Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Bujumbura

For one person, living costs are similar in Cairo and in Bujumbura: $643 and $659 a month, rent and utilities included.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Bujumbura
Learn more

Bujumbura Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Bujumbura

🇧🇮 Burundi

$659

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Bujumbura

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $643 in Cairo versus $659 in Bujumbura.

Cairo $643
Bujumbura $659

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,037 in Cairo versus $1,170 in Bujumbura.

Cairo $1,037
Bujumbura $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,431 in Cairo versus $1,681 in Bujumbura.

Cairo $1,431
Bujumbura $1,681

Living in Cairo costs roughly 2% less than in Bujumbura, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Cairo 52% lower, Bujumbura 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$3.90 BIF 11.6K

20.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$64.9 BIF 193.3K

-56.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$3.76 BIF 11.2K

60.37%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$3.08 BIF 9,190

-41.23%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$1.79 BIF 5,323

-80.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$1.38 BIF 4,099

-89.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$2.23 BIF 6,656

-34.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$6.49 BIF 19.4K

-65.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.04 BIF 3,094

-6.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$2.06 BIF 6,146

-64.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.95 BIF 5,813

-60.51%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$3.56 BIF 10.6K

-67.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$8.30 BIF 24.7K

-47.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$11.40 BIF 34.0K

-55.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$11.50 BIF 34.3K

-22.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$5.81 BIF 17.3K

-68.50%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$2.07 BIF 6,156

-72.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.65 BIF 4,906

-69.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$2.00 BIF 5,958

-88.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$11.13 BIF 33.2K

-32.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$2.20 BIF 6,563

-30.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$4.12 BIF 12.3K

-48.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$1.05 BIF 3,131

-68.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$30.29 BIF 90.3K

-71.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$5.04 BIF 15.0K

-92.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$3.41 BIF 10.2K

-94.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$29.83 BIF 88.9K

-95.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.36 BIF 4,041

-66.18%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

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

$27.54 E£1,441

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

$8.27 E£432

$7.83 BIF 23.3K

5.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$68.3 BIF 203.4K

-79.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$26.83 BIF 80.0K

5.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$1.66 BIF 4,947

165.06%

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

$121 E£6,356

$102 BIF 303.3K

19.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$9,953 BIF 29.7M

-63.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$427 BIF 1.3M

-48.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$89.7 BIF 267.2K

116.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$1,337 BIF 4.0M

-61.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$264 BIF 785.6K

26.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$2,055 BIF 6.1M

-60.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$1,616 BIF 4.8M

-68.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$374 BIF 1.1M

-46.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

14.17

14.40%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bujumbura: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Bujumbura

$90 13.8% 53.8% $105

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Bujumbura

$280 * 43.2% 98.5% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Bujumbura

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Bujumbura

$116 17.9% 27.7% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Bujumbura

$76 * 11.7% 52.6% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Bujumbura

$30 4.6% 18.7% $6.9

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Bujumbura

$57 8.7% 399% $45

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $220 in Cairo and $427 in Bujumbura. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bujumbura pays 87% 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 $65.0 in Bujumbura for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $141 vs $280 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇧🇮 Bujumbura

🕒 Local time

14:50 2:50 PM

13:50 1:50 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

658,859

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Burundian Franc BIF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 EUR

10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD

10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BIF, 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 = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

Burundian Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,980 BIF (10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD). 1 EUR = 3,339 BIF (10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Bujumbura 3,720 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Bujumbura

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 Bujumbura: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cairo wins on cost – living expenses run 2% lower than in Bujumbura. 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 87% lower in Bujumbura. 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 $427 in Bujumbura. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $643 per month in Cairo versus $659 in Bujumbura – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cairo runs roughly 250% less than in Bujumbura. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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.

Expats usually find Cairo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Bujumbura. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.