Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Hamar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,460 in Hamar, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
118

Cost of Living Index in Hamar
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Hamar Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Hamar

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,460

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,460 in Hamar, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Hamar $2,460

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,844 in Hamar, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Hamar $3,844

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,229 in Hamar, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Hamar $5,229

Cape Town is about 38% cheaper than Hamar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Hamar sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Hamar by 82%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$21.52 NOK 200

-44.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$126 NOK 1,174

-66.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.03 NOK 149

-61.63%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$5.89 NOK 54.7

-59.76%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$4.60 NOK 42.69

-72.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$3.54 NOK 32.83

-73.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$12.04 NOK 112

-75.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$8.31 NOK 77.1

-55.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$2.53 NOK 23.45

-47.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$3.16 NOK 29.36

-61.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$2.13 NOK 19.76

3.29%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$6.01 NOK 55.7

-48.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$11.23 NOK 104

-22.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$12.68 NOK 118

-45.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$32.04 NOK 297

-71.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$3.49 NOK 32.40

-47.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$2.65 NOK 24.64

-26.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$3.20 NOK 29.67

-48.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$6.10 NOK 56.6

-64.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$2.59 NOK 24.08

-39.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$2.65 NOK 24.59

-44.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$2.18 NOK 20.24

-38.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$2.00 NOK 18.60

-43.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$18.96 NOK 176

-81.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$15.96 NOK 148

-62.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$3.52 NOK 32.69

-60.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$4.34 NOK 40.24

-49.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$4.81 NOK 44.60

-70.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$68.2 NOK 633

-10.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$12.30 NOK 114

-92.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$1.93 NOK 17.93

-53.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$72.7 NOK 674

-93.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.41 NOK 22.40

-36.10%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$50.3K NOK 467.2K

-29.76%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$45.0K NOK 417.2K

-25.77%

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

$117 R 1,918

$229 NOK 2,124

-48.86%

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

$25.71 R 421

$34.26 NOK 318

-24.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$55.3 NOK 513

-28.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$57.9 NOK 537

-10.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$30.09 NOK 279

-62.28%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$19.03 NOK 177

-53.28%

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

$308 R 5,040

$217 NOK 2,018

41.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$17.5K NOK 162.7K

-53.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$103 NOK 958

-44.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$61.3 NOK 569

-48.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$135 NOK 1,252

-14.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$107 NOK 993

-5.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,253 NOK 11.6K

-16.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$889 NOK 8,253

-24.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$1,579 NOK 14.7K

17.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$1,517 NOK 14.1K

-7.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$4,404 NOK 40.9K

-45.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$3,561 NOK 33.0K

-55.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$4,330 NOK 40.2K

-62.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.94

120.45%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hamar: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Hamar

$889 36.1% 32.9% $220

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Hamar

$463 18.8% 108% $240

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Hamar

$318 13% 74.8% $136

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Hamar

$400 16.3% 130% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Hamar

$183 7.4% 32.9% $45

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Hamar

$109 4.5% 52.4% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Hamar

$96 3.9% 38.3% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,253 in Hamar. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Hamar are about 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $126 in Hamar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $463 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Hamar

🕒 Local time

00:27 12:27 AM

23:27 11:27 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

33,059

💱 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 5, 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 5, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Hamar 10,580 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Hamar

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 Hamar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamar costs about 61% 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 $3,690 in Hamar. 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 $1,253 in Hamar.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,460 in Hamar. That makes Cape Town about 38% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 11% 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 $2,460 in Hamar. 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 $2,460 in Hamar. 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, Hamar makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.