Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $17,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Cairo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $647 in Cairo.

Aalst $2,067
Cairo $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $1,035 in Cairo.

Aalst $3,086
Cairo $1,035

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $1,423 in Cairo.

Aalst $4,105
Cairo $1,423

Living in Aalst is roughly 220% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aalst is 53% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$4.64 E£245

385.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$28.12 E£1,483

275.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$6.03 E£318

122.72%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$1.72 E£91.0

157.56%

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

$3.63 €3.24

$0.36 E£19.14

908.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$0.12 E£6.33

2541.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$1.51 E£79.4

267.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$2.32 E£122

138.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.92 E£48.32

42.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$0.73 E£38.44

284.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$0.74 E£39.15

187.84%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$1.19 E£62.9

221.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$4.33 E£229

301.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$5.03 E£265

135.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$9.28 E£489

140.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$1.77 E£93.2

68.93%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$0.73 E£38.55

232.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$0.55 E£29.15

385.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$0.50 E£26.58

546.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$0.42 E£22.14

488.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$0.41 E£21.54

375.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$0.33 E£17.30

366.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$0.21 E£11.06

400.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$1.98 E£104

553.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$7.81 E£412

11.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.59 E£83.6

8.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.09 E£110

-0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$0.35 E£18.60

782.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£458

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$0.39 E£20.76

633.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$0.22 E£11.43

968.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$1.51 E£79.5

2575.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$0.43 E£22.59

393.02%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$32.7K E£1.7M

6.01%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$27.2K E£1.4M

20.51%

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

$203 €181

$27.27 E£1,438

643.67%

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

$21.94 €19.58

$8.58 E£453

155.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$13.99 E£738

263.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$29.69 E£1,566

21.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$7.25 E£383

190.07%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$4.86 E£256

212.35%

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

$1,605 €1,433

$121 E£6,359

1231.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$3,560 E£187.7K

847.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$40.28 E£2,125

180.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$49.53 E£2,612

-6.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$115 E£6,061

-11.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$60.0 E£3,167

172.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$222 E£11.7K

310.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$195 E£10.3K

314.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$550 E£29.0K

151.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$346 E£18.3K

218.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$800 E£42.2K

420.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$525 E£27.7K

450.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$200 E£10.5K

1292.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

16.21

-78.66%

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

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Cairo

$195 30.2% 75.9% $612

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Cairo

$142 21.9% 60.6% $218

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Cairo

$90 13.9% 73.5% $250

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 81.9% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Cairo

$119 18.4% 37.6% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Cairo

$39 6.1% 40.8% $27

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Cairo

$12 1.8% 57% $15

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $911 in Aalst and $222 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 1293% 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: $106 in Aalst vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $142 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

08:10 8:10 AM

1 h ahead of Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.9 USD

100 EGP = 1.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 52.74 EGP (100 EGP = 1.9 USD). 1 EUR = 59.02 EGP (100 EGP = 1.69 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aalst Cairo 3,230 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Aalst
Cairo

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

Aalst vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Cairo differ by about 220% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $647 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1293% higher in Aalst, 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: $911 in Aalst versus $222 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 154% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $647 in Cairo – a 220% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $647 in Cairo versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Cairo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Aalst and Cairo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cairo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 220% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.