Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Trondheim

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,999 in Trondheim, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 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
144

Cost of Living Index in Trondheim
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Trondheim Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Trondheim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,999

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,999 in Trondheim, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Trondheim $2,999

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,365 in Trondheim, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Trondheim $4,365

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,732 in Trondheim, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Trondheim $5,732

Cape Town is about 49% cheaper than Trondheim, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Trondheim sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Trondheim by 122%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$21.71 NOK 202

-44.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$109 NOK 1,015

-60.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.30 NOK 152

-62.27%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$5.78 NOK 53.7

-59.00%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.84 NOK 54.3

-78.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$4.12 NOK 38.28

-77.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$12.92 NOK 120

-77.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$13.07 NOK 122

-71.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.51 NOK 23.38

-47.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.60 NOK 33.44

-66.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.74 NOK 34.77

-41.18%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.04 NOK 46.87

-38.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.19 NOK 123

-33.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$17.03 NOK 158

-59.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$32.02 NOK 298

-71.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.86 NOK 35.87

-52.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.96 NOK 27.49

-34.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.88 NOK 36.04

-57.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$5.86 NOK 54.5

-63.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$3.01 NOK 28.03

-47.51%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$3.07 NOK 28.59

-52.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.85 NOK 26.53

-52.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$2.28 NOK 21.23

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$18.14 NOK 169

-80.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$18.62 NOK 173

-67.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.59 NOK 33.36

-61.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.59 NOK 42.66

-52.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.84 NOK 45.05

-71.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$103 NOK 954

-40.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.42 NOK 87.6

-90.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.64 NOK 15.26

-45.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$61.1 NOK 568

-91.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.56 NOK 23.82

-39.84%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$46.8K NOK 435.2K

-24.41%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$46.2K NOK 429.8K

-27.78%

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

$117 R 1,929

$276 NOK 2,568

-57.60%

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

$25.71 R 424

$37.21 NOK 346

-30.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$83.0 NOK 772

-52.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$45.99 NOK 428

12.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$41.33 NOK 384

-72.54%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$19.22 NOK 179

-53.75%

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

$308 R 5,069

$309 NOK 2,876

-0.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,243 NOK 39.5K

91.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$110 NOK 1,023

-47.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$52.2 NOK 486

-39.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$122 NOK 1,131

-4.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$159 NOK 1,477

-36.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,657 NOK 15.4K

-36.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,240 NOK 11.5K

-46.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,326 NOK 21.6K

-20.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,789 NOK 16.6K

-21.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,811 NOK 63.4K

-64.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$5,250 NOK 48.8K

-70.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$4,625 NOK 43.0K

-64.76%

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 Trondheim: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Trondheim

$1.2K 41.3% 85.2% $570

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Trondheim

$517 17.2% 132% $294

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Trondheim

$396 13.2% 118% $214

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Trondheim

$422 14.1% 143% $248

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Trondheim

$199 6.6% 44.7% $62

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Trondheim

$140 4.7% 94.4% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Trondheim

$84 2.8% 21.7% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,657 in Trondheim. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Trondheim are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $109 in Trondheim. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $517 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇳🇴 Trondheim

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

08:41 8:41 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

215,121

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Trondheim 10,850 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Trondheim

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 Trondheim: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Trondheim costs about 96% 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 $4,498 in Trondheim. 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 $1,657 in Trondheim.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,999 in Trondheim. That makes Cape Town about 49% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 41% 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 $2,999 in Trondheim. 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 $2,999 in Trondheim. 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, Trondheim makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.