Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bern and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $3,361 in Bern, rent and utilities included – about $32,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

163

Cost of Living Index in Bern
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Bern Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Bern

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,361

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,361 in Bern versus $643 in Cairo.

Bern $3,361
Cairo $643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,127 in Bern versus $1,037 in Cairo.

Bern $5,127
Cairo $1,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,894 in Bern versus $1,431 in Cairo.

Bern $6,894
Cairo $1,431

Living in Bern is roughly 422% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bern is 151% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$28.65 CHF 23.78

$4.69 E£245

510.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$120 CHF 99.9

$28.49 E£1,491

322.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.95 CHF 13.23

$6.03 E£315

164.51%

Cappuccino

$6.61 CHF 5.49

$1.81 E£94.7

265.19%

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

$6.16 CHF 5.11

$0.35 E£18.18

1660.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.97 CHF 5.79

$0.15 E£7.95

4546.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.14 CHF 7.59

$1.45 E£76.0

530.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.95 CHF 6.60

$2.24 E£117

254.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.82

$0.97 E£50.7

125.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.91 CHF 2.42

$0.73 E£37.96

298.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.25 CHF 2.70

$0.77 E£40.24

322.08%

Eggs

$7.57 CHF 6.29

$1.17 E£61.2

547.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.53 CHF 20.36

$4.32 E£226

467.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.76 CHF 23.87

$5.07 E£265

467.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$38.92 CHF 32.30

$8.92 E£467

336.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.94 CHF 3.27

$1.83 E£95.8

115.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 CHF 1.62

$0.75 E£39.07

160.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 CHF 2.19

$0.57 E£29.78

363.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 CHF 3.91

$0.51 E£26.62

823.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 CHF 1.34

$0.38 E£20.05

323.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 CHF 1.63

$0.42 E£21.88

369.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 CHF 1.90

$0.35 E£18.43

554.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 CHF 1.12

$0.24 E£12.57

462.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.08 CHF 9.20

$1.99 E£104

456.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.00 CHF 9.96

$7.48 E£391

60.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 CHF 1.85

$1.52 E£79.4

46.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 CHF 2.42

$2.13 E£112

36.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.31 CHF 5.24

$0.33 E£17.10

1812.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 CHF 83.2

$8.66 E£453

1057.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.04 CHF 6.68

$0.37 E£19.27

2072.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.52 CHF 3.76

$0.20 E£10.65

2160.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$107 CHF 88.8

$1.49 E£77.8

7079.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$0.46 E£23.94

402.17%

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

$43.0K CHF 35.7K

$32.6K E£1.7M

31.85%

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

$39.2K CHF 32.5K

$28.4K E£1.5M

38.11%

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

$267 CHF 222

$27.54 E£1,441

869.83%

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

$27.95 CHF 23.20

$8.27 E£432

237.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.8 CHF 45.51

$14.05 E£735

290.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$86.9 CHF 72.2

$28.27 E£1,479

207.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.30 CHF 38.43

$6.70 E£350

591.04%

Cinema Ticket

$23.85 CHF 19.79

$4.40 E£230

442.05%

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

$3,148 CHF 2,612

$121 E£6,356

2490.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.7K CHF 25.5K

$3,619 E£189.3K

747.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$142 CHF 118

$40.16 E£2,101

254.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 CHF 51.0

$49.61 E£2,596

23.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$157 CHF 130

$115 E£6,033

35.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$195 CHF 162

$60.6 E£3,170

221.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,900 CHF 1,577

$220 E£11.5K

764.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,386 CHF 1,151

$194 E£10.2K

613.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,555 CHF 2,951

$514 E£26.9K

591.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,455 CHF 2,037

$334 E£17.5K

635.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.4K CHF 15.3K

$806 E£42.2K

2187.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.6K CHF 12.1K

$513 E£26.9K

2747.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,782 CHF 5,629

$200 E£10.5K

3287.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.46

16.21

-84.82%

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

Last update for Bern: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bern

$1.4K 41.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 86% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Bern

$569 17.2%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 75.2% $428

Eating Out

Bern

$470 14.2%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 80.6% $379

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bern

$350 10.6%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 85.7% $300

Clothing & Footwear

Bern

$250 7.5%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 52.2% $130

Getting Around

Bern

$156 4.7%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 92.7% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Bern

$135 4.1%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 72.5% $98

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,900 in Bern and $220 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bern pays 3288% 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: $120 in Bern vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $569 vs $141 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Bern

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

05:21 5:21 AM

1 h ahead of Bern

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

128,848 Capital

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 = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.931 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bern Cairo 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Bern
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

Bern vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 422% lower than in Bern. 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 3288% higher in Bern, 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: $1,900 in Bern versus $220 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cairo – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $120 in Bern. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,361 per month in Bern versus $643 in Cairo – a 422% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $643 in Cairo versus $3,361 in Bern, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Bern. 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, Bern 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 422% less than in Bern. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.