Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lillehammer

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Lillehammer: $1,527 and $1,518 a month, rent and utilities included.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
73

Cost of Living Index in Lillehammer
Learn more

Lillehammer Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Lillehammer

🇳🇴 Norway

$1,518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,518 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Lillehammer $1,518

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,407 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Lillehammer $2,407

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,295 in Lillehammer, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Lillehammer $3,295

Cape Town and Lillehammer have comparable living costs – the differences are in the details.

Both Cape Town and Lillehammer sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Lillehammer by 12%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$16.90 NOK 157

-28.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$85.3 NOK 794

-49.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$14.33 NOK 133

-57.08%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.20 NOK 48.33

-54.42%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$3.70 NOK 34.46

-65.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.46 NOK 22.90

-61.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$10.60 NOK 98.6

-72.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.42 NOK 69.0

-50.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.57 NOK 23.86

-48.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.53 NOK 32.82

-65.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.74 NOK 34.78

-41.18%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.04 NOK 46.92

-38.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.23 NOK 123

-34.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$16.66 NOK 155

-58.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$32.83 NOK 305

-71.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.88 NOK 36.05

-52.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.93 NOK 27.28

-33.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.87 NOK 36.01

-57.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$5.71 NOK 53.2

-62.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.87 NOK 26.74

-44.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$3.15 NOK 29.28

-53.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.99 NOK 27.84

-54.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.33 NOK 21.65

-51.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$17.93 NOK 167

-80.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$19.04 NOK 177

-68.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.68 NOK 34.20

-62.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.73 NOK 44.00

-53.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$2.31 NOK 21.47

-39.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.52 NOK 88.6

-90.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.58 NOK 14.72

-43.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$60.3 NOK 561

-91.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.50 NOK 23.25

-38.40%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$47.4K NOK 440.6K

-25.35%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$47.0K NOK 437.6K

-29.07%

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

$117 R 1,929

$280 NOK 2,602

-58.15%

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

$25.71 R 424

$36.78 NOK 342

-30.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$84.9 NOK 789

-53.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$19.68 NOK 183

-54.83%

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

$308 R 5,069

$306 NOK 2,845

0.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,242 NOK 39.5K

91.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$108 NOK 1,004

-46.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$51.8 NOK 481

-38.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$121 NOK 1,124

-4.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$161 NOK 1,493

-37.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,062 NOK 9,879

-1.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$3,274 NOK 30.5K

-26.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,374 NOK 12.8K

14.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,103 NOK 19.6K

-22.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

5.53

96.93%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lillehammer: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Lillehammer

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Lillehammer

$519 34.2% 133% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Lillehammer

$401 26.4% 120% $219

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Lillehammer

$333 21.9% 91.4% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Lillehammer

$198 13.1% 44.2% $61

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Lillehammer

$27 * 1.8% 62.8% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Lillehammer

$39 * 2.6% 43.3% $30

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 $1,062 in Lillehammer. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 29% higher in Lillehammer. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $85 in Lillehammer. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $519 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Lillehammer

🕒 Local time

07:13 7:13 AM

06:13 6:13 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

28,831

💱 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 Lillehammer 10,600 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lillehammer

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 Lillehammer: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,277 in Lillehammer. 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 $1,062 in Lillehammer. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Interestingly, groceries are about 57% cheaper in Cape Town – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town and $85 in Lillehammer. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,518 in Lillehammer. 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 $1,518 in Lillehammer to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.