Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oslo and Arendal

For one person, living is cheaper in Arendal: $2,750 a month against $3,538 in Oslo, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Oslo
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Oslo Living Index
133

Cost of Living Index in Arendal
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Arendal Living Index

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Oslo

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,538

/mo nomad

Arendal

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Oslo and in Arendal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,538 in Oslo versus $2,750 in Arendal.

Oslo $3,538
Arendal $2,750

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,096 in Oslo versus $3,932 in Arendal.

Oslo $5,096
Arendal $3,932

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,653 in Oslo versus $5,113 in Arendal.

Oslo $6,653
Arendal $5,113

Living in Oslo is roughly 29% more expensive than in Arendal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Oslo 160% above, Arendal 102% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.75 NOK 202

$20.71 NOK 192

5.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$130 NOK 1,206

$67.1 NOK 624

93.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.04 NOK 149

$16.06 NOK 149

-0.12%

Cappuccino

$5.84 NOK 54.3

$5.51 NOK 51.2

5.99%

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

$4.38 NOK 40.67

$3.75 NOK 34.87

16.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 NOK 31.10

$3.42 NOK 31.76

-2.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.65 NOK 108

$11.85 NOK 110

-1.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.81 NOK 119

$10.58 NOK 98.3

21.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.61 NOK 24.27

$2.49 NOK 23.14

4.82%

White Bread (500g)

$4.38 NOK 40.73

$3.55 NOK 32.97

23.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.70 NOK 43.68

$4.01 NOK 37.24

17.21%

Eggs

$6.25 NOK 58.1

$4.76 NOK 44.23

31.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.48 NOK 144

$14.98 NOK 139

3.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.84 NOK 147

$14.93 NOK 139

6.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.30 NOK 300

$34.94 NOK 325

-7.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 NOK 31.17

$3.61 NOK 33.50

-6.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 25.31

$2.75 NOK 25.55

-1.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 NOK 33.92

$3.49 NOK 32.39

4.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.96 NOK 55.4

$4.99 NOK 46.34

19.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.69 NOK 25.03

$2.56 NOK 23.79

5.08%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 NOK 26.48

$3.16 NOK 29.34

-9.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.26 NOK 30.30

$2.90 NOK 26.97

12.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 NOK 23.22

$2.42 NOK 22.53

3.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.21 NOK 178

$18.37 NOK 171

4.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.64 NOK 155

$15.07 NOK 140

10.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.60 NOK 33.45

$3.74 NOK 34.78

-3.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 NOK 39.25

$4.45 NOK 41.31

-4.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.02 NOK 46.65

$3.78 NOK 35.12

32.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.5 NOK 775

$94.4 NOK 877

-11.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.39 NOK 115

$6.36 NOK 59.1

94.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.84 NOK 17.12

$1.82 NOK 16.88

1.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 NOK 658

$108 NOK 1,007

-34.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.48 NOK 23.05

$2.33 NOK 21.67

6.44%

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

$49.9K NOK 463.6K

$49.6K NOK 461.2K

0.52%

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

$44.7K NOK 415.1K

$41.7K NOK 387.5K

7.12%

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

$433 NOK 4,027

$263 NOK 2,440

65.03%

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

$34.50 NOK 321

$34.00 NOK 316

1.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 NOK 517

$79.7 NOK 741

-30.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 NOK 540

$37.05 NOK 344

56.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.79 NOK 277

Cinema Ticket

$20.78 NOK 193

$15.90 NOK 148

30.69%

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

$240 NOK 2,226

$335 NOK 3,108

-28.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K NOK 150.2K

$14.5K NOK 134.9K

11.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 NOK 969

$131 NOK 1,213

-20.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.8 NOK 574

$44.64 NOK 415

38.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 NOK 1,253

$130 NOK 1,209

3.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 NOK 1,487

$210 NOK 1,948

-23.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,133 NOK 19.8K

$1,159 NOK 10.8K

84.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 NOK 15.3K

$1,053 NOK 9,785

56.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,270 NOK 30.4K

$1,593 NOK 14.8K

105.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,466 NOK 22.9K

$1,518 NOK 14.1K

62.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.4K NOK 114.9K

$4,347 NOK 40.4K

184.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,462 NOK 69.3K

$3,230 NOK 30.0K

131.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,703 NOK 43.7K

$4,235 NOK 39.3K

11.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

4.68

5.56%

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

Last update for Oslo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Arendal: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oslo

$1.6K 46.5%

Arendal

$1.1K 38.3% 36% $592

Groceries & Markets

Oslo

$530 15%

Arendal

$506 18.4% 4.6% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oslo

$524 14.8%

Arendal

$376 13.7% 28.1% $147

Eating Out

Oslo

$407 11.5%

Arendal

$389 14.2% 4.4% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Oslo

$207 5.9%

Arendal

$232 8.4% 11.7% $24

Getting Around

Oslo

$125 3.5%

Arendal

$125 4.5% 0.1% $0.2

Sport & Entertainment

Oslo

$100 2.8%

Arendal

$69 2.5% 30.9% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,133 in Oslo and $1,159 in Arendal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oslo pays 11% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $130 in Oslo vs $67 in Arendal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $530 vs $506 per month, with Arendal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Oslo

🇳🇴 Arendal

🕒 Local time

21:25 9:25 PM

Same time as Oslo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,098,061 Capital

46,406

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Oslo Arendal 200 km

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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

Oslo vs Arendal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $3,538 in Oslo and $2,750 in Arendal, so Arendal is about 22% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Oslo, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,133 in Oslo versus $1,159 in Arendal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $240 in Oslo versus $335 in Arendal. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Oslo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Oslo and Arendal are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Arendal wins on affordability, Oslo on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.