109.16	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-55.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.53 TRY320.04	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+24.0%
Average			+17.4%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.5% more for housing

	Turkey	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.68 TRY581.08	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+187.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$515.16 TRY21,886.84	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-21.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$348.65 TRY14,812.60	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+3.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.83 TRY1,989.64	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+88.2%
Average			+64.5%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 63.9% less for childcare

	Turkey	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$523.46 TRY22,239.76	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-66.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,105.64 TRY429,347.32	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-60.8%
Average			-63.9%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Turkey	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 TRY126.47	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-26.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 TRY124.16	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.10 TRY89.34	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+40.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$52.68 TRY2,238.16	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-42.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.69 TRY241.55	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+20.5%
Average			-7.6%

Turkey vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.9% less for clothing

	Turkey	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.89 TRY1,992.09	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+8.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.49 TRY1,847.76	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-24.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.73 TRY4,322.15	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-7.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$84.94 TRY3,608.65	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-3.7%
Average			-6.9%

Turkey vs. South Africa - 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: December 2025

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