Türkiye vs Cyprus for a software or game company
Cyprus is the closest thing to a direct competitor for this decision, and 33 studios in this directory are already there. Its corporate rate rose from 12.5% to 15% in January 2026, its IP box takes the effective rate on qualifying game income to about 3%, and it withholds nothing on dividends. It also refunds nothing on what you spend.
The short verdict
01A close one, 4 measures to 4
Where Türkiye wins
- Marketing, hosting and platform fees, refunded at 50% to 70%. Cyprus refunds none of it.
- The size of the labour market, which matters once a studio passes about fifty people.
- The cost base, about 43% below Cyprus's.
- Rent, roughly half.
Where Cyprus wins
- The IP box, which takes the effective rate on qualifying game income to about 3%.
- No withholding tax on dividends at all, against Türkiye's 15%.
- An existing cluster of 33 studios, with the hiring pool that comes with it.
- EU membership, banking and contracts.
02How do Türkiye and Cyprus compare, line by line?
Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 4 and Cyprus takes 4, with 1 level. Cyprus is strongest on tax, so that group comes first. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.
Tax
| Measure | Türkiye | Cyprus |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax on ordinary profit | 25%source | better for the company15% from 1 January 2026, up from 12.5%source |
| Tax on income from software sold abroad | better for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source | Taxed the same as any other profitsource |
| VAT, standard rate | 20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this rate matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source | 19%source |
| Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent | 15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source | better for the company0%source |
Public money
| Measure | Türkiye | Cyprus |
|---|---|---|
| Cash back on ads, hosting and platform fees | better for the company50% of what you spend, rising to 70% when the customers you are targeting are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target listsource | Nothing comparablesource |
| Support for development costs | Yes, through two separate programmes: TÜBİTAK, which funds defined research projects, and teknopark status, which removes corporate tax on software developed inside a technology parkBoth are applied for separately from the export refund, and a company can hold them at the same time.source | better for the companyAn IP box deducting 80% of qualifying profits, giving an effective rate near 3%source |
What it costs to live there
| Measure | Türkiye | Cyprus |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source | 57.4, 43% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Rent index | better for the company12.3source | 24.6, 100% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Local purchasing power index | 71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source | better for staff81.3, 13% higher than Türkiyesource |
03What is it like to run a company in Cyprus?
Limassol is in the same time zone as Istanbul and about an hour and a half away by plane, which makes running both realistic rather than theoretical. Cyprus has the deeper existing games cluster of the two for Russian-speaking teams. Türkiye has the larger labour market and the incentive programme.
04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?
| What you spend it on | Programme item | Paid back | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads and player acquisition | Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% to 70% | 50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841 |
| App store and platform commissions | App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% | 20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537 |
| Hosting and servers | Hosting costs | 50% | 5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384 |
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
05Questions we get asked
Which is better, Cyprus or Türkiye?
They optimise different halves of the business. Cyprus minimises tax on profit you have already made. Türkiye refunds the spending that produces the profit. A studio with a stable hit and low marketing usually prefers Cyprus. A studio buying an audience usually gets more from Türkiye.
Can a group use both?
Yes, and several do. A Cyprus holding structure with a Turkish company running the commercial side is a normal arrangement.
Did the 2026 increase change much?
It narrowed the headline gap from 12.5% to 15%. The IP box survived the reform, so for companies with qualifying IP income the practical effect is smaller than the headline suggests.
Where this comparison comes from
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We build these comparisons because clients ask for them before deciding, and we keep the rows where the other country wins because a comparison nobody believes is worth nothing.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- These pages get rebuilt, not left. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so when one changes the page changes with it.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call06Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cyprus/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/withholding-tax-wht-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-20