Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Longyearbyen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,850 in Longyearbyen, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
136

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,850

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,850 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Longyearbyen $2,850

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,306 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Longyearbyen $4,306

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,761 in Longyearbyen, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Longyearbyen $5,761

Cape Town is about 46% cheaper than Longyearbyen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Longyearbyen sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Longyearbyen by 111%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$20.56 NOK 193

-41.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$107 NOK 1,006

-59.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$18.57 NOK 175

-66.88%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$7.17 NOK 67.4

-66.95%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$6.30 NOK 59.2

-79.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$5.80 NOK 54.6

-83.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$7.56 NOK 71.1

-60.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$9.24 NOK 86.9

-60.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$2.53 NOK 23.79

-47.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$3.83 NOK 36.02

-68.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$4.48 NOK 42.15

-50.89%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$5.02 NOK 47.21

-38.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$14.71 NOK 138

-40.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$20.74 NOK 195

-66.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$32.68 NOK 307

-71.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$6.79 NOK 63.9

-73.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.73 NOK 25.70

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$7.03 NOK 66.1

-76.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$6.87 NOK 64.6

-68.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$5.60 NOK 52.7

-71.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$4.76 NOK 44.74

-69.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$4.57 NOK 42.95

-70.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$3.68 NOK 34.60

-69.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$18.05 NOK 170

-80.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$14.96 NOK 141

-59.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$3.56 NOK 33.45

-60.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$4.43 NOK 41.62

-50.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.76 NOK 44.73

-70.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$86.2 NOK 810

-29.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$9.58 NOK 90.0

-90.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.83 NOK 17.16

-50.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$70.4 NOK 661

-92.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$2.22 NOK 20.85

-30.63%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$49.8K NOK 468.1K

-28.99%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$45.2K NOK 424.9K

-26.18%

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

$117 R 1,935

$275 NOK 2,587

-57.46%

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

$25.71 R 425

$33.68 NOK 317

-23.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$55.5 NOK 522

-28.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$49.11 NOK 462

5.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$38.07 NOK 358

-70.19%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$17.68 NOK 166

-49.72%

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

$308 R 5,085

$244 NOK 2,290

26.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$13.6K NOK 127.4K

-39.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$104 NOK 977

-44.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$57.7 NOK 543

-45.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$130 NOK 1,219

-10.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$158 NOK 1,483

-36.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$1,159 NOK 10.9K

-9.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,059 NOK 9,952

-36.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,092 NOK 19.7K

-11.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,703 NOK 16.0K

-17.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$6,445 NOK 60.6K

-62.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,297 NOK 40.4K

-63.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,894 NOK 27.2K

-43.69%

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 Longyearbyen: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Longyearbyen

$1.1K 37.2% 58.2% $390

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Longyearbyen

$606 21.3% 171% $382

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Longyearbyen

$364 12.8% 100% $182

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Longyearbyen

$411 14.4% 136% $237

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Longyearbyen

$202 7.1% 46.8% $64

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Longyearbyen

$124 4.4% 72.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Longyearbyen

$84 3% 21.7% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,159 in Longyearbyen. 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 78% higher in Longyearbyen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $107 in Longyearbyen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $606 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🕒 Local time

23:04 11:04 PM

22:04 10:04 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,400

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 NOK = 10.64 USD

100 NOK = 9.52 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.4 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.5 NOK (100 NOK = 9.52 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Longyearbyen 12,470 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Longyearbyen

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 Longyearbyen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Longyearbyen costs about 87% 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 $4,275 in Longyearbyen. 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 $1,159 in Longyearbyen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,850 in Longyearbyen. That makes Cape Town about 46% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 30% 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 $2,850 in Longyearbyen. 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 $2,850 in Longyearbyen. 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, Longyearbyen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.