Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arendal and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,857 in Arendal, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

136

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,857

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,857 in Arendal versus $1,527 in Cape Town.

Arendal $2,857
Cape Town $1,527

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,058 in Arendal versus $2,417 in Cape Town.

Arendal $4,058
Cape Town $2,417

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,260 in Arendal versus $3,306 in Cape Town.

Arendal $5,260
Cape Town $3,306

Living in Arendal is roughly 87% more expensive than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Arendal 111% above, Cape Town 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.17 NOK 188

$12.01 R 198

67.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.9 NOK 613

$42.92 R 707

53.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.01 NOK 149

$6.15 R 101

160.33%

Cappuccino

$5.55 NOK 51.6

$2.37 R 39.04

134.18%

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

$3.70 NOK 34.46

$1.27 R 20.96

191.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.29 NOK 30.62

$0.94 R 15.46

250.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.83 NOK 110

$2.96 R 48.77

299.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.52 NOK 97.9

$3.69 R 60.8

185.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 NOK 22.73

$1.32 R 21.73

84.85%

White Bread (500g)

$3.43 NOK 31.94

$1.21 R 19.87

183.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 NOK 34.25

$2.20 R 36.26

67.27%

Eggs

$4.78 NOK 44.50

$3.10 R 51.1

54.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.83 NOK 138

$8.73 R 144

69.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.99 NOK 139

$6.89 R 114

117.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$33.78 NOK 314

$9.26 R 153

264.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 NOK 33.66

$1.83 R 30.08

97.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 NOK 25.44

$1.95 R 32.12

40.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.51 NOK 32.62

$1.66 R 27.32

111.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.03 NOK 46.81

$2.14 R 35.19

135.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 NOK 23.87

$1.58 R 26.01

62.66%

Onion (1kg)

$3.18 NOK 29.59

$1.47 R 24.29

116.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.80 NOK 26.07

$1.35 R 22.18

107.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 NOK 21.84

$1.14 R 18.85

106.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.92 NOK 167

$3.58 R 59.0

400.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.03 NOK 140

$6.05 R 99.7

148.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.71 NOK 34.54

$1.39 R 22.95

166.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 NOK 43.58

$2.18 R 35.90

115.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$9.54 NOK 88.7

$1.40 R 23.02

581.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$124 NOK 1,156

$60.8 R 1,001

104.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.45 NOK 60.0

$0.93 R 15.26

593.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 NOK 16.32

$0.90 R 14.83

94.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$105 NOK 977

$4.96 R 81.7

2017.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 NOK 21.20

$1.54 R 25.37

48.05%

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

$49.3K NOK 458.7K

$35.4K R 582.8K

39.46%

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

$43.2K NOK 401.5K

$33.4K R 549.9K

29.34%

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

$265 NOK 2,462

$117 R 1,929

126.11%

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

$34.13 NOK 317

$25.71 R 424

32.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$80.1 NOK 745

$39.41 R 649

103.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.62 NOK 406

$51.6 R 850

-15.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$22.70 NOK 211

$8.89 R 146

155.34%

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

$329 NOK 3,061

$308 R 5,069

6.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K NOK 109.7K

$8,141 R 134.2K

44.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 NOK 1,179

$57.4 R 946

120.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.6 NOK 582

$31.75 R 523

97.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 NOK 1,196

$116 R 1,911

10.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$203 NOK 1,884

$101 R 1,660

101.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,153 NOK 10.7K

$1,047 R 17.2K

10.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,094 NOK 10.2K

$669 R 11.0K

63.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,618 NOK 15.0K

$1,861 R 30.7K

-13.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,532 NOK 14.2K

$1,407 R 23.2K

8.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,329 NOK 40.3K

$2,410 R 39.7K

79.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,254 NOK 30.3K

$1,570 R 25.9K

107.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,160 NOK 38.7K

$1,630 R 26.9K

155.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.68

10.89

-57.02%

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

Last update for Arendal: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arendal

$1.1K 38.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 38.8% $425

Groceries & Markets

Arendal

$499 17.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 55.2% $275

Eating Out

Arendal

$384 13.5%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 54.7% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arendal

$379 13.3%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 51.9% $197

Clothing & Footwear

Arendal

$234 8.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 41.2% $97

Getting Around

Arendal

$178 6.2%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 59.6% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Arendal

$89 3.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 22.1% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,153 in Arendal and $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arendal pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Arendal vs $43 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $499 vs $223 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Arendal

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

08:08 8:08 AM

1 h ahead of Arendal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,406

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.58 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.3 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.44 NOK (100 NOK = 9.58 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Arendal Cape Town 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Arendal
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,857 in Arendal and $1,527 in Cape Town, so Cape Town is about 47% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Arendal is about 2.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,153 in Arendal versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $329 in Arendal versus $308 in Cape Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 123% higher in Arendal. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Cape Town is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 47% less than in Arendal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.