Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Jessheim

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,919 in Jessheim, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Jessheim
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Jessheim Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Jessheim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,919

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,919 in Jessheim, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Jessheim $2,919

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,130 in Jessheim, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Jessheim $4,130

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,342 in Jessheim, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Jessheim $5,342

Cape Town is about 48% cheaper than Jessheim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Jessheim sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Jessheim by 116%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.49 NOK 200

-44.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$82.0 NOK 763

-47.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.42 NOK 153

-62.55%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.88 NOK 54.7

-59.69%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.09 NOK 38.08

-68.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.19 NOK 29.67

-70.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$10.77 NOK 100

-72.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$12.69 NOK 118

-70.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.55 NOK 23.67

-48.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.99 NOK 37.09

-69.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.63 NOK 24.47

-16.35%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.75 NOK 34.89

-17.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$14.93 NOK 139

-41.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$15.91 NOK 148

-56.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$32.55 NOK 303

-71.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.42 NOK 31.77

-46.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.67 NOK 24.82

-26.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.48 NOK 32.37

-52.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.25 NOK 39.50

-49.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.63 NOK 24.45

-39.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.89 NOK 26.90

-49.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$3.12 NOK 29.01

-56.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.41 NOK 22.39

-52.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$19.51 NOK 181

-81.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.13 NOK 150

-62.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.52 NOK 32.71

-60.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.39 NOK 40.85

-50.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.74 NOK 44.11

-70.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$101 NOK 937

-39.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.03 NOK 112

-92.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.92 NOK 17.88

-53.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$71.9 NOK 669

-93.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.44 NOK 22.66

-36.89%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$50.0K NOK 465.1K

-29.28%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$40.7K NOK 378.1K

-17.91%

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

$117 R 1,929

$428 NOK 3,981

-72.64%

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

$25.71 R 424

$34.42 NOK 320

-25.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.6 NOK 517

-29.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$16.58 NOK 154

-46.38%

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

$308 R 5,069

$245 NOK 2,275

25.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$17.6K NOK 163.4K

-53.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$102 NOK 952

-43.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$62.2 NOK 578

-48.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$128 NOK 1,187

-9.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$157 NOK 1,464

-36.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,398 NOK 13.0K

-25.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,129 NOK 10.5K

-40.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,914 NOK 17.8K

-2.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,637 NOK 15.2K

-14.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$8,228 NOK 76.5K

-70.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,948 NOK 36.7K

-58.72%

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 Jessheim: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Jessheim

$1.1K 38.7% 68.8% $460

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Jessheim

$495 17% 122% $272

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Jessheim

$518 17.7% 184% $336

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Jessheim

$400 13.7% 130% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Jessheim

$202 6.9% 47% $65

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Jessheim

$141 4.8% 96.9% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Jessheim

$33 * 1.1% 52.2% $36

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 $1,398 in Jessheim. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Jessheim are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $82 in Jessheim. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $495 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Jessheim

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

06:33 6:33 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

24,547

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Jessheim 10,480 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Jessheim

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 Jessheim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jessheim costs about 91% 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 $4,379 in Jessheim. 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 $1,398 in Jessheim.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,919 in Jessheim. That makes Cape Town about 48% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 40% 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 $2,919 in Jessheim. 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 $2,919 in Jessheim. 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, Jessheim makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.