Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kongsberg

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,711 in Kongsberg, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Kongsberg
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Kongsberg Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Kongsberg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,711

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,711 in Kongsberg, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Kongsberg $2,711

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,985 in Kongsberg, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Kongsberg $3,985

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,259 in Kongsberg, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Kongsberg $5,259

Cape Town is about 44% cheaper than Kongsberg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Kongsberg sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Kongsberg by 100%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.19 NOK 197

-43.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$75.8 NOK 705

-43.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.31 NOK 152

-62.29%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.30 NOK 49.28

-55.28%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.57 NOK 42.52

-72.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.48 NOK 32.36

-72.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$11.93 NOK 111

-75.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$10.52 NOK 97.8

-64.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.55 NOK 23.70

-48.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.18 NOK 29.55

-61.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.83 NOK 44.89

-54.45%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.06 NOK 47.09

-38.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.10 NOK 103

-21.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$12.70 NOK 118

-45.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$18.73 NOK 174

-50.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.25 NOK 30.26

-43.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.76 NOK 25.63

-29.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.52 NOK 32.73

-52.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.85 NOK 45.09

-55.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.73 NOK 25.37

-42.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.62 NOK 24.39

-43.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$3.03 NOK 28.20

-55.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.43 NOK 22.59

-53.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$18.42 NOK 171

-80.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.36 NOK 152

-63.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.63 NOK 33.76

-61.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.11 NOK 38.21

-46.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.18 NOK 29.59

-55.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$95.3 NOK 886

-36.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.16 NOK 113

-92.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.86 NOK 17.26

-51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$32.47 NOK 302

-84.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.43 NOK 22.57

-36.63%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$48.9K NOK 454.9K

-27.69%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$45.3K NOK 421.6K

-26.38%

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

$117 R 1,929

$319 NOK 2,967

-63.30%

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

$25.71 R 424

$28.41 NOK 264

-9.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.1 NOK 513

-28.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$46.92 NOK 436

10.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$57.8 NOK 538

-80.37%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$19.50 NOK 181

-54.41%

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

$308 R 5,069

$245 NOK 2,276

25.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$3,854 NOK 35.8K

111.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$91.5 NOK 851

-37.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$55.8 NOK 519

-43.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$138 NOK 1,286

-16.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$160 NOK 1,485

-36.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,100 NOK 10.2K

-4.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,063 NOK 9,885

-37.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,037 NOK 18.9K

-8.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,745 NOK 16.2K

-19.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,335 NOK 58.9K

-61.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,282 NOK 39.8K

-63.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,566 NOK 33.2K

-54.30%

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 Kongsberg: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Kongsberg

$1.1K 39.2% 58.8% $394

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Kongsberg

$435 16% 94.7% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Kongsberg

$403 14.9% 121% $220

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Kongsberg

$395 14.6% 127% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Kongsberg

$200 7.4% 45.6% $63

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Kongsberg

$129 4.8% 80.4% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Kongsberg

$86 3.2% 23.8% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,100 in Kongsberg. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Kongsberg 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 $76 in Kongsberg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $435 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Kongsberg

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

11:09 11:09 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

28,878

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.57 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.3 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.45 NOK (100 NOK = 9.57 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kongsberg 10,430 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kongsberg

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 Kongsberg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kongsberg costs about 77% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $4,066 in Kongsberg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,047 in Cape Town and $1,100 in Kongsberg. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,711 in Kongsberg. That makes Cape Town about 44% 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 $2,711 in Kongsberg. 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 $2,711 in Kongsberg. 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, Kongsberg makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.