Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bålsta and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,547 in Bålsta, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Bålsta
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Bålsta Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Bålsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,547

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,547 in Bålsta versus $647 in Cairo.

Bålsta $1,547
Cairo $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,416 in Bålsta versus $1,035 in Cairo.

Bålsta $2,416
Cairo $1,035

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,286 in Bålsta versus $1,423 in Cairo.

Bålsta $3,286
Cairo $1,423

Living in Bålsta is roughly 139% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bålsta is 15% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.80 SEK 137

$4.64 E£248

197.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.1 SEK 645

$28.12 E£1,501

131.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 SEK 85.5

$6.03 E£322

42.95%

Cappuccino

$3.89 SEK 38.56

$1.72 E£92.1

126.16%

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

$2.65 SEK 26.21

$0.36 E£19.38

636.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 SEK 22.00

$0.12 E£6.41

1750.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.90 SEK 68.4

$1.51 E£80.4

356.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.82 SEK 67.6

$2.32 E£124

193.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 SEK 15.16

$0.92 E£48.92

66.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 SEK 20.04

$0.73 E£38.92

176.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.56 SEK 35.31

$0.74 E£39.64

381.08%

Eggs

$3.62 SEK 35.86

$1.19 E£63.7

204.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.93 SEK 108

$4.33 E£231

152.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.00 SEK 119

$5.03 E£269

138.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.92 SEK 108

$9.28 E£496

17.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 SEK 24.15

$1.77 E£94.4

37.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 SEK 25.30

$0.73 E£39.03

249.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 SEK 19.13

$0.55 E£29.51

250.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.73 SEK 27.06

$0.50 E£26.91

446.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 SEK 14.42

$0.42 E£22.42

247.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 SEK 12.07

$0.41 E£21.81

197.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 SEK 14.94

$0.33 E£17.51

357.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 SEK 9.70

$0.21 E£11.20

366.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.18 SEK 71.2

$1.98 E£106

262.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.74 SEK 96.5

$7.81 E£417

24.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 SEK 15.16

$1.59 E£84.7

-3.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 SEK 19.88

$2.09 E£112

-3.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.19 SEK 31.62

$0.35 E£18.83

811.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.0 SEK 773

$8.69 E£464

797.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.81 SEK 57.6

$0.39 E£21.02

1389.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 SEK 15.00

$0.22 E£11.57

586.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$78.0 SEK 773

$1.51 E£80.5

5065.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SEK 17.37

$0.43 E£22.88

306.98%

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

$32.9K SEK 325.8K

$32.7K E£1.7M

0.56%

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

$32.0K SEK 317.3K

$27.2K E£1.5M

17.61%

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

$49.58 SEK 491

$27.27 E£1,456

81.81%

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

$20.01 SEK 198

$8.58 E£458

133.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.64 SEK 393

$13.99 E£747

183.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.01 SEK 377

$29.69 E£1,585

28.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.77 SEK 255

$7.25 E£387

255.45%

Cinema Ticket

$12.98 SEK 129

$4.86 E£260

167.08%

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

$121 SEK 1,194

$121 E£6,438

-0.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,908 SEK 48.6K

$3,560 E£190.1K

37.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 SEK 701

$40.28 E£2,151

75.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$10.12 SEK 100

$49.53 E£2,645

-79.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.0 SEK 803

$115 E£6,137

-29.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 SEK 1,087

$60.0 E£3,206

82.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$794 SEK 7,862

$222 E£11.9K

257.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 SEK 5,966

$195 E£10.4K

208.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,359 SEK 13.5K

$550 E£29.3K

147.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 SEK 10.1K

$346 E£18.5K

193.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,972 SEK 39.4K

$800 E£42.7K

396.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,805 SEK 27.8K

$525 E£28.0K

434.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,866 SEK 38.3K

$200 E£10.7K

1835.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.8

16.21

-82.73%

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

Last update for Bålsta: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bålsta

$602 38.9%

Cairo

$195 30.2% 67.6% $407

Groceries & Markets

Bålsta

$294 19%

Cairo

$142 21.9% 51.8% $153

Eating Out

Bålsta

$251 16.2%

Cairo

$90 13.9% 64.1% $161

Clothing & Footwear

Bålsta

$122 7.9%

Cairo

$119 18.4% 2.5% $3.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bålsta

$109 7.1%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 54.4% $59

Getting Around

Bålsta

$104 6.7%

Cairo

$12 1.8% 88.9% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Bålsta

$64 4.1%

Cairo

$39 6.1% 38.4% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $794 in Bålsta and $222 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bålsta pays 1836% 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: $65.0 in Bålsta vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $294 vs $142 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Bålsta

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

11:15 11:15 AM

1 h ahead of Bålsta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,138

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bålsta Cairo 3,440 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Bålsta
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

Bålsta vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 139% lower than in Bålsta. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cairo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1836% higher in Bålsta, 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: $794 in Bålsta versus $222 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,547 per month in Bålsta versus $647 in Cairo – a 139% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cairo runs roughly 798% less than in Bålsta. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $647 in Cairo versus $1,547 in Bålsta, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Bålsta. 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, Bålsta 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 139% less than in Bålsta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.