Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Drammen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,696 in Drammen, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
130

Cost of Living Index in Drammen
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Drammen Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Drammen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,696

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Drammen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,696 in Drammen, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Drammen $2,696

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,113 in Drammen, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Drammen $4,113

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,529 in Drammen, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Drammen $5,529

Cape Town is about 43% cheaper than Drammen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Drammen sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Drammen by 99%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$21.61 NOK 201

-44.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$130 NOK 1,210

-67.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.24 NOK 104

-45.28%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$5.18 NOK 48.03

-54.25%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$4.16 NOK 38.61

-69.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$2.05 NOK 19.03

-54.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$11.65 NOK 108

-74.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$6.84 NOK 63.5

-46.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$2.61 NOK 24.24

-49.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$4.05 NOK 37.58

-70.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$4.86 NOK 45.08

-54.73%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$4.92 NOK 45.65

-36.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$13.72 NOK 127

-36.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$16.40 NOK 152

-57.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$31.86 NOK 296

-70.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$3.36 NOK 31.21

-45.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$2.75 NOK 25.55

-29.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$3.65 NOK 33.90

-54.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$5.95 NOK 55.2

-64.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$2.84 NOK 26.33

-44.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$3.00 NOK 27.83

-51.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$3.08 NOK 28.62

-56.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$2.51 NOK 23.32

-54.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$17.16 NOK 159

-79.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$16.34 NOK 152

-62.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$3.56 NOK 33.01

-60.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$4.23 NOK 39.29

-48.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$3.47 NOK 32.20

-59.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$94.2 NOK 874

-35.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$12.38 NOK 115

-92.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$1.86 NOK 17.24

-51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$70.2 NOK 652

-92.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.35 NOK 21.83

-34.47%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$46.8K NOK 434.4K

-24.44%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$45.8K NOK 424.8K

-27.10%

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

$117 R 1,918

$272 NOK 2,525

-56.97%

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

$25.71 R 421

$35.30 NOK 328

-27.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$54.6 NOK 507

-27.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$82.1 NOK 762

-37.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$18.26 NOK 169

-51.31%

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

$308 R 5,040

$241 NOK 2,240

27.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$17.5K NOK 162.3K

-53.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$101 NOK 939

-43.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$60.7 NOK 563

-47.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$131 NOK 1,220

-11.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$155 NOK 1,439

-35.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,339 NOK 12.4K

-21.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,001 NOK 9,285

-33.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$2,141 NOK 19.9K

-13.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$1,605 NOK 14.9K

-12.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$10.9K NOK 101.4K

-77.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$6,515 NOK 60.5K

-75.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$3,651 NOK 33.9K

-55.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.54

139.87%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Drammen: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Drammen

$1K 37.1% 49.5% $331

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Drammen

$518 19.2% 132% $295

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Drammen

$362 13.4% 98.7% $180

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Drammen

$366 13.6% 110% $191

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Drammen

$202 7.5% 46.6% $64

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Drammen

$130 4.8% 80.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Drammen

$119 4.4% 70.9% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,339 in Drammen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Drammen are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $130 in Drammen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $518 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Drammen

🕒 Local time

03:25 3:25 AM

02:25 2:25 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

104,625

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

100 NOK = 10.78 USD

100 NOK = 9.6 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.28 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.42 NOK (100 NOK = 9.6 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Drammen 10,440 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Drammen

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 Drammen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Drammen costs about 77% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $4,044 in Drammen. 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 $1,339 in Drammen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,696 in Drammen. That makes Cape Town about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 36% 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 $2,696 in Drammen. 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 $2,696 in Drammen. 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, Drammen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.