Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Al `arish

For one person, living is cheaper in Al `arish: $427 a month against $614 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Al `arish
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Al `arish Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$614

/mo nomad

Al `arish

🇪🇬 Egypt

$427

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Al `arish

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cairo and in Al `arish actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $614 in Cairo versus $427 in Al `arish.

Cairo $614
Al `arish $427

Estimated couple costs with rent: $974 in Cairo versus $684 in Al `arish.

Cairo $974
Al `arish $684

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,333 in Cairo versus $940 in Al `arish.

Cairo $1,333
Al `arish $940

Living in Cairo is roughly 44% more expensive than in Al `arish, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cairo 55% lower, Al `arish 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.61 E£255

$3.81 E£211

21.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.32 E£1,511

$14.41 E£797

89.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.33 E£295

$4.40 E£243

21.14%

Cappuccino

$1.64 E£90.6

$1.11 E£61.2

47.75%

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

$0.34 E£19.05

$0.32 E£17.94

6.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 E£8.73

$0.13 E£7.04

23.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£77.1

$1.36 E£75.3

2.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 E£117

$2.74 E£152

-22.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 E£46.98

$0.80 E£44.01

6.25%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 E£40.86

$0.32 E£17.53

131.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£35.96

$0.61 E£33.93

6.56%

Eggs

$1.15 E£63.6

$1.27 E£70.3

-9.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.84 E£212

$2.26 E£125

69.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 E£259

$3.37 E£186

39.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.98 E£497

$7.41 E£410

21.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 E£92.2

$1.40 E£77.5

19.29%

Banana (1kg)

$0.72 E£40.03

$0.56 E£30.97

28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£30.44

$0.40 E£22.21

37.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 E£28.59

$0.33 E£17.98

57.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.46

$0.41 E£22.49

-9.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.80

$0.43 E£23.64

-9.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 E£16.56

$0.25 E£13.74

20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.19

$0.19 E£10.36

15.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.87 E£103

$1.79 E£99.1

4.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.34 E£406

$4.40 E£243

66.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 E£81.1

$1.01 E£55.8

45.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 E£107

$1.54 E£85.2

25.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 E£19.00

$0.17 E£9.53

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.76 E£429

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 E£20.75

$0.28 E£15.64

35.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 E£8.48

$0.37 E£20.51

-59.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 E£30.47

$1.15 E£63.6

-52.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.44 E£24.32

$0.40 E£22.08

10.00%

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

$31.8K E£1.8M

$29.9K E£1.7M

6.42%

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

$25.0K E£1.4M

$23.4K E£1.3M

7.14%

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

$25.45 E£1,407

$14.23 E£787

78.85%

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

$7.67 E£424

$6.74 E£372

13.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.55 E£804

$23.26 E£1,286

-37.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.17 E£1,502

$15.12 E£836

79.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£401

Cinema Ticket

$4.35 E£240

$3.62 E£200

20.17%

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

$123 E£6,776

$79.4 E£4,388

54.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.3K E£567.0K

$2,230 E£123.3K

359.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.47 E£2,182

$9.85 E£544

300.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.07 E£2,713

$43.67 E£2,414

12.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 E£6,262

$149 E£8,211

-23.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.0 E£2,987

$51.4 E£2,844

5.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 E£11.6K

$124 E£6,875

68.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 E£10.3K

$72.3 E£3,997

156.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 E£25.7K

$240 E£13.3K

93.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$306 E£16.9K

$137 E£7,569

123.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$808 E£44.7K

$713 E£39.4K

13.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 E£27.1K

$334 E£18.5K

46.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$184 E£10.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.93

22.5

-29.20%

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

Last update for Cairo: November 2, 2026

Last update for Al `arish: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$186 30.2%

Al `arish

$72 16.9% 61.1% $113

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$134 21.8%

Al `arish

$100 23.5% 25.2% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$115 18.7%

Al `arish

$114 26.7% 0.9% $1.1

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14%

Al `arish

$71 16.6% 17.1% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.8%

Al `arish

$44 10.4% 7.2% $3.4

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.8%

Al `arish

$22 5.2% 37.6% $14

Getting Around

Cairo

$10 1.7%

Al `arish

$2.8 * 0.7% 72.5% $7.5

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 $210 in Cairo and $124 in Al `arish. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27 in Cairo vs $14 in Al `arish for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $134 vs $100 per month, with Al `arish cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇪🇬 Al `arish

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

Same time as Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

199,243

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

100 EGP = 1.81 USD

100 EGP = 1.62 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Cairo Al `arish 270 km

From you

Cairo
Al `arish

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

Cairo vs Al `arish: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al `arish wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Cairo. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Al `arish the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $922 in Cairo and $641 in Al `arish to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $210 in Cairo versus $124 in Al `arish. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Cairo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $614 per month in Cairo versus $427 in Al `arish – Al `arish is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Al `arish gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Al `arish is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cairo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.