Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bulawayo and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $763 in Bulawayo, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. The total is higher in Bulawayo despite lower rent and utilities.

37

Cost of Living Index in Bulawayo
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Bulawayo Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

Jump to prices

Bulawayo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$763

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $763 per month in Bulawayo vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Bulawayo $763
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $1,192 per month in Bulawayo vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Bulawayo $1,192
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $1,622 per month in Bulawayo vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Bulawayo $1,622
Cairo $1,431

Bulawayo costs about 19% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Bulawayo and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Bulawayo 43% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.58 ZWL 122

$4.69 E£245

-2.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.29 ZWL 809

$28.49 E£1,491

6.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 ZWL 131

$6.03 E£316

-18.91%

Cappuccino

$2.09 ZWL 55.9

$1.81 E£94.8

15.47%

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

$0.52 ZWL 13.86

$0.35 E£18.18

48.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 ZWL 9.85

$0.15 E£7.95

146.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 ZWL 39.14

$1.45 E£76.0

1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ZWL 54.2

$2.24 E£117

-9.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ZWL 44.28

$0.97 E£50.7

71.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 ZWL 27.05

$0.73 E£37.97

38.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 ZWL 41.32

$0.77 E£40.25

101.30%

Eggs

$1.91 ZWL 50.9

$1.17 E£61.2

63.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 ZWL 256

$4.32 E£226

121.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.02 ZWL 107

$5.07 E£265

-20.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.46 ZWL 119

$8.92 E£467

-50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.85 ZWL 49.29

$1.83 E£95.8

1.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 ZWL 42.68

$0.75 E£39.08

113.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 ZWL 64.8

$0.57 E£29.78

324.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.04 ZWL 27.89

$0.51 E£26.63

103.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ZWL 34.19

$0.38 E£20.06

236.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 ZWL 37.02

$0.42 E£21.89

230.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZWL 29.29

$0.35 E£18.43

214.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ZWL 19.93

$0.24 E£12.57

212.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.54 ZWL 41.04

$1.99 E£104

-22.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.10 ZWL 136

$7.48 E£391

-31.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 ZWL 36.15

$1.52 E£79.4

-11.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ZWL 49.48

$2.13 E£112

-13.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 ZWL 20.65

$0.33 E£17.10

133.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.55 ZWL 816

$8.66 E£453

252.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 ZWL 78.6

$0.37 E£19.27

694.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

$0.20 E£10.65

875.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ZWL 135

$1.49 E£77.8

238.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.64 ZWL 43.75

$0.46 E£23.95

256.52%

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

$24.6K ZWL 656.4K

$32.6K E£1.7M

-24.68%

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

$24.6K ZWL 657.7K

$28.4K E£1.5M

-13.28%

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

$95.3 ZWL 2,547

$27.54 E£1,441

246.19%

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

$17.21 ZWL 460

$8.27 E£433

108.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$105 ZWL 2,816

$14.05 E£735

650.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.62 ZWL 845

$28.27 E£1,480

11.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.07 ZWL 536

$6.70 E£350

199.55%

Cinema Ticket

$9.86 ZWL 263

$4.40 E£230

124.09%

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

$231 ZWL 6,175

$121 E£6,357

90.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,512 ZWL 93.8K

$3,619 E£189.4K

-2.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.96 ZWL 560

$40.16 E£2,102

-47.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$11.58 ZWL 309

$49.61 E£2,596

-76.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.58 ZWL 1,217

$115 E£6,034

-60.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 ZWL 1,548

$60.6 E£3,170

-4.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$176 ZWL 4,695

$220 E£11.5K

-20.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$107 ZWL 2,863

$194 E£10.2K

-44.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$414 ZWL 11.1K

$514 E£26.9K

-19.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$325 ZWL 8,679

$334 E£17.5K

-2.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,053 ZWL 54.8K

$806 E£42.2K

154.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,046 ZWL 54.7K

$513 E£26.9K

298.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$306 ZWL 8,161

$200 E£10.5K

52.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

-7.46%

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

Last update for Bulawayo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bulawayo

$218 29%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 77.1% $168

Groceries & Markets

Bulawayo

$177 23.5%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 20.2% $36

Accommodation & Living

Bulawayo

$107 14.2%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 81.1% $87

Eating Out

Bulawayo

$91 12.1%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 0.3% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Bulawayo

$61 8.1%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 95.2% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Bulawayo

$51 6.8%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 27.8% $14

Getting Around

Bulawayo

$46 6.2%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 75.5% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $176 in Bulawayo 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 53% higher in Bulawayo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Bulawayo versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $177 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇼 Bulawayo

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

06:02 6:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

1 h ahead of Bulawayo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

653,337

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZWL = 3.74 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇼 Zimbabwean Dollar ($)

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.96 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

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 ZWL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bulawayo Cairo 5,590 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Bulawayo
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

Bulawayo vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bulawayo is pricier by about 19%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,144 per month in Bulawayo 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 Cairo, 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 $763 in Bulawayo and $643 in Cairo. That's a gap of about 19%.

Public transport costs about 253% less in Cairo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $763 in Bulawayo and $643 in Cairo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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