Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Trondheim and Cape Town

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.

144

Cost of Living Index in Trondheim
Learn more

Trondheim Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Trondheim

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,999

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Trondheim $2,999
Cape Town $1,527

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

Trondheim $4,365
Cape Town $2,417

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

Trondheim $5,732
Cape Town $3,306

Trondheim costs about 96% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.71 NOK 202

$12.01 R 198

80.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 NOK 1,015

$42.92 R 707

154.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.30 NOK 152

$6.15 R 101

165.04%

Cappuccino

$5.78 NOK 53.7

$2.37 R 39.04

143.88%

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

$5.84 NOK 54.3

$1.27 R 20.96

359.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 NOK 38.28

$0.94 R 15.46

338.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.92 NOK 120

$2.96 R 48.77

336.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.07 NOK 122

$3.69 R 60.8

254.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.51 NOK 23.38

$1.32 R 21.73

90.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.60 NOK 33.44

$1.21 R 19.87

197.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.74 NOK 34.77

$2.20 R 36.26

70.00%

Eggs

$5.04 NOK 46.87

$3.10 R 51.1

62.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.19 NOK 123

$8.73 R 144

51.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$17.03 NOK 158

$6.89 R 114

147.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.02 NOK 298

$9.26 R 153

245.79%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 NOK 35.87

$1.83 R 30.08

110.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.96 NOK 27.49

$1.95 R 32.12

51.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.88 NOK 36.04

$1.66 R 27.32

133.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.86 NOK 54.5

$2.14 R 35.19

173.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.01 NOK 28.03

$1.58 R 26.01

90.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.07 NOK 28.59

$1.47 R 24.29

108.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.85 NOK 26.53

$1.35 R 22.18

111.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 NOK 21.23

$1.14 R 18.85

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$18.14 NOK 169

$3.58 R 59.0

406.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.62 NOK 173

$6.05 R 99.7

207.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.59 NOK 33.36

$1.39 R 22.95

158.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 NOK 42.66

$2.18 R 35.90

110.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.84 NOK 45.05

$1.40 R 23.02

245.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 NOK 954

$60.8 R 1,001

68.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.42 NOK 87.6

$0.93 R 15.26

912.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 NOK 15.26

$0.90 R 14.83

82.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.1 NOK 568

$4.96 R 81.7

1132.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.56 NOK 23.82

$1.54 R 25.37

66.23%

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

$46.8K NOK 435.2K

$35.4K R 582.8K

32.30%

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

$46.2K NOK 429.8K

$33.4K R 549.9K

38.47%

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

$276 NOK 2,568

$117 R 1,929

135.87%

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

$37.21 NOK 346

$25.71 R 424

44.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$83.0 NOK 772

$39.41 R 649

110.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.99 NOK 428

$51.6 R 850

-10.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$41.33 NOK 384

$11.35 R 187

264.14%

Cinema Ticket

$19.22 NOK 179

$8.89 R 146

116.20%

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

$309 NOK 2,876

$308 R 5,069

0.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,243 NOK 39.5K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-47.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 NOK 1,023

$57.4 R 946

91.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.2 NOK 486

$31.75 R 523

64.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 NOK 1,131

$116 R 1,911

4.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 NOK 1,477

$101 R 1,660

57.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,657 NOK 15.4K

$1,047 R 17.2K

58.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,240 NOK 11.5K

$669 R 11.0K

85.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,326 NOK 21.6K

$1,861 R 30.7K

25.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,789 NOK 16.6K

$1,407 R 23.2K

27.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,811 NOK 63.4K

$2,410 R 39.7K

182.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,250 NOK 48.8K

$1,570 R 25.9K

234.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,625 NOK 43.0K

$1,630 R 26.9K

183.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

10.89

-49.22%

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

Last update for Trondheim: November 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Trondheim

$1.2K 41.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 46% $570

Groceries & Markets

Trondheim

$517 17.2%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 56.8% $294

Eating Out

Trondheim

$422 14.1%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 58.8% $248

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Trondheim

$396 13.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 54% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Trondheim

$199 6.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 30.9% $62

Getting Around

Trondheim

$140 4.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 48.6% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Trondheim

$84 2.8%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 17.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,657 in Trondheim 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 Trondheim are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

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

Good to know

🇳🇴 Trondheim

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

11:02 11:02 AM

12:02 12:02 PM

1 h ahead of Trondheim

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,121

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Trondheim
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

Trondheim vs Cape Town: 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 $4,498 per month in Trondheim 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 $1,657 in Trondheim.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,999 in Trondheim and $1,527 in Cape Town. 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 $2,999 in Trondheim 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 $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.