Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Arbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $3,464 in Arbon, rent and utilities included – about $33,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
167

Cost of Living Index in Arbon
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Arbon Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Arbon

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,464

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Arbon

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $3,464 in Arbon, rent included.

Cairo $647
Arbon $3,464

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $5,192 in Arbon, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Arbon $5,192

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $6,920 in Arbon, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Arbon $6,920

Cairo is about 81% cheaper than Arbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Arbon is 157% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$29.53 CHF 24.33

-84.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$144 CHF 118

-80.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$18.95 CHF 15.61

-68.18%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$6.11 CHF 5.03

-71.85%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$5.74 CHF 4.73

-93.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$5.09 CHF 4.19

-97.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$9.00 CHF 7.42

-83.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$6.17 CHF 5.08

-62.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$2.16 CHF 1.78

-57.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$3.15 CHF 2.60

-76.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$3.79 CHF 3.12

-80.47%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$7.88 CHF 6.49

-84.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$25.14 CHF 20.71

-82.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$28.42 CHF 23.41

-82.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$41.09 CHF 33.84

-77.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$3.42 CHF 2.82

-48.25%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.00 CHF 1.65

-63.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$2.39 CHF 1.97

-76.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$5.28 CHF 4.35

-90.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$2.04 CHF 1.68

-79.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$2.19 CHF 1.80

-81.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$2.28 CHF 1.88

-85.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.22 CHF 1.01

-82.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$10.64 CHF 8.77

-81.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$16.47 CHF 13.57

-52.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$2.12 CHF 1.75

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$2.25 CHF 1.85

-7.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$4.81 CHF 3.96

-92.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$96.0 CHF 79.1

-90.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$6.50 CHF 5.35

-94.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$4.73 CHF 3.89

-95.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$36.17 CHF 29.79

-95.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$2.29 CHF 1.89

-81.22%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$34.5K CHF 28.4K

-5.08%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$39.3K CHF 32.4K

-30.69%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$275 CHF 227

-90.10%

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

$8.58 E£458

$38.11 CHF 31.39

-77.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$54.4 CHF 44.78

-74.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$90.0 CHF 74.1

-67.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$39.06 CHF 32.17

-81.44%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$23.43 CHF 19.29

-79.26%

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

$121 E£6,438

$2,250 CHF 1,853

-94.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$31.3K CHF 25.8K

-88.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$143 CHF 118

-71.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$65.1 CHF 53.6

-23.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$143 CHF 118

-19.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$177 CHF 146

-66.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$1,561 CHF 1,286

-85.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$1,521 CHF 1,253

-87.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$2,904 CHF 2,392

-81.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$2,322 CHF 1,912

-85.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$13.9K CHF 11.5K

-94.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$13.6K CHF 11.2K

-96.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$11.1K CHF 9,124

-98.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

1.9

753.16%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Arbon: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Arbon

$1.5K 43.9% 680% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Arbon

$588 17% 315% $446

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Arbon

$238 6.9% 99.8% $119

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Arbon

$467 13.5% 419% $377

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Arbon

$368 10.6% 638% $318

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Arbon

$137 4% 247% $97

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Arbon

$145 4.2% 1156% $134

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $1,561 in Arbon. 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 5446% higher in Arbon, 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 $144 in Arbon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $588 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇨🇭 Arbon

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

13:31 1:31 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

15,853

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cairo Arbon 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Arbon

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 Arbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $647 in Cairo, $3,464 in Arbon – roughly 436% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $5,197 in Arbon. 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 $647 in Cairo and $3,464 in Arbon. That's a gap of about 436%.

Public transport costs about 1005% less in Cairo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Arbon at $3,464. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arbon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.