Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bitola and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $856 in Bitola, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$856

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $856 in Bitola versus $643 in Cairo.

Bitola $856
Cairo $643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,271 in Bitola versus $1,037 in Cairo.

Bitola $1,271
Cairo $1,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,686 in Bitola versus $1,431 in Cairo.

Bitola $1,686
Cairo $1,431

Living in Bitola is roughly 33% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bitola 36% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.13 MKD 281

$4.69 E£245

9.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.02 MKD 1,480

$28.49 E£1,491

-5.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.27 MKD 289

$6.03 E£315

-12.60%

Cappuccino

$1.89 MKD 103

$1.81 E£94.7

4.42%

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

$1.79 MKD 98.3

$0.35 E£18.18

411.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 MKD 76.9

$0.15 E£7.95

833.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 MKD 118

$1.45 E£76.0

47.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 MKD 136

$2.24 E£117

11.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MKD 75.4

$0.97 E£50.7

42.27%

White Bread (500g)

$0.70 MKD 38.37

$0.73 E£37.96

-4.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 MKD 91.1

$0.77 E£40.24

115.58%

Eggs

$2.00 MKD 109

$1.17 E£61.2

70.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.75 MKD 534

$4.32 E£226

125.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 MKD 393

$5.07 E£265

41.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.03 MKD 714

$8.92 E£467

46.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 MKD 54.7

$1.83 E£95.8

-45.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MKD 75.9

$0.75 E£39.07

84.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.23 MKD 67.6

$0.57 E£29.78

115.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 MKD 83.7

$0.51 E£26.62

200.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 MKD 48.86

$0.38 E£20.05

134.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 MKD 71.4

$0.42 E£21.88

209.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 MKD 29.01

$0.35 E£18.43

51.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 MKD 28.51

$0.24 E£12.57

116.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 MKD 178

$1.99 E£104

63.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.92 MKD 324

$7.48 E£391

-20.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MKD 54.0

$1.52 E£79.4

-35.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 MKD 96.9

$2.13 E£112

-16.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MKD 28.75

$0.33 E£17.10

57.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.10 MKD 882

$8.66 E£453

85.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 MKD 60.3

$0.37 E£19.27

197.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MKD 33.25

$0.20 E£10.65

205.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.21 MKD 340

$1.49 E£77.8

316.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MKD 82.9

$0.46 E£23.94

228.26%

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

$30.8K MKD 1.7M

$32.6K E£1.7M

-5.53%

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

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

$28.4K E£1.5M

14.15%

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

$145 MKD 7,950

$27.54 E£1,441

426.76%

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

$13.90 MKD 762

$8.27 E£432

68.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.01 MKD 713

$14.05 E£735

-7.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.40 MKD 1,173

$28.27 E£1,479

-24.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.28 MKD 344

$6.70 E£350

-6.27%

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 MKD 246

$4.40 E£230

2.05%

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

$211 MKD 11.5K

$121 E£6,356

73.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,146 MKD 62.8K

$3,619 E£189.3K

-68.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.3 MKD 4,128

$40.16 E£2,101

87.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.55 MKD 2,551

$49.61 E£2,596

-6.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.0 MKD 3,943

$115 E£6,033

-37.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 MKD 6,111

$60.6 E£3,170

84.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$264 MKD 14.5K

$220 E£11.5K

20.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 MKD 10.2K

$194 E£10.2K

-4.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$397 MKD 21.8K

$514 E£26.9K

-22.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$295 MKD 16.2K

$334 E£17.5K

-11.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,707 MKD 93.5K

$806 E£42.2K

111.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,180 MKD 64.6K

$513 E£26.9K

129.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$755 MKD 41.4K

$200 E£10.5K

277.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

16.21

-60.21%

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

Last update for Bitola: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bitola

$199 23.3%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 29.2% $58

Accommodation & Living

Bitola

$185 21.7%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 4.7% $8.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bitola

$172 20.1%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 71% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Bitola

$137 16.1%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 13% $18

Eating Out

Bitola

$108 12.6%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 15.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Bitola

$30 3.6%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 22% $6.7

Getting Around

Bitola

$22 2.6%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 49.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $264 in Bitola and $220 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bitola pays 277% 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: $27.00 in Bitola vs $28.00 in Cairo. Groceries flip the comparison at $199 vs $141, with Cairo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Bitola

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

08:22 8:22 AM

1 h ahead of Bitola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,550

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.46 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 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 MKD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bitola Cairo 1,510 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bitola
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

Bitola vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bitola and Cairo differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($856 vs $643 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 277% higher in Bitola, 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: $264 in Bitola versus $220 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Bitola. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cairo – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $27.00 in Bitola. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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, Bitola 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 33% less than in Bitola. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.