Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Norway Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 49.8% cheaper than Norway overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 65.0% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 50.8% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 40.5% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 49.8% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 47.2% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 63.0% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 32.3% less in South Africa
Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, childcare, and transportation are lower in South Africa.
South Africa vs. Norway Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Norway, you would:
pay 65.0% less for restaurants
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.47
NOK227.82
|
$9.33
ZAR157.52
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.28
NOK144.74
|
$5.11
ZAR86.28
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.22
NOK32.66
|
$1.03
ZAR17.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.63
NOK26.69
|
$0.80
ZAR13.55
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 50.8% less for groceries
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.23
NOK32.74
|
$1.00
ZAR16.92
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.77
NOK58.52
|
$3.88
ZAR65.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.36
NOK84.76
|
$4.37
ZAR73.76
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.26
NOK43.16
|
$2.33
ZAR39.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.39
NOK64.79
|
$2.13
ZAR36.01
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.50
NOK15.20
|
$0.73
ZAR12.29
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.10
NOK11.13
|
$0.65
ZAR11.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.42
NOK14.42
|
$0.68
ZAR11.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.97
NOK19.94
|
$0.71
ZAR11.97
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.02
NOK10.33
|
$0.59
ZAR9.88
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
NOK11.48
|
$0.60
ZAR10.12
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 40.5% less for transportation
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.05
NOK81.57
|
$4.92
ZAR83.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$73.58
NOK745.88
|
$56.18
ZAR948.01
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,882.51
NOK343,480.57
|
$21,394.82
ZAR361,047.35
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.92
NOK252.66
|
$9.34
ZAR157.58
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 49.8% less for housing
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.89
NOK526.07
|
$39.36
ZAR664.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,147.37
NOK11,631.34
|
$404.16
ZAR6,820.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$929.65
NOK9,424.26
|
$361.59
ZAR6,102.01
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$173.28
NOK1,756.60
|
$88.13
ZAR1,487.20
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 47.2% less for childcare
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$279.02
NOK2,828.57
|
$173.48
ZAR2,927.47
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,157.91
NOK92,837.40
|
$3,962.11
ZAR66,862.39
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 63.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.73
NOK98.66
|
$2.18
ZAR36.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.10
NOK51.74
|
$2.05
ZAR34.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.59
NOK158.00
|
$2.96
ZAR50.02
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.34
NOK510.29
|
$30.26
ZAR510.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.82
NOK160.40
|
$6.85
ZAR115.57
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.3% less for clothing
|
Norway
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.05
NOK963.61
|
$50.74
ZAR856.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.59
NOK462.13
|
$32.75
ZAR552.72
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.49
NOK1,069.39
|
$94.19
ZAR1,589.52
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$145.24
NOK1,472.39
|
$81.80
ZAR1,380.33
|
|
Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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