Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Benoni and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,072 in Benoni, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,072

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,072 in Benoni versus $647 in Cairo.

Benoni $1,072
Cairo $647

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,331 in Benoni versus $1,035 in Cairo.

Benoni $1,331
Cairo $1,035

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,589 in Benoni versus $1,423 in Cairo.

Benoni $1,589
Cairo $1,423

Living in Benoni is roughly 66% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Benoni 21% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 R 168

$4.64 E£248

119.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.46 R 617

$28.12 E£1,501

33.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.86 R 96.5

$6.03 E£322

-2.82%

Cappuccino

$2.22 R 36.61

$1.72 E£92.1

29.07%

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

$1.19 R 19.64

$0.36 E£19.38

230.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 14.00

$0.12 E£6.41

608.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 R 38.33

$1.51 E£80.4

54.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 R 45.15

$2.32 E£124

18.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 R 20.16

$0.92 E£48.92

32.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 R 18.65

$0.73 E£38.92

54.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.33

$0.74 E£39.64

132.43%

Eggs

$2.46 R 40.48

$1.19 E£63.7

106.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.31 R 137

$4.33 E£231

91.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.86 R 80.1

$5.03 E£269

-3.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.12 R 117

$9.28 E£496

-23.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.55

$1.77 E£94.4

-2.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.81

$0.73 E£39.03

123.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.58

$0.55 E£29.51

227.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.70

$0.50 E£26.91

212.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.39

$0.42 E£22.42

166.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.10

$0.41 E£21.81

197.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.29

$0.33 E£17.51

272.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.97

$0.21 E£11.20

504.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 R 55.5

$1.98 E£106

70.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.09 R 83.8

$7.81 E£417

-34.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 R 24.94

$1.59 E£84.7

-5.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 R 32.14

$2.09 E£112

-6.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.72

$0.39 E£21.02

-25.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R 14.67

$0.22 E£11.57

304.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.73 R 243

$1.51 E£80.5

875.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.41

$0.43 E£22.88

258.14%

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

$35.1K R 578.8K

$32.7K E£1.7M

7.43%

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

$32.5K R 534.9K

$27.2K E£1.5M

19.25%

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

$203 R 3,342

$27.27 E£1,456

643.89%

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

$38.42 R 633

$8.58 E£458

347.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.63 R 604

$13.99 E£747

161.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.06 R 297

$29.69 E£1,585

-39.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 R 117

$4.86 E£260

46.09%

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

$246 R 4,051

$121 E£6,438

103.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,577 R 91.9K

$3,560 E£190.1K

56.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 R 882

$40.28 E£2,151

32.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.40 R 534

$49.53 E£2,645

-34.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 R 1,515

$115 E£6,137

-20.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 R 1,397

$60.0 E£3,206

41.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$398 R 6,557

$222 E£11.9K

79.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$296 R 4,881

$195 E£10.4K

51.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$487 R 8,029

$550 E£29.3K

-11.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,041 R 33.6K

$200 E£10.7K

921.99%

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 Benoni: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Benoni

$296 27.6%

Cairo

$195 30.2% 34.2% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Benoni

$278 25.9%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 82.1% $228

Groceries & Markets

Benoni

$192 17.9%

Cairo

$142 21.9% 26.1% $50

Eating Out

Benoni

$151 14.1%

Cairo

$90 13.9% 40.4% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Benoni

$118 11%

Cairo

$119 18.4% 0.8% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Benoni

$32 3%

Cairo

$39 6.1% 22.1% $7.1

Getting Around

Benoni

$4.7 * 0.4%

Cairo

$12 1.8% 144% $6.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $398 in Benoni and $222 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 922% 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: $37.00 in Benoni vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $142 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Benoni

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

11:15 11:15 AM

1 h ahead of Benoni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

158,777

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 18, 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 18, 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

Benoni Cairo 6,260 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Benoni
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

Benoni vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Benoni and Cairo differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($1,072 vs $647 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 922% higher in Benoni, 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: $398 in Benoni versus $222 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Benoni. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,072 per month in Benoni versus $647 in Cairo – a 66% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Cairo gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Benoni 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 66% less than in Benoni. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.