Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Larvik

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,658 in Larvik, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
127

Cost of Living Index in Larvik
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Larvik Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Larvik

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,658

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,658 in Larvik, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Larvik $2,658

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,054 in Larvik, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Larvik $4,054

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,449 in Larvik, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Larvik $5,449

Cape Town is about 43% cheaper than Larvik, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Larvik sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Larvik by 97%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.09 NOK 196

-43.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$129 NOK 1,198

-66.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.33 NOK 152

-62.34%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.83 NOK 54.2

-59.35%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.53 NOK 42.17

-71.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.52 NOK 32.77

-73.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$12.04 NOK 112

-75.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$12.67 NOK 118

-70.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.62 NOK 24.33

-49.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$4.34 NOK 40.38

-72.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.56 NOK 14.54

41.03%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.78 NOK 35.14

-17.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$15.48 NOK 144

-43.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$15.61 NOK 145

-55.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$31.78 NOK 296

-70.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.20 NOK 29.76

-42.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.74 NOK 25.45

-28.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.73 NOK 25.36

-39.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.57 NOK 42.49

-53.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.66 NOK 24.71

-40.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$3.00 NOK 27.90

-51.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.61 NOK 24.30

-48.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.57 NOK 14.63

-27.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$14.76 NOK 137

-75.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.78 NOK 156

-63.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.56 NOK 33.12

-60.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.20 NOK 39.02

-48.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.69 NOK 43.61

-70.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$65.5 NOK 609

-7.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.88 NOK 91.9

-90.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.66 NOK 15.41

-45.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$72.6 NOK 675

-93.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.53 NOK 23.54

-39.13%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$42.6K NOK 396.0K

-16.94%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$46.4K NOK 431.4K

-28.05%

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

$117 R 1,929

$301 NOK 2,800

-61.11%

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

$25.71 R 424

$21.71 NOK 202

18.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$43.56 NOK 405

-9.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$50.5 NOK 470

2.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$36.87 NOK 343

-69.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.88 NOK 148

-44.02%

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

$308 R 5,069

$161 NOK 1,495

91.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$16.2K NOK 151.1K

-49.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$76.5 NOK 711

-24.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$62.1 NOK 577

-48.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$108 NOK 1,000

7.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$129 NOK 1,197

-21.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,234 NOK 11.5K

-15.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,053 NOK 9,798

-36.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,120 NOK 19.7K

-12.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,715 NOK 16.0K

-17.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,484 NOK 60.3K

-62.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,319 NOK 40.2K

-63.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,341 NOK 31.1K

-51.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.75

129.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Larvik: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Larvik

$1.1K 39.6% 57.4% $384

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Larvik

$480 18.1% 115% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Larvik

$366 13.8% 101% $184

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Larvik

$405 15.3% 133% $231

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Larvik

$169 6.3% 22.5% $31

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Larvik

$102 3.9% 42.6% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Larvik

$82 3.1% 18.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,234 in Larvik. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Larvik are about 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 $129 in Larvik. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $480 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Larvik

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

02:08 2:08 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

48,743

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Larvik 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Larvik

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 Larvik: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Larvik costs about 74% 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 $3,987 in Larvik. 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 $1,234 in Larvik.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,658 in Larvik. That makes Cape Town about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% 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 $2,658 in Larvik. 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 $2,658 in Larvik. 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, Larvik makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.