Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Drammen and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,696 in Drammen, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in Drammen
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Drammen Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Drammen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,696

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Drammen and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,696 per month in Drammen vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Drammen $2,696
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,113 per month in Drammen vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Drammen $4,113
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $5,529 per month in Drammen vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Drammen $5,529
Cape Town $3,306

Drammen costs about 77% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Drammen and Cape Town sit above the global median – Drammen by 99%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.61 NOK 201

$12.01 R 198

79.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$130 NOK 1,213

$42.92 R 707

203.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.24 NOK 105

$6.15 R 101

82.76%

Cappuccino

$5.18 NOK 48.14

$2.37 R 39.04

118.57%

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

$4.16 NOK 38.70

$1.27 R 20.96

227.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 NOK 19.08

$0.94 R 15.46

118.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.65 NOK 108

$2.96 R 48.77

293.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.84 NOK 63.6

$3.69 R 60.8

85.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.61 NOK 24.29

$1.32 R 21.73

97.73%

White Bread (500g)

$4.05 NOK 37.66

$1.21 R 19.87

234.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.86 NOK 45.18

$2.20 R 36.26

120.91%

Eggs

$4.92 NOK 45.75

$3.10 R 51.1

58.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.72 NOK 128

$8.73 R 144

57.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.40 NOK 153

$6.89 R 114

138.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.86 NOK 296

$9.26 R 153

244.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 NOK 31.28

$1.83 R 30.08

83.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.75 NOK 25.61

$1.95 R 32.12

41.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 NOK 33.98

$1.66 R 27.32

119.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.95 NOK 55.3

$2.14 R 35.19

178.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.84 NOK 26.39

$1.58 R 26.01

79.75%

Onion (1kg)

$3.00 NOK 27.89

$1.47 R 24.29

104.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.08 NOK 28.68

$1.35 R 22.18

128.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 NOK 23.37

$1.14 R 18.85

120.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.16 NOK 160

$3.58 R 59.0

379.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.34 NOK 152

$6.05 R 99.7

170.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.56 NOK 33.09

$1.39 R 22.95

156.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 NOK 39.38

$2.18 R 35.90

94.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.47 NOK 32.27

$1.40 R 23.02

147.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.2 NOK 876

$60.8 R 1,001

55.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.38 NOK 115

$0.93 R 15.26

1231.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.86 NOK 17.28

$0.90 R 14.83

106.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.2 NOK 653

$4.96 R 81.7

1315.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.35 NOK 21.88

$1.54 R 25.37

52.60%

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

$46.8K NOK 435.4K

$35.4K R 582.8K

32.35%

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

$45.8K NOK 425.8K

$33.4K R 549.9K

37.17%

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

$272 NOK 2,531

$117 R 1,929

132.41%

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

$35.30 NOK 328

$25.71 R 424

37.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.6 NOK 508

$39.41 R 649

38.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$82.1 NOK 763

$51.6 R 850

59.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$18.26 NOK 170

$8.89 R 146

105.40%

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

$241 NOK 2,245

$308 R 5,069

-21.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K NOK 162.7K

$8,141 R 134.2K

114.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 NOK 942

$57.4 R 946

76.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.7 NOK 565

$31.75 R 523

91.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 NOK 1,222

$116 R 1,911

13.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$155 NOK 1,442

$101 R 1,660

53.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,339 NOK 12.5K

$1,047 R 17.2K

27.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,001 NOK 9,306

$669 R 11.0K

49.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,141 NOK 19.9K

$1,861 R 30.7K

15.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,605 NOK 14.9K

$1,407 R 23.2K

14.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.9K NOK 101.7K

$2,410 R 39.7K

353.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,515 NOK 60.6K

$1,570 R 25.9K

315.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,651 NOK 34.0K

$1,630 R 26.9K

124.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

10.89

-58.31%

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

Last update for Drammen: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Drammen

$1K 37.1%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 33.1% $331

Groceries & Markets

Drammen

$518 19.2%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 56.9% $295

Eating Out

Drammen

$366 13.6%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 52.4% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Drammen

$362 13.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 49.7% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Drammen

$202 7.5%

Cape Town

$138 9% 31.8% $64

Getting Around

Drammen

$130 4.8%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 44.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Drammen

$119 4.4%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 41.5% $49

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,339 in Drammen versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Drammen are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $130 in Drammen versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $518 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Drammen

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:00 8:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

1 h ahead of Drammen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

104,625

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.58 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

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).

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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Drammen Cape Town 10,440 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Drammen
Cape Town

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

Drammen vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Drammen costs about 77% 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 $4,044 per month in Drammen and $2,291 in Cape Town. 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 $1,339 in Drammen.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,696 in Drammen and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 43% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 36% 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 $2,696 in Drammen and $1,527 in Cape Town. 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 $2,696 in Drammen. 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, Drammen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.