Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bodo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,512 in Bodo, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
121

Cost of Living Index in Bodo
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Bodo Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Bodo

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,512

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Bodo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Bodo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,512 in Bodo, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Bodo $2,512

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,078 in Bodo, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Bodo $4,078

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,643 in Bodo, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Bodo $5,643

Cape Town is about 39% cheaper than Bodo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Bodo sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Bodo by 86%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$25.11 NOK 234

-52.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$128 NOK 1,188

-66.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$24.92 NOK 232

-75.32%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.37 NOK 59.3

-62.79%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.64 NOK 43.12

-72.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.30 NOK 30.72

-71.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$12.51 NOK 116

-76.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$15.31 NOK 142

-75.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.35 NOK 21.86

-43.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$4.19 NOK 39.00

-71.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.32 NOK 40.19

-49.07%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.43 NOK 50.5

-42.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$12.59 NOK 117

-30.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$20.02 NOK 186

-65.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.18 NOK 206

-58.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.54 NOK 32.97

-48.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.78 NOK 25.87

-29.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$4.98 NOK 46.27

-66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$6.46 NOK 60.1

-66.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$3.29 NOK 30.62

-51.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$3.08 NOK 28.63

-52.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.93 NOK 27.21

-53.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.56 NOK 23.84

-55.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$15.24 NOK 142

-76.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$20.09 NOK 187

-69.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.83 NOK 35.62

-63.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.73 NOK 44.02

-53.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.59 NOK 42.70

-69.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$74.6 NOK 694

-18.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.74 NOK 90.6

-90.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.70 NOK 15.83

-47.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.43 NOK 22.58

-36.63%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

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

$117 R 1,929

$183 NOK 1,698

-35.86%

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

$25.71 R 424

$42.66 NOK 397

-39.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$69.3 NOK 645

-43.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$51.8 NOK 481

-0.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$13.71 NOK 128

-35.16%

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

$308 R 5,069

$257 NOK 2,388

19.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$89.5 NOK 833

-35.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$54.3 NOK 505

-41.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$108 NOK 1,006

7.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,233 NOK 11.5K

-15.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$914 NOK 8,504

-26.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,360 NOK 22.0K

-21.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,893 NOK 17.6K

-25.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,414 NOK 59.7K

-62.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,483 NOK 32.4K

-53.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.67

133.19%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Bodo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Bodo

$914 36.4% 36.6% $245

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Bodo

$523 20.8% 134% $300

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Bodo

$294 11.7% 61.6% $112

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Bodo

$477 19% 174% $303

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Bodo

$113 * 4.5% 17.6% $24

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Bodo

$111 4.4% 55% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Bodo

$79 3.2% 14.1% $9.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,233 in Bodo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Bodo are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $128 in Bodo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $523 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Bodo

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

53,698

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.58 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

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).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bodo 11,260 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bodo

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

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

Bodo costs about 64% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $3,768 in Bodo. 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 $1,233 in Bodo.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,512 in Bodo. That makes Cape Town about 39% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 19% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,512 in Bodo. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $2,512 in Bodo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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