Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Alexandra

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $635 a month against $1,074 in Alexandra, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Alexandra
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Alexandra Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

Alexandra

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,074

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Alexandra

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 Alexandra actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $635 per month in Cairo vs $1,074 in Alexandra, rent included.

Cairo $635
Alexandra $1,074

A couple spends around $1,010 per month in Cairo vs $1,742 in Alexandra, rent included.

Cairo $1,010
Alexandra $1,742

A family of three spends $1,385 per month in Cairo vs $2,409 in Alexandra, rent included.

Cairo $1,385
Alexandra $2,409

Cairo is about 41% cheaper than Alexandra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Alexandra are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 53% lower, Alexandra 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.63 E£247

$9.26 R 152

-50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.66 E£1,477

$36.55 R 602

-24.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 E£311

$5.35 R 88.1

8.97%

Cappuccino

$1.69 E£90.1

$2.20 R 36.24

-23.18%

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

$0.35 E£18.79

$1.08 R 17.87

-67.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£6.86

$0.80 R 13.19

-83.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 E£78.3

$2.40 R 39.58

-38.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 E£118

$2.78 R 45.85

-20.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£50.5

$1.17 R 19.23

-19.66%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 E£41.96

$1.09 R 17.92

-27.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.70 E£37.41

$1.80 R 29.62

-61.11%

Eggs

$1.12 E£59.5

$2.43 R 40.11

-53.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.08 E£218

$8.66 R 143

-52.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 E£255

$5.12 R 84.3

-6.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.81 E£470

$7.12 R 117

23.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 E£89.7

$1.75 R 28.80

-4.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.71 E£38.07

$1.61 R 26.53

-55.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.59 E£31.31

$1.72 R 28.30

-65.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£27.06

$1.63 R 26.86

-68.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£19.81

$1.09 R 18.04

-66.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.44 E£23.47

$1.18 R 19.39

-62.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 E£18.37

$1.20 R 19.71

-71.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.16

$1.32 R 21.76

-84.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£106

$3.20 R 52.7

-37.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.49 E£400

$5.09 R 83.9

47.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 E£80.4

$1.58 R 26.08

-4.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 E£111

$1.90 R 31.36

9.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 E£18.29

$1.33 R 21.94

-74.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.31 E£444

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£21.48

$0.29 R 4.75

37.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£9.99

$0.78 R 12.78

-75.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 E£80.0

$14.57 R 240

-89.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£23.77

$1.57 R 25.92

-71.34%

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

$33.1K E£1.8M

$36.2K R 597.0K

-8.62%

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

$26.1K E£1.4M

$34.1K R 562.3K

-23.40%

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

$27.62 E£1,475

$155 R 2,550

-82.15%

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

$7.83 E£418

$36.96 R 609

-78.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.39 E£769

$38.04 R 627

-62.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.62 E£1,528

$33.24 R 548

-13.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.47 E£399

$10.48 R 173

-28.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.56 E£244

$7.50 R 124

-39.20%

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

$120 E£6,417

$244 R 4,019

-50.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,476 E£185.6K

$5,468 R 90.1K

-36.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.13 E£2,090

$54.6 R 899

-28.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.04 E£2,619

$32.16 R 530

52.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 E£5,934

$93.5 R 1,540

18.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.0 E£3,043

$85.1 R 1,402

-33.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$215 E£11.5K

$394 R 6,483

-45.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 E£10.5K

$332 R 5,468

-40.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$542 E£28.9K

$844 R 13.9K

-35.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 E£18.0K

$833 R 13.7K

-59.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$830 E£44.3K

$919 R 15.1K

-9.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$512 E£27.3K

$644 R 10.6K

-20.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$195 E£10.4K

$1,775 R 29.2K

-89.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

10.91

48.58%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Alexandra: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$196 30.8%

Alexandra

$332 30.9% 69.4% $136

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$137 21.6%

Alexandra

$194 18.1% 41.4% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$115 18.2%

Alexandra

$119 11.1% 3.5% $4

Eating Out

Cairo

$88 13.9%

Alexandra

$142 13.2% 60.1% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.8%

Alexandra

$230 21.4% 361% $180

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$38 5.9%

Alexandra

$48 4.5% 27.8% $11

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.7%

Alexandra

$9.5 * 0.9% 13.9% $1.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $215 in Cairo versus $394 in Alexandra. 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 811% higher in Alexandra, 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 $28.00 in Cairo versus $37.00 in Alexandra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $137 vs $194 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇿🇦 Alexandra

🕒 Local time

16:53 4:53 PM

15:53 3:53 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

179,624

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Alexandra 6,250 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Alexandra

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 Alexandra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandra costs about 69% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $953 per month in Cairo and $1,612 in Alexandra. 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 $635 in Cairo and $1,074 in Alexandra. That's a gap of about 69%.

Kindergarten costs $120 per month in Cairo and $244 in Alexandra. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $635 in Cairo and $1,074 in Alexandra, 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, Alexandra makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.