The Real Cost of Living in Norway in 2025 (Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen etc.)

Norway is one of the best countries in the world to live in, but also one of the most expensive. And today I am here to share the updated numbers for 2025: the REAL cost of living in Norway, including rent, food and any other expenses you will have when living here.

The short answer

If you don’t care for all the details, here’s what you should know:

The cost of living in Norway for a single person is around €3,000 per month. A couple would spend less per person, at around €2,500 per month. Personal spending habits and living conditions can influence this and greatly increase costs.

There are a lot of things that go into ending up with the numbers above, and I will go in-depth below. I strongly recommend checking the estimated expenses per category to understand what kind of life you’ll live on this monthly budget.

Also remember that general expenses will vary a bit throughout the country, from Oslo to Trondheim, to Bergen, and so on.

It makes sense that living in Norway’s capital is more expensive than living in Flekkefjord, but even so, the differences are not huge. Rent is the only major game changer – larger cities have higher rent prices.

With all these in mind, let’s check out the detailed living expenses to be expected in Norway this year.

NOTE: I will share all costs in Euros and not Krone (NOK), Norway’s currency, to make it easier to follow and compare to other European countries.

Monthly Rental Costs

Rent will eat up the largest portion of your monthly budget when living in Norway. Costs have increased a lot, but they’re still relatively affordable compared to buying property. Larger cities have higher prices, while smaller towns can offer some surprisingly low rental options. Here’s what you should expect to pay:

• for a shared room in an apartment/building: around €750 Euros/month.
• for a 1-bedroom apartment: anything between €1,350 – €1,800 / month.
• for a 2-bedroom apartment: between €1,750 – €2,500/month.

Generally speaking, Oslo has the highest cost of rent in Norway, so expect to pay some 50 to 100 Euros more here than in other cities.

Also read: The Best Dating Websites for the Scandinavia Region

Estimated Cost of Utilities

The good news is that, although expensive, some of the utility costs (usually heating and water) are generally included in the monthly rent. Make sure to clear this out with the owner beforehand, as these expenses can greatly increase your monthly costs.

For an estimate of how much you’d spend on them if not included in rent, here is how much I think you’ll spend on utilities

• between €175 – €300 per month, mostly influenced by the size of your home and how warm you keep your rooms during the winter (warmer=$$$).

Sim Card Plan: Around 40 Euros / Month (includes around 25GB of internet, unlimited calls and texts)

Internet: Around 50 Euros per month for a decent, 100 Mbps connection or faster. Norway has great internet – you can check out the average internet speed in Europe here.

Monthly Food Costs

Food is expensive in Norway compared to the rest of Europe (and most of the world). It’s also one of the most difficult category to estimate expenses in, as eating habits greatly influence spending.

Plus, food prices have been affected by the growing inflation in the past few years. But at least the salaries here generally kept up with the rising prices, evening things out a bit.

All in all, as long as you don’t eat out more than once per week, expect your food budget to be around €650 per month. Couples will spend less – around €1,000 per month.

Now let’s check out some examples of prices for various products you can find here:

• 1 Liter of milk – €2.2
• 1 Loaf of bread – €2.5
• 12 eggs – €4.5
• Local Cheese (1kg) – €14 (although prices vary a lot)
• Chicken breasts (1kg) – €15

• Potatoes (1kg): €2.00
• Tomatoes (1kg): €4.75
• Apples (1kg): €2.80
• Bananas (1kg): €2.5
• Oranges (1kg): €2.5

• Bottled water (1.5 liters): €2.15
• Beer (store-brought): €3.00
• Wine (store-brought): €15 (prices vary a lot here as well)

Restaurant prices in Norway

Eating out is extremely expensive compared to other countries in Europe. While you can still find a daily menu for around €10 here and there, that’s the exception, not the rule.

Meal in a regular restaurant, with a drink, included: starting at 25 Euros (one person)

Meal a fancier restaurant, with one drink included: 50 Euros and above for one person

Beer in a restaurant: 9 Euros

Bottle of juice: 3 Euros

Cappuccino or Latte: 4.5 Euros

If you eat out often – or even if you grab a Latte daily, your monthly expenses will increase a lot. But if you stick to eating out once per week or less, you can make it work on my estimated budget above.

Also read: The Insider’s Guide to Norwegian Culture

Other Monthly Expenses when Living in Norway

There are various other things you will spend your money on regularly, like buying new clothes, consumables and toiletries, entertainment, health-related costs, and transportation-related expenses.

Depending on your needs and spending habits, these can add up fast, increasing your monthly totals. For example, a single night out in a pub can cost at least €20 (with just one-two drinks included).

And while it’s really difficult to estimate what you’ll be spending in these areas, here are some examples of various other prices:

• 1 ticket for public transportation: 3.5 Euros
• monthly public transport pass: 80 Euros
• Gasoline: 1.9 Eur / liter
• Movie ticket: 15 Euros
• Gym Membership (1 month): 45 Euros

Owning a car is not a necessity in Norway. It gives you advantages in terms of mobility, as the weather is pretty cold, but unless you have to commute to work over long distances, you can do well without a car in Norway.

Even if you have to commute, you will have trains and buses to choose from, so the car isn’t a must.

During our stay here, we didn’t own a car and did everything using public transportation, biking and walking. It was a pleasant experience and even though a car does bring some comfort, we never really missed one.

All cities and towns here in Norway are very pedestrian-friendly and the public transportation network works like a charm.

Example of a monthly budget living in Norway

So, adding all the things listed above (and trying to estimate some other miscellaneous expenses), we end up with the numbers below. These are for a single person living a decent, but basic life here:

Rent & Utilities (internet & TV included): 1,600 Euros/month
Food & Eating out: 650 Euros/month
Entertainment: 150 Euros/month
Other expenses: 550 Euros/month
____________________
TOTAL: 2,950 Euros/month

It might be possible to reduce the budget above if you share accommodation costs and never eat out and have minimal entertainment. But even the budget above is not too extravagant, covering just a bit over the basic needs.

This also works in favor of couples, where the average cost of living drops to €2,500/month per person.

Also read: Christmas and New Year Traditions in Norway

Conclusion

While Norway is not one of the cheapest places to live in – no matter if you compare it with the rest of Europe (like the affordable Belgrade) or the rest of the world (like the affordable Cebu) – the truth is that the standard of living is high and salaries are up there to help people afford these seemingly insane prices.

I would say that even though costs are still increasing (with the accommodation costs exploding), the increase has slowed down in the past 12 months and I don’t think that things will become much more expensive in the future.

Over to you now: do you have any comments to make regarding the costs and estimations here? Maybe extra questions to ask about today’s topic? If you do, don’t hesitate to let us all know by commenting below!