Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benghazi and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Benghazi: $412 a month against $643 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Benghazi
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Benghazi Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
Learn more

Cairo Living Index

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Benghazi

🇱🇾 Libya

$412

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $412 per month in Benghazi vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Benghazi $412
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $695 per month in Benghazi vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Benghazi $695
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $978 per month in Benghazi vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Benghazi $978
Cairo $1,431

Benghazi is about 36% cheaper than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Benghazi and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Benghazi 69% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.36 LYD 15.08

$4.69 E£245

-49.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.50 LYD 80.0

$28.49 E£1,491

-56.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.30 LYD 14.70

$6.03 E£315

-61.86%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 LYD 13.24

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 LYD 2.43

Cappuccino

$0.68 LYD 4.37

$1.81 E£94.7

-62.43%

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

$0.43 LYD 2.74

$0.35 E£18.18

22.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 LYD 0.77

$0.15 E£7.95

-20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 LYD 5.22

$0.97 E£50.7

-15.46%

White Bread (500g)

$0.19 LYD 1.22

$0.73 E£37.96

-73.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 LYD 8.92

$0.77 E£40.24

80.52%

Eggs

$1.65 LYD 10.58

$1.17 E£61.2

41.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.56 LYD 41.97

$4.32 E£226

51.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.80 LYD 17.92

$5.07 E£265

-44.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.17 LYD 71.5

$8.92 E£467

25.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 LYD 14.52

$1.83 E£95.8

24.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 LYD 11.66

$0.75 E£39.07

142.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 LYD 7.70

$0.57 E£29.78

110.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.69 LYD 4.40

$0.51 E£26.62

35.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 LYD 5.45

$0.38 E£20.05

123.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.63 LYD 4.06

$0.42 E£21.88

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 LYD 2.23

$0.35 E£18.43

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.23 LYD 1.47

$0.24 E£12.57

-4.17%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.35 LYD 15.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 LYD 3.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.93

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.84 LYD 11.77

$1.99 E£104

-7.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 LYD 9.73

$0.37 E£19.27

310.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 LYD 1.89

$0.20 E£10.65

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.14

$0.46 E£23.94

-95.65%

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

$12.4K LYD 79.4K

$32.6K E£1.7M

-61.96%

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

$14.9K LYD 95.1K

$28.4K E£1.5M

-47.66%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

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

$4.44 LYD 28.44

$8.27 E£432

-46.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.29 LYD 117

$14.05 E£735

30.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.54 LYD 112

$28.27 E£1,479

-37.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.84 LYD 24.56

$6.70 E£350

-42.69%

Cinema Ticket

$6.06 LYD 38.75

$4.40 E£230

37.73%

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

$78.0 LYD 499

$121 E£6,356

-35.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$347 LYD 2,221

$3,619 E£189.3K

-90.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.51 LYD 272

$40.16 E£2,101

5.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.84 LYD 223

$49.61 E£2,596

-29.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.28 LYD 271

$115 E£6,033

-63.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.0 LYD 442

$60.6 E£3,170

13.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$186 LYD 1,191

$220 E£11.5K

-15.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 LYD 737

$194 E£10.2K

-40.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 LYD 2,776

$514 E£26.9K

-15.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$259 LYD 1,655

$334 E£17.5K

-22.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$265 LYD 1,699

$200 E£10.5K

32.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

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

Last update for Benghazi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Benghazi

$128 30.5%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 10.5% $13

Accommodation & Living

Benghazi

$115 27.5%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 68.6% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Benghazi

$85 20.2%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 40.8% $35

Eating Out

Benghazi

$36 8.6%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 152% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Benghazi

$30 7.1%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 25% $7.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benghazi

$23 * 5.4%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 119% $27

Getting Around

Benghazi

$3 * 0.7%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 278% $8.4

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $186 in Benghazi 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 33% higher in Benghazi, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $13.00 in Benghazi versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $128 vs $141 – making Benghazi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Benghazi

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

07:20 7:20 AM

08:20 8:20 AM

1 h ahead of Benghazi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

631,555

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.4 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.18 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

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 LYD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Benghazi Cairo 1,090 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Benghazi
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

Benghazi vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $412 in Benghazi, $643 in Cairo – roughly 56% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $618 per month in Benghazi 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 Benghazi, 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 $412 in Benghazi and $643 in Cairo. That's a gap of about 56%.

Kindergarten costs $78.0 per month in Benghazi and $121 in Cairo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $412 in Benghazi and $643 in Cairo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Benghazi – 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 Benghazi. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cairo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.