Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Porsgrunn

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,717 in Porsgrunn, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 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 Porsgrunn
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Porsgrunn Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Porsgrunn

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,717

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,717 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Porsgrunn $2,717

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,899 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Porsgrunn $3,899

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,081 in Porsgrunn, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Porsgrunn $5,081

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

Both Cape Town and Porsgrunn sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Porsgrunn by 101%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.40 NOK 199

-43.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$107 NOK 998

-60.00%

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

$3.56 NOK 33.07

-64.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.07 NOK 28.54

-69.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$11.78 NOK 110

-74.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$10.65 NOK 99.1

-65.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.57 NOK 23.86

-48.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$4.19 NOK 39.01

-71.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.70 NOK 43.70

-53.19%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$6.24 NOK 58.0

-50.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$15.50 NOK 144

-43.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$16.02 NOK 149

-56.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$31.47 NOK 293

-70.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.47 NOK 32.32

-47.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.72 NOK 25.34

-28.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.65 NOK 33.94

-54.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$6.17 NOK 57.4

-65.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.81 NOK 26.10

-43.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.97 NOK 27.65

-50.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$3.02 NOK 28.11

-55.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.42 NOK 22.54

-52.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$19.24 NOK 179

-81.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$16.31 NOK 152

-62.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.60 NOK 33.44

-61.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.37 NOK 40.68

-50.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$2.85 NOK 26.46

-50.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$49.64 NOK 462

22.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$12.22 NOK 114

-92.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.82 NOK 16.96

-50.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$70.5 NOK 656

-92.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.40 NOK 22.33

-35.83%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$48.9K NOK 454.5K

-27.63%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$45.0K NOK 418.6K

-25.85%

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

$117 R 1,929

$420 NOK 3,911

-72.16%

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

$25.71 R 424

$34.57 NOK 322

-25.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$54.7 NOK 509

-27.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$19.45 NOK 181

-54.29%

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

$308 R 5,069

$242 NOK 2,253

27.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$17.0K NOK 158.5K

-52.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$101 NOK 943

-43.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$60.9 NOK 567

-47.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$136 NOK 1,262

-14.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$160 NOK 1,488

-37.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$860 NOK 7,997

21.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$957 NOK 8,899

-30.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,600 NOK 14.9K

16.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,292 NOK 12.0K

8.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.8

186.58%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Porsgrunn: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Porsgrunn

$957 35.2% 43% $288

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Porsgrunn

$526 19.4% 136% $303

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Porsgrunn

$510 18.8% 180% $328

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Porsgrunn

$397 14.6% 128% $223

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Porsgrunn

$206 7.6% 49.8% $68

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Porsgrunn

$82 3% 14.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Porsgrunn

$39 * 1.4% 44% $31

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 $860 in Porsgrunn. 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 $107 in Porsgrunn. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $526 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Porsgrunn

🕒 Local time

08:12 8:12 AM

07:12 7:12 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

37,144

💱 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 Porsgrunn 10,380 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Porsgrunn

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 Porsgrunn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Porsgrunn costs about 78% 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 $4,076 in Porsgrunn. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Porsgrunn, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $860 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,717 in Porsgrunn. That makes Cape Town about 44% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 18% less in Porsgrunn. 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 $2,717 in Porsgrunn. 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 $2,717 in Porsgrunn. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.