Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Bitola

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $856 in Bitola, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$856

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Bitola

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $643 in Cairo versus $856 in Bitola.

Cairo $643
Bitola $856

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,037 in Cairo versus $1,271 in Bitola.

Cairo $1,037
Bitola $1,271

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,431 in Cairo versus $1,686 in Bitola.

Cairo $1,431
Bitola $1,686

Living in Cairo costs roughly 25% less than in Bitola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cairo 52% lower, Bitola 36% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$5.13 MKD 281

-8.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$27.02 MKD 1,480

5.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$5.27 MKD 289

14.42%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$1.89 MKD 103

-4.23%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$1.79 MKD 98.3

-80.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$1.40 MKD 76.9

-89.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$2.14 MKD 118

-32.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$2.49 MKD 136

-10.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.38 MKD 75.4

-29.71%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$0.70 MKD 38.37

4.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.66 MKD 91.1

-53.61%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$2.00 MKD 109

-41.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$9.75 MKD 534

-55.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$7.18 MKD 393

-29.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$13.03 MKD 714

-31.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$1.00 MKD 54.7

83.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$1.38 MKD 75.9

-45.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$1.23 MKD 67.6

-53.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.53 MKD 83.7

-66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$0.89 MKD 48.86

-57.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$1.30 MKD 71.4

-67.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$0.53 MKD 29.01

-33.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$0.52 MKD 28.51

-53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$3.25 MKD 178

-38.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$5.92 MKD 324

26.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$0.98 MKD 54.0

55.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$1.77 MKD 96.9

20.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$0.52 MKD 28.75

-36.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$16.10 MKD 882

-46.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$1.10 MKD 60.3

-66.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$0.61 MKD 33.25

-67.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$6.21 MKD 340

-76.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.51 MKD 82.9

-69.54%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$30.8K MKD 1.7M

5.86%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

-12.39%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$145 MKD 7,950

-81.02%

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

$8.27 E£432

$13.90 MKD 762

-40.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$13.01 MKD 713

7.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$21.40 MKD 1,173

32.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$6.28 MKD 344

6.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$4.49 MKD 246

-2.00%

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

$121 E£6,356

$211 MKD 11.5K

-42.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$1,146 MKD 62.8K

215.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$75.3 MKD 4,128

-46.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$46.55 MKD 2,551

6.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$72.0 MKD 3,943

60.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$112 MKD 6,111

-45.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$264 MKD 14.5K

-16.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$185 MKD 10.2K

4.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$397 MKD 21.8K

29.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$295 MKD 16.2K

13.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$1,707 MKD 93.5K

-52.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$1,180 MKD 64.6K

-56.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$755 MKD 41.4K

-73.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

6.45

151.32%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bitola: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Bitola

$185 21.7% 4.5% $8.7

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Bitola

$199 23.3% 41.2% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Bitola

$137 16.1% 14.9% $18

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Bitola

$108 12.6% 18.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Bitola

$172 20.1% 245% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Bitola

$30 3.6% 18% $6.7

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Bitola

$22 2.6% 96.7% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $220 in Cairo and $264 in Bitola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bitola pays 277% 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 $27.00 in Bitola. Groceries flip the comparison at $141 vs $199, with Cairo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇲🇰 Bitola

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

08:12 8:12 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

74,550

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, 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).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 54.8 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.46 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Bitola 1,510 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Bitola

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 Bitola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo and Bitola differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($643 vs $856 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 277% lower in Bitola. 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 $264 in Bitola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Bitola. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cairo – a meal for two runs $28.00 versus $27.00 in Bitola. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Cairo gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Bitola 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 33% less than in Bitola. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.