Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stavanger and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,259 in Stavanger, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Stavanger
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Stavanger Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Stavanger

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,259

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Stavanger 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 Stavanger and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,259 per month in Stavanger vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stavanger $3,259
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,736 per month in Stavanger vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stavanger $4,736
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $6,213 per month in Stavanger vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stavanger $6,213
Cape Town $3,306

Stavanger costs about 113% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Stavanger and Cape Town sit above the global median – Stavanger by 141%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.14 NOK 225

$12.01 R 198

101.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.3 NOK 915

$42.92 R 707

129.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.94 NOK 148

$6.15 R 101

159.19%

Cappuccino

$6.41 NOK 59.6

$2.37 R 39.04

170.46%

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

$5.61 NOK 52.2

$1.27 R 20.96

341.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 NOK 44.02

$0.94 R 15.46

403.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.82 NOK 129

$2.96 R 48.77

366.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.69 NOK 99.5

$3.69 R 60.8

189.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.47 NOK 22.97

$1.32 R 21.73

87.12%

White Bread (500g)

$3.56 NOK 33.09

$1.21 R 19.87

194.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.98 NOK 37.05

$2.20 R 36.26

80.91%

Eggs

$4.88 NOK 45.38

$3.10 R 51.1

57.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.99 NOK 139

$8.73 R 144

71.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.54 NOK 163

$6.89 R 114

154.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$35.30 NOK 328

$9.26 R 153

281.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 NOK 33.38

$1.83 R 30.08

96.17%

Banana (1kg)

$2.85 NOK 26.55

$1.95 R 32.12

46.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.61 NOK 33.57

$1.66 R 27.32

117.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.82 NOK 44.86

$2.14 R 35.19

125.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 NOK 23.50

$1.58 R 26.01

60.13%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 NOK 28.71

$1.47 R 24.29

110.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.82 NOK 26.21

$1.35 R 22.18

108.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 21.79

$1.14 R 18.85

105.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.25 NOK 170

$3.58 R 59.0

409.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.05 NOK 177

$6.05 R 99.7

214.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.76 NOK 34.95

$1.39 R 22.95

170.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 NOK 43.03

$2.18 R 35.90

112.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.91 NOK 45.67

$1.40 R 23.02

250.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.2 NOK 821

$60.8 R 1,001

45.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.51 NOK 60.6

$0.93 R 15.26

600.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 NOK 16.25

$0.90 R 14.83

94.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$105 NOK 977

$4.96 R 81.7

2016.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.56 NOK 23.80

$1.54 R 25.37

66.23%

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

$48.9K NOK 455.3K

$35.4K R 582.8K

38.41%

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

$42.0K NOK 390.7K

$33.4K R 549.9K

25.88%

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

$268 NOK 2,493

$117 R 1,929

128.97%

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

$35.09 NOK 326

$25.71 R 424

36.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.3 NOK 766

$39.41 R 649

108.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.8 NOK 500

$51.6 R 850

4.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.71 NOK 351

$11.35 R 187

232.25%

Cinema Ticket

$21.86 NOK 203

$8.89 R 146

145.89%

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

$322 NOK 2,994

$308 R 5,069

4.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K NOK 110.2K

$8,141 R 134.2K

45.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$131 NOK 1,220

$57.4 R 946

128.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.2 NOK 560

$31.75 R 523

89.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$150 NOK 1,394

$116 R 1,911

29.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$207 NOK 1,922

$101 R 1,660

105.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,768 NOK 16.4K

$1,047 R 17.2K

68.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 NOK 13.3K

$669 R 11.0K

113.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,917 NOK 27.1K

$1,861 R 30.7K

56.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,162 NOK 20.1K

$1,407 R 23.2K

53.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,490 NOK 60.4K

$2,410 R 39.7K

169.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,330 NOK 49.6K

$1,570 R 25.9K

239.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,344 NOK 49.7K

$1,630 R 26.9K

227.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.24

10.89

-51.88%

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

Last update for Stavanger: 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

Stavanger

$1.4K 43.9%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 53.2% $760

Groceries & Markets

Stavanger

$527 16.2%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 57.7% $304

Eating Out

Stavanger

$450 13.8%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 61.3% $276

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stavanger

$385 11.8%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 52.7% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Stavanger

$247 7.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 44.2% $109

Getting Around

Stavanger

$123 3.8%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 41.7% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Stavanger

$98 3%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 28.8% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,768 in Stavanger 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 Stavanger are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $98 in Stavanger versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $527 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Stavanger

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

13:50 1:50 PM

14:50 2:50 PM

1 h ahead of Stavanger

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,330

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.75 USD

100 NOK = 9.57 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 = 10.45 NOK (100 NOK = 9.57 EUR).

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).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stavanger Cape Town 10,400 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Stavanger
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

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

Stavanger costs about 113% 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 $4,888 per month in Stavanger 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 $1,768 in Stavanger.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,259 in Stavanger and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 53% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% 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 $3,259 in Stavanger and $1,527 in Cape Town. 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 $3,259 in Stavanger. 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, Stavanger makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.