Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Bulawayo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $763 in Bulawayo, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. The total is higher in Bulawayo despite lower rent and utilities.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Bulawayo
Learn more

Bulawayo Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Bulawayo

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Bulawayo

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

A single person spends $643 per month in Cairo vs $763 in Bulawayo, rent included.

Cairo $643
Bulawayo $763

A couple spends around $1,037 per month in Cairo vs $1,192 in Bulawayo, rent included.

Cairo $1,037
Bulawayo $1,192

A family of three spends $1,431 per month in Cairo vs $1,622 in Bulawayo, rent included.

Cairo $1,431
Bulawayo $1,622

Cairo is about 16% cheaper than Bulawayo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Cairo and Bulawayo are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Bulawayo 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$4.58 ZWL 122

2.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$30.29 ZWL 809

-5.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$4.89 ZWL 131

23.31%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$2.09 ZWL 55.9

-13.40%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$0.52 ZWL 13.86

-32.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$0.37 ZWL 9.85

-59.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$1.47 ZWL 39.14

-1.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$2.03 ZWL 54.2

10.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.66 ZWL 44.28

-41.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$1.01 ZWL 27.05

-27.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.55 ZWL 41.32

-50.32%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$1.91 ZWL 50.9

-38.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$9.59 ZWL 256

-54.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$4.02 ZWL 107

26.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$4.46 ZWL 119

100.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$1.85 ZWL 49.29

-1.08%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$1.60 ZWL 42.68

-53.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$2.42 ZWL 64.8

-76.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.04 ZWL 27.89

-50.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$1.28 ZWL 34.19

-70.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$1.39 ZWL 37.02

-69.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$1.10 ZWL 29.29

-68.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$0.75 ZWL 19.93

-68.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$1.54 ZWL 41.04

29.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$5.10 ZWL 136

46.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$1.35 ZWL 36.15

12.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$1.85 ZWL 49.48

15.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$0.77 ZWL 20.65

-57.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$30.55 ZWL 816

-71.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$2.94 ZWL 78.6

-87.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

-89.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$5.04 ZWL 135

-70.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.64 ZWL 43.75

-71.95%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$24.6K ZWL 656.4K

32.77%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$24.6K ZWL 657.7K

15.32%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$95.3 ZWL 2,547

-71.11%

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

$8.27 E£432

$17.21 ZWL 460

-51.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$105 ZWL 2,816

-86.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$31.62 ZWL 845

-10.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$20.07 ZWL 536

-66.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$9.86 ZWL 263

-55.38%

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

$121 E£6,356

$231 ZWL 6,175

-47.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$3,512 ZWL 93.8K

3.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$20.96 ZWL 560

91.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$11.58 ZWL 309

328.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$45.58 ZWL 1,217

152.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$58.0 ZWL 1,548

4.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$176 ZWL 4,695

25.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$107 ZWL 2,863

81.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$414 ZWL 11.1K

24.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$325 ZWL 8,679

2.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$2,053 ZWL 54.8K

-60.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$2,046 ZWL 54.7K

-74.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$306 ZWL 8,161

-34.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

8.07%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Bulawayo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Bulawayo

$107 14.2% 44.8% $87

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Bulawayo

$177 23.5% 25.4% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Bulawayo

$61 8.1% 48.8% $58

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Bulawayo

$91 12.1% 0.3% $0.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Bulawayo

$218 29% 337% $168

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Bulawayo

$51 6.8% 38.5% $14

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Bulawayo

$46 6.2% 308% $35

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $220 in Cairo versus $176 in Bulawayo. 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 53% higher in Bulawayo, 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 $30.00 in Bulawayo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $177 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇿🇼 Bulawayo

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

06:54 6:54 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

653,337

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.74 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, 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).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.96 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cairo Bulawayo 5,590 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Bulawayo

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 Bulawayo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Bulawayo is pricier by about 19%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $965 per month in Cairo and $1,144 in Bulawayo. 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 $643 in Cairo and $763 in Bulawayo. That's a gap of about 19%.

Public transport costs about 253% less in Cairo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $643 in Cairo and $763 in Bulawayo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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.

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