Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Mo i Rana

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,681 in Mo i Rana, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
129

Cost of Living Index in Mo i Rana
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Mo i Rana Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Mo i Rana

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,681

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Mo i Rana

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 Mo i Rana actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,681 in Mo i Rana, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Mo i Rana $2,681

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,987 in Mo i Rana, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Mo i Rana $3,987

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,294 in Mo i Rana, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Mo i Rana $5,294

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

Both Cape Town and Mo i Rana sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Mo i Rana by 98%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$16.28 NOK 153

-26.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$74.7 NOK 702

-42.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$16.36 NOK 154

-62.41%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$5.25 NOK 49.35

-54.86%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.65 NOK 24.90

-52.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.73 NOK 16.22

-45.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$11.70 NOK 110

-74.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$10.67 NOK 100

-65.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$2.38 NOK 22.39

-44.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$4.40 NOK 41.39

-72.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$3.94 NOK 37.01

-44.16%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$5.00 NOK 47.01

-38.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$14.16 NOK 133

-38.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$19.14 NOK 180

-64.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$31.53 NOK 296

-70.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.46 NOK 32.51

-47.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.90 NOK 27.26

-32.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$3.59 NOK 33.70

-53.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$4.87 NOK 45.75

-56.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$3.02 NOK 28.41

-47.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$2.88 NOK 27.09

-48.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.98 NOK 27.99

-54.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$2.30 NOK 21.62

-50.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$17.67 NOK 166

-79.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$17.08 NOK 161

-64.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$3.60 NOK 33.81

-61.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$4.46 NOK 41.92

-51.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.70 NOK 44.22

-70.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$85.2 NOK 801

-28.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$12.34 NOK 116

-92.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.93 NOK 18.13

-53.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$72.1 NOK 677

-93.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$2.40 NOK 22.52

-35.83%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$49.9K NOK 468.8K

-29.09%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$44.5K NOK 418.2K

-25.00%

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

$117 R 1,935

$277 NOK 2,602

-57.71%

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

$25.71 R 425

$33.64 NOK 316

-23.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$53.8 NOK 505

-26.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$50.5 NOK 474

2.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$36.90 NOK 347

-69.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$17.88 NOK 168

-50.28%

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

$308 R 5,085

$242 NOK 2,277

26.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$13.2K NOK 123.8K

-38.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$102 NOK 960

-43.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$57.4 NOK 540

-44.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$129 NOK 1,216

-10.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$161 NOK 1,517

-37.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$1,246 NOK 11.7K

-16.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,037 NOK 9,745

-35.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,082 NOK 19.6K

-10.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,724 NOK 16.2K

-18.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$6,545 NOK 61.5K

-63.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,360 NOK 41.0K

-64.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

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 Mo i Rana: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Mo i Rana

$1K 38.7% 54.9% $368

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Mo i Rana

$525 19.6% 135% $302

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Mo i Rana

$364 13.6% 99.9% $182

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Mo i Rana

$340 12.7% 95.2% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Mo i Rana

$203 7.6% 47.2% $65

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Mo i Rana

$126 4.7% 75.6% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Mo i Rana

$86 3.2% 24.3% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,246 in Mo i Rana. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $75 in Mo i Rana. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $525 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Mo i Rana

🕒 Local time

23:58 11:58 PM

22:58 10:58 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

18,755

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Mo i Rana 11,150 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Mo i Rana

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 Mo i Rana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mo i Rana costs about 76% 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 $4,021 in Mo i Rana. 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 $1,246 in Mo i Rana.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,681 in Mo i Rana. That makes Cape Town about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 29% 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 $2,681 in Mo i Rana. 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 $2,681 in Mo i Rana. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 43% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.