Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Basel and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $3,548 in Basel, rent and utilities included – about $34,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Basel
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Basel Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Basel

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,548

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,548 in Basel versus $643 in Cairo.

Basel $3,548
Cairo $643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,573 in Basel versus $1,037 in Cairo.

Basel $5,573
Cairo $1,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,599 in Basel versus $1,431 in Cairo.

Basel $7,599
Cairo $1,431

Living in Basel is roughly 451% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Basel is 165% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.00 CHF 24.95

$4.69 E£245

539.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 CHF 104

$28.49 E£1,491

339.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.03 CHF 15.00

$6.03 E£316

199.00%

Cappuccino

$6.54 CHF 5.44

$1.81 E£94.8

261.33%

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

$6.48 CHF 5.39

$0.35 E£18.18

1751.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.77 CHF 4.80

$0.15 E£7.95

3746.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.22 CHF 7.66

$1.45 E£76.0

535.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.42 CHF 7.84

$2.24 E£117

320.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.83

$0.97 E£50.7

126.80%

White Bread (500g)

$3.09 CHF 2.57

$0.73 E£37.97

323.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.34 CHF 2.77

$0.77 E£40.25

333.77%

Eggs

$7.70 CHF 6.40

$1.17 E£61.2

558.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$26.14 CHF 21.73

$4.32 E£226

505.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.34 CHF 22.73

$5.07 E£265

439.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.29 CHF 34.33

$8.92 E£467

362.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.63 CHF 3.02

$1.83 E£95.8

98.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 CHF 1.89

$0.75 E£39.08

202.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 CHF 2.52

$0.57 E£29.78

431.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.70 CHF 3.91

$0.51 E£26.63

821.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 CHF 1.46

$0.38 E£20.06

360.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 CHF 1.65

$0.42 E£21.89

371.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.17 CHF 1.81

$0.35 E£18.43

520.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 CHF 1.34

$0.24 E£12.57

570.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.41 CHF 9.49

$1.99 E£104

473.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.15 CHF 10.10

$7.48 E£391

62.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 CHF 2.04

$1.52 E£79.4

61.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 CHF 2.48

$2.13 E£112

39.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.82 CHF 4.01

$0.33 E£17.10

1360.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 CHF 85.4

$8.66 E£453

1086.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.68 CHF 6.39

$0.37 E£19.27

1975.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.70 CHF 3.91

$0.20 E£10.65

2250.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$82.9 CHF 68.9

$1.49 E£77.8

5463.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$0.46 E£23.95

402.17%

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

$42.0K CHF 34.9K

$32.6K E£1.7M

28.71%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.7K

$28.4K E£1.5M

38.43%

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

$286 CHF 238

$27.54 E£1,441

938.60%

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

$46.01 CHF 38.26

$8.27 E£433

456.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.0 CHF 52.4

$14.05 E£735

348.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.2 CHF 69.2

$28.27 E£1,480

194.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$57.2 CHF 47.54

$6.70 E£350

753.28%

Cinema Ticket

$22.81 CHF 18.97

$4.40 E£230

418.41%

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

$2,915 CHF 2,424

$121 E£6,357

2299.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$32.5K CHF 27.0K

$3,619 E£189.4K

797.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$147 CHF 122

$40.16 E£2,102

266.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$79.8 CHF 66.4

$49.61 E£2,596

60.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 CHF 137

$115 E£6,034

42.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$197 CHF 164

$60.6 E£3,170

225.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,943 CHF 1,616

$220 E£11.5K

783.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,503 CHF 1,250

$194 E£10.2K

674.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,544 CHF 2,947

$514 E£26.9K

589.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,822 CHF 2,346

$334 E£17.5K

745.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K CHF 15.2K

$806 E£42.2K

2173.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.4K CHF 12.0K

$513 E£26.9K

2702.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,904 CHF 5,741

$200 E£10.5K

3348.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.42

16.21

-85.07%

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

Last update for Basel: 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

Basel

$1.5K 42.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 87.1% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Basel

$583 16.6%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 75.8% $442

Eating Out

Basel

$487 13.8%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 81.3% $395

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Basel

$395 11.2%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 87.4% $345

Clothing & Footwear

Basel

$265 7.5%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 54.9% $145

Getting Around

Basel

$153 4.4%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 92.6% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Basel

$129 3.7%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 71.2% $92

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,943 in Basel and $220 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Basel pays 3349% 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: $125 in Basel vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $583 vs $141 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Basel

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

07:20 7:20 AM

08:20 8:20 AM

1 h ahead of Basel

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

174,491

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.2 USD

1 CHF = 1.07 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.832 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.933 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.33 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.69 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Basel Cairo 2,810 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Basel
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

Basel vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 451% lower than in Basel. 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 3349% higher in Basel, 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: $1,943 in Basel versus $220 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,915 in Basel versus $121 in Cairo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 313% higher in Basel. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $643 in Cairo versus $3,548 in Basel, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Basel. The gap between the two cities makes Cairo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cairo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $643 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cairo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Basel 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 451% less than in Basel. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.