Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baerum and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,218 in Baerum, rent and utilities included – about $20,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Baerum
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Baerum Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Baerum

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,218

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,218 per month in Baerum vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Baerum $3,218
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,976 per month in Baerum vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Baerum $4,976
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $6,734 per month in Baerum vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Baerum $6,734
Cape Town $3,306

Baerum costs about 111% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Baerum and Cape Town sit above the global median – Baerum by 138%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.66 NOK 201

$12.01 R 198

80.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$130 NOK 1,212

$42.92 R 707

203.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.80 NOK 147

$6.15 R 101

156.91%

Cappuccino

$6.02 NOK 56.0

$2.37 R 39.04

154.01%

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

$4.64 NOK 43.17

$1.27 R 20.96

265.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.50 NOK 32.53

$0.94 R 15.46

272.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.62 NOK 108

$2.96 R 48.77

292.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.80 NOK 119

$3.69 R 60.8

246.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.42 NOK 22.52

$1.32 R 21.73

83.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.70 NOK 34.38

$1.21 R 19.87

205.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.91 NOK 45.70

$2.20 R 36.26

123.18%

Eggs

$5.73 NOK 53.3

$3.10 R 51.1

84.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.80 NOK 100

$8.73 R 144

23.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.06 NOK 149

$6.89 R 114

133.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.65 NOK 294

$9.26 R 153

241.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 NOK 25.19

$1.83 R 30.08

48.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 NOK 19.77

$1.95 R 32.12

9.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 NOK 19.83

$1.66 R 27.32

28.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.33 NOK 40.26

$2.14 R 35.19

102.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 NOK 15.77

$1.58 R 26.01

7.59%

Onion (1kg)

$2.98 NOK 27.69

$1.47 R 24.29

102.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.12 NOK 29.05

$1.35 R 22.18

131.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 NOK 22.89

$1.14 R 18.85

115.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.49 NOK 181

$3.58 R 59.0

444.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.34 NOK 152

$6.05 R 99.7

170.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 NOK 33.98

$1.39 R 22.95

162.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 NOK 40.67

$2.18 R 35.90

100.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.48 NOK 41.71

$1.40 R 23.02

220.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.20 NOK 114

$0.93 R 15.26

1211.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 NOK 17.21

$0.90 R 14.83

105.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$71.4 NOK 664

$4.96 R 81.7

1339.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.35 NOK 21.87

$1.54 R 25.37

52.60%

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

$29.1K NOK 271.0K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-17.60%

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

$25.9K NOK 241.1K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-22.31%

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

$341 NOK 3,176

$117 R 1,929

191.64%

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

$34.59 NOK 322

$25.71 R 424

34.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.9 NOK 520

$39.41 R 649

41.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.0 NOK 493

$51.6 R 850

2.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$15.98 NOK 149

$8.89 R 146

79.75%

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

$246 NOK 2,285

$308 R 5,069

-20.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.3K NOK 161.2K

$8,141 R 134.2K

112.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 NOK 956

$57.4 R 946

79.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 NOK 580

$31.75 R 523

96.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 NOK 1,268

$116 R 1,911

17.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 NOK 1,516

$101 R 1,660

61.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,795 NOK 16.7K

$1,047 R 17.2K

71.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 NOK 14.5K

$669 R 11.0K

133.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,525 NOK 32.8K

$1,861 R 30.7K

89.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,982 NOK 27.7K

$1,407 R 23.2K

111.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.0K NOK 102.0K

$2,410 R 39.7K

355.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.5K NOK 97.8K

$1,570 R 25.9K

569.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,436 NOK 50.6K

$1,630 R 26.9K

233.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.6

10.89

-57.76%

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

Last update for Baerum: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Baerum

$1.6K 48.6%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 57.2% $894

Groceries & Markets

Baerum

$481 14.9%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 53.6% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baerum

$432 13.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 57.8% $250

Eating Out

Baerum

$409 12.7%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 57.5% $235

Clothing & Footwear

Baerum

$209 6.5%

Cape Town

$138 9% 34.2% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Baerum

$85 2.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 18.3% $16

Getting Around

Baerum

$39 * 1.2%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 82.2% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,795 in Baerum versus $1,047 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.

Salaries in Baerum are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $130 in Baerum versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $481 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Baerum

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

08:37 8:37 AM

1 h ahead of Baerum

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

131,136

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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Highest

Between locations

Baerum Cape Town 10,460 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Baerum
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

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

Yes – Baerum is pricier by about 111%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,827 per month in Baerum and $2,291 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,795 in Baerum.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,218 in Baerum and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 53% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $246 per month in Baerum and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,218 in Baerum and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $3,218 in Baerum. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Baerum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.