Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lillestrom

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,730 in Lillestrom, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 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
131

Cost of Living Index in Lillestrom
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Lillestrom Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Lillestrom

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,730 in Lillestrom, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Lillestrom $2,730

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,148 in Lillestrom, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Lillestrom $4,148

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,566 in Lillestrom, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Lillestrom $5,566

Cape Town is about 44% cheaper than Lillestrom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Lillestrom sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Lillestrom by 102%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.33 NOK 198

-43.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$121 NOK 1,126

-64.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.62 NOK 108

-47.07%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.18 NOK 57.5

-61.65%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.06 NOK 37.73

-68.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.16 NOK 29.36

-70.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$12.31 NOK 114

-75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$10.85 NOK 101

-65.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.49 NOK 23.20

-46.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.65 NOK 33.98

-66.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.33 NOK 40.23

-49.19%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$6.09 NOK 56.6

-49.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.67 NOK 127

-36.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$13.83 NOK 129

-50.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$27.91 NOK 260

-66.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.55 NOK 33.02

-48.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.81 NOK 26.13

-30.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$4.40 NOK 40.92

-62.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$5.40 NOK 50.3

-60.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.96 NOK 27.55

-46.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$3.62 NOK 33.69

-59.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.91 NOK 17.78

-29.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.31 NOK 21.51

-50.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$17.71 NOK 165

-79.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$17.32 NOK 161

-65.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$5.75 NOK 53.5

-75.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$5.83 NOK 54.2

-62.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.66 NOK 43.33

-69.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$87.6 NOK 815

-30.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.27 NOK 114

-92.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.87 NOK 17.39

-51.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$71.2 NOK 662

-93.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.25 NOK 20.92

-31.56%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$49.2K NOK 457.4K

-28.08%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$44.0K NOK 409.3K

-24.16%

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

$117 R 1,929

$279 NOK 2,599

-58.10%

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

$25.71 R 424

$34.82 NOK 324

-26.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.9 NOK 520

-29.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$49.53 NOK 461

4.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$37.15 NOK 346

-69.45%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$17.58 NOK 164

-49.43%

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

$308 R 5,069

$317 NOK 2,945

-2.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$13.2K NOK 122.4K

-38.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$103 NOK 954

-44.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$57.6 NOK 536

-44.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$127 NOK 1,179

-8.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$159 NOK 1,483

-36.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,292 NOK 12.0K

-19.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,052 NOK 9,786

-36.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,120 NOK 19.7K

-12.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,711 NOK 15.9K

-17.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,536 NOK 60.8K

-63.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,271 NOK 39.7K

-63.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,778 NOK 35.1K

-56.86%

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 Lillestrom: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Lillestrom

$1.1K 38.5% 57.2% $383

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Lillestrom

$503 18.4% 125% $280

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Lillestrom

$370 13.6% 103% $188

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Lillestrom

$392 14.4% 125% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Lillestrom

$201 7.4% 46% $63

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Lillestrom

$128 4.7% 78.1% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Lillestrom

$85 3.1% 22% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,292 in Lillestrom. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Lillestrom are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $121 in Lillestrom. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $503 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Lillestrom

🕒 Local time

10:20 10:20 AM

09:20 9:20 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

94,585

💱 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

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Between locations

Cape Town Lillestrom 10,460 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lillestrom

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 Lillestrom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lillestrom costs about 79% 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 $4,095 in Lillestrom. 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 $1,292 in Lillestrom.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,730 in Lillestrom. That makes Cape Town about 44% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% 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 $2,730 in Lillestrom. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $2,730 in Lillestrom. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lillestrom makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.