Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Grimstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,160 in Grimstad, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
104

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,160

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,160 in Grimstad, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Grimstad $2,160

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,743 in Grimstad, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Grimstad $3,743

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,326 in Grimstad, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Grimstad $5,326

Cape Town is about 29% cheaper than Grimstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Grimstad sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Grimstad by 60%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.21 NOK 197

-43.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$79.0 NOK 735

-45.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$15.53 NOK 144

-60.40%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.88 NOK 45.36

-51.43%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.39 NOK 40.88

-71.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.38 NOK 31.45

-72.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$11.77 NOK 109

-74.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$10.77 NOK 100

-65.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.65 NOK 24.61

-50.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.85 NOK 35.84

-68.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.25 NOK 30.27

-32.31%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.53 NOK 32.80

-12.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.25 NOK 123

-34.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$14.55 NOK 135

-52.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$25.15 NOK 234

-63.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.20 NOK 20.47

-16.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.44 NOK 22.69

-20.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.55 NOK 32.99

-53.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.30 NOK 40.02

-50.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.82 NOK 26.21

-43.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.88 NOK 26.80

-48.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.97 NOK 27.61

-54.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.93 NOK 17.91

-40.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$19.00 NOK 177

-81.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.32 NOK 152

-62.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.59 NOK 33.41

-61.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.30 NOK 40.00

-49.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$5.25 NOK 48.81

-73.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$93.7 NOK 872

-35.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.28 NOK 114

-92.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.92 NOK 17.84

-53.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$72.5 NOK 674

-93.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.36 NOK 21.94

-34.75%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$49.7K NOK 461.8K

-28.77%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$46.3K NOK 430.9K

-27.96%

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

$117 R 1,929

$307 NOK 2,851

-61.80%

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

$25.71 R 424

$34.54 NOK 321

-25.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.0 NOK 512

-28.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$42.53 NOK 396

21.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$16.36 NOK 152

-45.66%

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

$308 R 5,069

$238 NOK 2,209

29.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$17.5K NOK 162.5K

-53.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$94.8 NOK 882

-39.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$52.8 NOK 491

-39.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$109 NOK 1,015

6.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$162 NOK 1,505

-37.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$915 NOK 8,512

14.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$527 NOK 4,906

26.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,996 NOK 18.6K

-6.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,857 NOK 17.3K

-24.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$4,828 NOK 44.9K

-50.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,477 NOK 32.3K

-54.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$4,602 NOK 42.8K

-64.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.9

122.24%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Grimstad: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Grimstad

$527 24.4% 21.2% $142

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Grimstad

$450 20.8% 102% $227

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Grimstad

$396 18.3% 117% $214

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Grimstad

$386 17.9% 122% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Grimstad

$188 8.7% 36.8% $51

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Grimstad

$137 6.3% 90.3% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Grimstad

$75 3.5% 8.4% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $915 in Grimstad. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Grimstad are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $79 in Grimstad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $450 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🕒 Local time

02:45 2:45 AM

01:45 1:45 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

25,093

💱 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

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Between locations

Cape Town Grimstad 10,300 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Grimstad

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 Grimstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grimstad costs about 41% 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 $3,240 in Grimstad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Grimstad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $915 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,160 in Grimstad. That makes Cape Town about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 35% 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 $2,160 in Grimstad. 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 $2,160 in Grimstad. 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, Grimstad makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.