Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Amsterdam and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $3,504 in Amsterdam, rent and utilities included – about $34,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

169

Cost of Living Index in Amsterdam
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Amsterdam Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Amsterdam

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$3,504

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,504 per month in Amsterdam vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Amsterdam $3,504
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $5,010 per month in Amsterdam vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Amsterdam $5,010
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $6,516 per month in Amsterdam vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Amsterdam $6,516
Cairo $1,431

Amsterdam costs about 445% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Amsterdam sits 161% above the global median, while Cairo is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.37 €19.96

$4.69 E£245

376.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.0 €81.2

$28.49 E£1,491

219.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.36 €13.71

$6.03 E£315

154.73%

Cappuccino

$4.60 €4.11

$1.81 E£94.7

154.14%

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

$3.74 €3.33

$0.35 E£18.18

968.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 €2.70

$0.15 E£7.95

1920.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.41 €6.62

$1.45 E£76.0

411.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.68 €5.07

$2.24 E£117

153.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.36

$0.97 E£50.7

56.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.13

$0.73 E£37.96

226.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$0.77 E£40.24

229.87%

Eggs

$5.24 €4.68

$1.17 E£61.2

347.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.95 €15.13

$4.32 E£226

292.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.41 €11.97

$5.07 E£265

164.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.00 €20.53

$8.92 E£467

157.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$1.83 E£95.8

50.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.83 €2.52

$0.75 E£39.07

277.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.63 €2.35

$0.57 E£29.78

361.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.87 €3.45

$0.51 E£26.62

658.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.39 €2.13

$0.38 E£20.05

528.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 €1.53

$0.42 E£21.88

307.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 €1.28

$0.35 E£18.43

308.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 €1.59

$0.24 E£12.57

641.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.48 €12.92

$1.99 E£104

627.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.21 €8.22

$7.48 E£391

23.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 €1.59

$1.52 E£79.4

17.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 €2.26

$2.13 E£112

18.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.72 €3.32

$0.33 E£17.10

1027.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$116 €104

$8.66 E£453

1242.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.70 €4.19

$0.37 E£19.27

1170.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.40 €3.04

$0.20 E£10.65

1600.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$38.74 €34.57

$1.49 E£77.8

2500.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.61 €2.33

$0.46 E£23.94

467.39%

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

$41.7K €37.2K

$32.6K E£1.7M

27.72%

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

$38.2K €34.1K

$28.4K E£1.5M

34.38%

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

$298 €266

$27.54 E£1,441

981.52%

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

$22.98 €20.51

$8.27 E£432

177.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 €47.26

$14.05 E£735

276.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.4 €53.9

$28.27 E£1,479

113.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.40 €31.59

$6.70 E£350

428.36%

Cinema Ticket

$16.86 €15.05

$4.40 E£230

283.18%

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

$2,764 €2,466

$121 E£6,356

2174.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K €15.3K

$3,619 E£189.3K

372.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.3 €83.2

$40.16 E£2,101

132.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.20 €36.77

$49.61 E£2,596

-16.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 €89.3

$115 E£6,033

-13.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$60.6 E£3,170

119.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,605 €2,325

$220 E£11.5K

1084.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 €1,720

$194 E£10.2K

892.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,903 €3,483

$514 E£26.9K

659.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,115 €2,780

$334 E£17.5K

833.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.3K €9,201

$806 E£42.2K

1178.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,540 €5,836

$513 E£26.9K

1174.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,524 €4,038

$200 E£10.5K

2160.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.27

16.21

-79.83%

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

Last update for Amsterdam: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Amsterdam

$1.9K 55.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 89.9% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Amsterdam

$388 11.2%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 63.6% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Amsterdam

$374 10.8%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 86.7% $324

Eating Out

Amsterdam

$356 10.3%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 74.4% $265

Clothing & Footwear

Amsterdam

$165 4.8%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 27.7% $46

Getting Around

Amsterdam

$153 4.4%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 92.6% $141

Sport & Entertainment

Amsterdam

$94 2.7%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 60.6% $57

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,605 in Amsterdam versus $220 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 2160% higher in Amsterdam, 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 $91.0 in Amsterdam versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $388 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Amsterdam

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

09:00 9:00 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

1 h ahead of Amsterdam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

881,933 Capital

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Amsterdam Cairo 3,280 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Amsterdam
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

Amsterdam vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Amsterdam is pricier by about 445%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,255 per month in Amsterdam and $965 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.

Public transport costs about 1242% less in Cairo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,764 per month in Amsterdam and $121 in Cairo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $643, than in Amsterdam at $3,504. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Amsterdam it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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