Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brussels and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $2,552 in Brussels, rent and utilities included – about $22,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Brussels
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Brussels Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Brussels

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,552

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,552 in Brussels versus $643 in Cairo.

Brussels $2,552
Cairo $643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,875 in Brussels versus $1,037 in Cairo.

Brussels $3,875
Cairo $1,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,197 in Brussels versus $1,431 in Cairo.

Brussels $5,197
Cairo $1,431

Living in Brussels is roughly 297% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brussels is 90% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.61 €20.16

$4.69 E£245

382.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.2 €81.4

$28.49 E£1,491

220.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.21 €13.56

$6.03 E£316

152.24%

Cappuccino

$4.32 €3.85

$1.81 E£94.8

138.67%

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

$3.78 €3.37

$0.35 E£18.18

980.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 €2.71

$0.15 E£7.95

1926.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.53 €4.93

$1.45 E£76.0

281.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.73 €5.11

$2.24 E£117

155.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$0.97 E£50.7

35.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.71 €2.42

$0.73 E£37.97

271.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.80 €2.50

$0.77 E£40.25

263.64%

Eggs

$5.33 €4.75

$1.17 E£61.2

355.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.78 €15.86

$4.32 E£226

311.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.11 €11.69

$5.07 E£265

158.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.01 €19.62

$8.92 E£467

146.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 €2.78

$1.83 E£95.8

70.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 €2.11

$0.75 E£39.08

216.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$0.57 E£29.78

382.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 €3.78

$0.51 E£26.63

731.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$0.38 E£20.06

578.95%

Onion (1kg)

$2.23 €1.99

$0.42 E£21.89

430.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.80 €1.60

$0.35 E£18.43

414.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.24 E£12.57

429.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.68 €12.20

$1.99 E£104

587.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.75 €8.69

$7.48 E£391

30.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 €2.39

$1.52 E£79.4

76.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 €2.72

$2.13 E£112

43.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 €2.57

$0.33 E£17.10

772.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.1 €56.2

$8.66 E£453

628.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$0.37 E£19.27

672.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 €2.06

$0.20 E£10.65

1055.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.43 €36.05

$1.49 E£77.8

2613.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.46 E£23.95

367.39%

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

$35.1K €31.3K

$32.6K E£1.7M

7.56%

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

$33.2K €29.6K

$28.4K E£1.5M

16.79%

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

$285 €254

$27.54 E£1,441

935.98%

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

$21.90 €19.52

$8.27 E£433

164.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 €47.22

$14.05 E£735

276.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.51 €29.88

$28.27 E£1,480

18.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.85 €24.83

$6.70 E£350

315.67%

Cinema Ticket

$16.62 €14.82

$4.40 E£230

277.73%

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

$1,590 €1,418

$121 E£6,357

1209.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$37.2K €33.1K

$3,619 E£189.4K

927.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.6

$40.16 E£2,102

158.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.15 €41.14

$49.61 E£2,596

-6.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.1

$115 E£6,034

-3.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$149 €133

$60.6 E£3,170

146.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,318 €1,175

$220 E£11.5K

499.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,166 €1,039

$194 E£10.2K

500.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,442 €2,177

$514 E£26.9K

374.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 €1,766

$334 E£17.5K

493.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,082 €4,531

$806 E£42.2K

530.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,941 €3,514

$513 E£26.9K

667.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,280 €2,924

$200 E£10.5K

1538.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.71

16.21

-77.11%

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

Last update for Brussels: 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

Brussels

$1.2K 44.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 83.3% $971

Groceries & Markets

Brussels

$393 15.1%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 64.1% $252

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brussels

$360 13.8%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 86.2% $310

Eating Out

Brussels

$345 13.2%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 73.6% $254

Clothing & Footwear

Brussels

$185 7.1%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 35.3% $65

Getting Around

Brussels

$89 3.4%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 87.2% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Brussels

$67 2.6%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 44.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,318 in Brussels and $220 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brussels pays 1538% 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: $91.0 in Brussels vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $393 vs $141 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Brussels

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

05:45 5:45 AM

06:45 6:45 AM

1 h ahead of Brussels

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,137 Capital

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Brussels Cairo 3,210 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Brussels
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

Brussels vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 297% lower than in Brussels. 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 1538% higher in Brussels, 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: $1,318 in Brussels versus $220 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 178% higher in Brussels. 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 $91.0 in Brussels. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $643 in Cairo versus $2,552 in Brussels, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Brussels. The gap between the two cities makes Cairo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Brussels 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 297% less than in Brussels. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.