Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Elverum

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,785 in Elverum, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 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
134

Cost of Living Index in Elverum
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Elverum Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Elverum

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,785

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,785 in Elverum, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Elverum $2,785

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,222 in Elverum, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Elverum $4,222

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,659 in Elverum, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Elverum $5,659

Cape Town is about 45% cheaper than Elverum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Elverum sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Elverum by 106%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$21.33 NOK 201

-43.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$107 NOK 1,009

-60.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$15.89 NOK 149

-61.30%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$5.77 NOK 54.2

-58.93%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$5.61 NOK 52.7

-77.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$4.40 NOK 41.32

-78.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$13.25 NOK 125

-77.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$12.79 NOK 120

-71.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$2.63 NOK 24.73

-49.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$3.55 NOK 33.36

-65.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$3.75 NOK 35.21

-41.33%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$5.09 NOK 47.89

-39.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.44 NOK 126

-35.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$16.83 NOK 158

-59.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$32.50 NOK 306

-71.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.91 NOK 36.74

-53.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$3.05 NOK 28.68

-36.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$3.83 NOK 35.97

-56.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$5.70 NOK 53.6

-62.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$2.98 NOK 28.02

-46.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$3.14 NOK 29.47

-53.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.96 NOK 27.80

-54.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$2.35 NOK 22.06

-51.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$17.96 NOK 169

-80.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$18.63 NOK 175

-67.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$3.71 NOK 34.91

-62.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$4.78 NOK 44.91

-54.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.78 NOK 44.89

-70.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$85.7 NOK 805

-29.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$9.57 NOK 89.9

-90.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.67 NOK 15.69

-46.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$60.4 NOK 568

-91.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$2.52 NOK 23.66

-38.89%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$46.5K NOK 437.4K

-24.00%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$46.7K NOK 439.0K

-28.55%

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

$117 R 1,935

$275 NOK 2,581

-57.37%

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

$25.71 R 425

$35.92 NOK 338

-28.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$83.0 NOK 780

-52.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$51.1 NOK 480

1.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$38.04 NOK 358

-70.16%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$19.10 NOK 180

-53.46%

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

$308 R 5,085

$307 NOK 2,881

0.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$4,530 NOK 42.6K

79.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$111 NOK 1,044

-48.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$51.2 NOK 481

-37.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$123 NOK 1,157

-5.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$163 NOK 1,535

-38.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$1,229 NOK 11.6K

-14.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,037 NOK 9,746

-35.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,073 NOK 19.5K

-10.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,748 NOK 16.4K

-19.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$6,471 NOK 60.8K

-62.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,245 NOK 39.9K

-63.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$4,316 NOK 40.6K

-62.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

5.32

104.70%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Elverum: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Elverum

$1K 37.2% 55% $368

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Elverum

$521 18.7% 134% $298

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Elverum

$394 14.1% 116% $211

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Elverum

$419 15.1% 141% $245

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Elverum

$202 7.3% 46.7% $64

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Elverum

$123 4.4% 71% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Elverum

$89 3.2% 28.6% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,229 in Elverum. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Elverum are about 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $107 in Elverum. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $521 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Elverum

🕒 Local time

22:33 10:33 PM

21:33 9:33 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

21,775

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 NOK = 10.64 USD

100 NOK = 9.52 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.4 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.5 NOK (100 NOK = 9.52 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Elverum 10,570 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Elverum

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 Elverum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elverum costs about 82% 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 $4,178 in Elverum. 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 $1,229 in Elverum.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,785 in Elverum. That makes Cape Town about 45% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 29% 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 $2,785 in Elverum. 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 $2,785 in Elverum. 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, Elverum makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.