Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandra and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $635 a month against $1,074 in Alexandra, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Alexandra
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Alexandra Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Alexandra

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,074

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandra 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 Alexandra and in Cairo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,074 per month in Alexandra vs $635 in Cairo, rent included.

Alexandra $1,074
Cairo $635

A couple spends around $1,742 per month in Alexandra vs $1,010 in Cairo, rent included.

Alexandra $1,742
Cairo $1,010

A family of three spends $2,409 per month in Alexandra vs $1,385 in Cairo, rent included.

Alexandra $2,409
Cairo $1,385

Alexandra costs about 69% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Alexandra and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Alexandra 21% lower, Cairo 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.26 R 152

$4.63 E£247

100.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.55 R 602

$27.66 E£1,477

32.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.35 R 88.1

$5.83 E£311

-8.23%

Cappuccino

$2.20 R 36.24

$1.69 E£90.1

30.18%

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

$1.08 R 17.87

$0.35 E£18.79

208.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 R 13.19

$0.13 E£6.86

515.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 R 39.58

$1.47 E£78.3

63.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 R 45.85

$2.21 E£118

25.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.23

$0.94 E£50.5

24.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 R 17.92

$0.79 E£41.96

37.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.62

$0.70 E£37.41

157.14%

Eggs

$2.43 R 40.11

$1.12 E£59.5

116.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.66 R 143

$4.08 E£218

112.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.12 R 84.3

$4.77 E£255

7.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 117

$8.81 E£470

-19.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.80

$1.68 E£89.7

4.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.53

$0.71 E£38.07

126.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.30

$0.59 E£31.31

191.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.86

$0.51 E£27.06

219.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 R 18.04

$0.37 E£19.81

194.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 19.39

$0.44 E£23.47

168.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 R 19.71

$0.34 E£18.37

252.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.32 R 21.76

$0.21 E£11.16

528.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 R 52.7

$1.99 E£106

60.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 R 83.9

$7.49 E£400

-32.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.51 E£80.4

4.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 R 31.36

$2.08 E£111

-8.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.33 R 21.94

$0.34 E£18.29

291.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.31 E£444

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.75

$0.40 E£21.48

-27.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 R 12.78

$0.19 E£9.99

310.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.57 R 240

$1.50 E£80.0

871.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.92

$0.45 E£23.77

248.89%

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

$36.2K R 597.0K

$33.1K E£1.8M

9.43%

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

$34.1K R 562.3K

$26.1K E£1.4M

30.55%

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

$155 R 2,550

$27.62 E£1,475

460.32%

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

$36.96 R 609

$7.83 E£418

372.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.04 R 627

$14.39 E£769

164.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.24 R 548

$28.62 E£1,528

16.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.48 R 173

$7.47 E£399

40.29%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 R 124

$4.56 E£244

64.47%

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

$244 R 4,019

$120 E£6,417

103.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,468 R 90.1K

$3,476 E£185.6K

57.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 899

$39.13 E£2,090

39.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.16 R 530

$49.04 E£2,619

-34.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.5 R 1,540

$111 E£5,934

-15.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.1 R 1,402

$57.0 E£3,043

49.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 R 6,483

$215 E£11.5K

82.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 R 5,468

$196 E£10.5K

69.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$844 R 13.9K

$542 E£28.9K

55.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$833 R 13.7K

$338 E£18.0K

146.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$919 R 15.1K

$830 E£44.3K

10.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$644 R 10.6K

$512 E£27.3K

25.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,775 R 29.2K

$195 E£10.4K

810.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.91

16.21

-32.70%

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

Last update for Alexandra: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alexandra

$332 30.9%

Cairo

$196 30.8% 41% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandra

$230 21.4%

Cairo

$50 7.8% 78.3% $180

Groceries & Markets

Alexandra

$194 18.1%

Cairo

$137 21.6% 29.3% $57

Eating Out

Alexandra

$142 13.2%

Cairo

$88 13.9% 37.6% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandra

$119 11.1%

Cairo

$115 18.2% 3.4% $4

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandra

$48 4.5%

Cairo

$38 5.9% 21.8% $11

Getting Around

Alexandra

$9.5 * 0.9%

Cairo

$11 1.7% 16.1% $1.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $394 in Alexandra versus $215 in Cairo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 811% higher in Alexandra, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $37.00 in Alexandra versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $194 vs $137 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Alexandra

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

15:08 3:08 PM

16:08 4:08 PM

1 h ahead of Alexandra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

179,624

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandra Cairo 6,250 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandra
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

Alexandra vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandra costs about 69% more than Cairo, 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 $1,612 per month in Alexandra and $953 in Cairo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cairo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,074 in Alexandra and $635 in Cairo. That's a gap of about 69%.

Kindergarten costs $244 per month in Alexandra and $120 in Cairo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,074 in Alexandra and $635 in Cairo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Cairo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Alexandra makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.