Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Besancon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,755 in Besancon, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Besancon
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Besancon Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Besancon

🇫🇷 France

$1,755

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Besancon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $647 in Cairo versus $1,755 in Besancon.

Cairo $647
Besancon $1,755

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,035 in Cairo versus $2,536 in Besancon.

Cairo $1,035
Besancon $2,536

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,423 in Cairo versus $3,318 in Besancon.

Cairo $1,423
Besancon $3,318

Living in Cairo costs roughly 63% less than in Besancon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cairo is 52% below, Besancon is 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$16.69 €14.88

-72.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$55.2 €49.17

-49.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$10.94 €9.76

-44.88%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$3.03 €2.70

-43.23%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$2.36 €2.10

-84.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.40

$1.55 €1.38

-92.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$6.58 €5.87

-77.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$5.56 €4.95

-58.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.90

$1.28 €1.14

-28.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.91

$1.71 €1.52

-57.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.63

$2.14 €1.91

-65.42%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$4.41 €3.93

-73.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$19.97 €17.80

-78.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$10.95 €9.77

-54.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£495

$17.89 €15.95

-48.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.3

$2.65 €2.36

-33.21%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.01

$2.26 €2.01

-67.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.50

$2.72 €2.43

-79.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.90

$2.46 €2.19

-79.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.41

$2.54 €2.27

-83.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$2.42 €2.16

-83.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.43 €1.27

-76.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.17 €1.04

-82.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$13.78 €12.29

-85.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$9.39 €8.37

-16.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.6

$4.85 €4.32

-67.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$3.25 €2.90

-35.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$1.68 €1.50

-79.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$44.17 €39.38

-80.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$3.04 €2.71

-87.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.56

$2.12 €1.89

-89.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.4

$30.05 €26.79

-94.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.87

$2.13 €1.90

-79.81%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$34.4K €30.7K

-4.97%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$34.3K €30.6K

-20.57%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$225 €200

-87.86%

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

$8.58 E£458

$14.65 €13.06

-41.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$34.19 €30.49

-59.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$26.44 €23.57

12.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$19.68 €17.54

-63.16%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£259

$11.32 €10.10

-57.07%

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

$121 E£6,436

$339 €302

-64.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.0K

$7,309 €6,517

-51.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,150

$99.0 €88.3

-59.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,644

$38.58 €34.40

28.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,134

$93.0 €82.9

23.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,205

$124 €110

-51.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$635 €566

-65.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$590 €526

-66.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$991 €884

-44.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$803 €716

-56.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$2,822 €2,516

-71.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$2,245 €2,001

-76.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$2,181 €1,945

-90.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

3.62

347.79%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Besancon: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Besancon

$590 33.6% 203% $395

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Besancon

$356 20.3% 151% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Besancon

$159 9.1% 33.8% $40

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Besancon

$262 15% 191% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Besancon

$273 15.6% 449% $224

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Besancon

$49 2.8% 24.5% $9.7

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Besancon

$65 3.7% 457% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $222 in Cairo and $635 in Besancon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Besancon pays 992% 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 $55.0 in Besancon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $142 vs $356 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇫🇷 Besancon

🕒 Local time

04:11 4:11 AM

03:11 3:11 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

119,198

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 53.38 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Besancon 2,880 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Besancon

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 Besancon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 171% lower than in Besancon. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cairo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 992% lower in Besancon. 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: $222 in Cairo versus $635 in Besancon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cairo runs roughly 408% less than in Besancon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $121 in Cairo versus $339 in Besancon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $647 in Cairo versus $1,755 in Besancon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Besancon. 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 Besancon 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 171% less than in Besancon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.