Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Bangkok

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,144 in Bangkok, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Bangkok
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Bangkok Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,144

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Bangkok

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $643 in Cairo versus $1,144 in Bangkok.

Cairo $643
Bangkok $1,144

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,037 in Cairo versus $1,806 in Bangkok.

Cairo $1,037
Bangkok $1,806

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,431 in Cairo versus $2,467 in Bangkok.

Cairo $1,431
Bangkok $2,467

Living in Cairo costs roughly 44% less than in Bangkok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cairo 52% lower, Bangkok 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$2.95 ฿98.7

58.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$36.28 ฿1,215

-21.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$6.83 ฿229

-11.71%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$2.73 ฿91.3

-33.70%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$0.63 ฿21.24

-44.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$0.36 ฿12.18

-58.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$2.61 ฿87.4

-44.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$4.48 ฿150

-50.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.90 ฿63.7

-48.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$1.52 ฿50.8

-51.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.43 ฿47.72

-46.15%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$2.49 ฿83.2

-53.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$17.59 ฿589

-75.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$3.64 ฿122

39.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$13.19 ฿442

-32.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$4.01 ฿134

-54.36%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$1.76 ฿58.9

-57.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$2.78 ฿93.1

-79.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.88 ฿62.8

-72.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$1.74 ฿58.4

-78.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$1.56 ฿52.1

-73.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$1.29 ฿43.30

-72.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$0.52 ฿17.36

-53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$4.66 ฿156

-57.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$15.07 ฿505

-50.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$1.84 ฿61.8

-17.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$3.30 ฿111

-35.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$1.10 ฿36.98

-70.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$35.25 ฿1,180

-75.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$1.06 ฿35.33

-65.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$1.21 ฿40.64

-83.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$6.01 ฿201

-75.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.36 ฿45.63

-66.18%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$31.0K ฿1.0M

5.16%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$26.7K ฿892.4K

6.52%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$106 ฿3,565

-74.14%

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

$8.27 E£432

$14.72 ฿493

-43.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$17.94 ฿601

-21.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$57.8 ฿1,936

-51.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$18.80 ฿629

-64.36%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$7.46 ฿250

-41.02%

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

$121 E£6,356

$579 ฿19.4K

-79.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$16.3K ฿544.6K

-77.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$69.7 ฿2,335

-42.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$42.48 ฿1,422

16.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$97.8 ฿3,273

17.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$108 ฿3,606

-43.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$664 ฿22.2K

-66.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$342 ฿11.5K

-43.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$1,977 ฿66.2K

-73.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$744 ฿24.9K

-55.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$5,940 ฿198.9K

-86.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$3,098 ฿103.7K

-83.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$626 ฿20.9K

-68.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

5.25

208.76%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bangkok: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Bangkok

$342 30.5% 76.3% $148

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Bangkok

$277 24.7% 96.2% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Bangkok

$143 12.7% 19.6% $23

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Bangkok

$103 9.1% 12.9% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Bangkok

$139 12.4% 179% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Bangkok

$73 6.5% 96.2% $36

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Bangkok

$47 4.2% 312% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $220 in Cairo and $664 in Bangkok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangkok pays 212% 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: $28.00 in Cairo vs $36.00 in Bangkok for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $141 vs $277 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇹🇭 Bangkok

🕒 Local time

04:39 4:39 AM

08:39 8:39 AM

4 h ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

5,666,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

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Between locations

Cairo Bangkok 7,270 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Bangkok

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 Bangkok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo and Bangkok differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($643 vs $1,144 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 212% lower in Bangkok. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $220 in Cairo versus $664 in Bangkok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cairo – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $36.00 in Bangkok. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $643 per month in Cairo versus $1,144 in Bangkok – a 78% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $643 in Cairo versus $1,144 in Bangkok, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Bangkok. 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, Cairo and Bangkok 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 78% less than in Bangkok. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.