Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Dambulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Dambulla: $505 a month against $611 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cairo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Dambulla
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Dambulla Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Dambulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$505

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Dambulla

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $505 in Dambulla, rent included.

Cairo $611
Dambulla $505

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $818 in Dambulla, rent included.

Cairo $970
Dambulla $818

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $1,131 in Dambulla, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Dambulla $1,131

Cairo costs about 21% more than Dambulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Dambulla are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 55% lower, Dambulla 63% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£253

$3.85 LKR 1,281

17.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,514

$25.00 LKR 8,311

8.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£300

$7.66 LKR 2,546

-30.29%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.2

$2.47 LKR 821

-30.36%

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

$0.34 E£19.10

$0.67 LKR 224

-49.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.10

$0.27 LKR 89.9

-48.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£78.0

$2.27 LKR 753

-38.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£121

$2.93 LKR 975

-26.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.67

$1.63 LKR 543

-46.63%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.55

$0.56 LKR 188

35.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.18

$0.77 LKR 254

-18.18%

Eggs

$1.09 E£61.0

$1.63 LKR 542

-33.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£210

$13.55 LKR 4,504

-72.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£259

$4.92 LKR 1,635

-6.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£472

$7.30 LKR 2,428

15.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.6

$6.47 LKR 2,152

-73.88%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.27

$0.87 LKR 289

-21.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.19

$4.33 LKR 1,441

-87.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.22

$1.32 LKR 440

-64.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.57

$1.01 LKR 336

-62.38%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.86

$0.79 LKR 262

-50.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.77

$0.87 LKR 289

-62.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.35

$0.43 LKR 142

-48.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$10.35 LKR 3,440

-82.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£406

$12.67 LKR 4,214

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.5

$1.89 LKR 627

-24.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.93 LKR 974

-32.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.35

$0.07 LKR 23.76

342.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£402

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.51

$0.38 LKR 126

-7.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.89

$0.38 LKR 125

-50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 E£81.6

$0.87 LKR 289

67.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.40

$1.37 LKR 456

-70.80%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$43.7K LKR 14.5M

-26.12%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$41.0K LKR 13.6M

-39.34%

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

$26.70 E£1,497

$59.8 LKR 19.9K

-55.32%

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

$7.51 E£421

$4.30 LKR 1,431

74.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£786

$20.98 LKR 6,976

-33.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,514

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£401

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£248

$4.57 LKR 1,520

-3.50%

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

$117 E£6,538

$37.27 LKR 12.4K

212.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£183.3K

$1,199 LKR 398.5K

172.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,114

$18.35 LKR 6,102

105.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,670

$16.43 LKR 5,462

189.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,121

$78.1 LKR 26.0K

39.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,119

$41.03 LKR 13.6K

35.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

12.69

27.74%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Dambulla: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Dambulla

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Dambulla

$234 46.4% 78.4% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Dambulla

$69 13.7% 38.5% $43

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Dambulla

$104 20.7% 21.6% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Dambulla

$85 16.9% 76.3% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Dambulla

$9.2 * 1.8% 74.5% $27

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Dambulla

$2.5 * 0.5% 73.9% $7.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $25 in Dambulla. Groceries tell a different story – $131 in Cairo vs $234 in Dambulla – so Cairo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇱🇰 Dambulla

🕒 Local time

22:17 10:17 PM

00:47 12:47 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

68,800

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.78 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 56.07 EGP (100 EGP = 1.78 USD). 1 EUR = 62.42 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cairo Dambulla 5,690 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Dambulla

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 Dambulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 21%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo and $757 in Dambulla. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $611 in Cairo and $505 in Dambulla. That’s a gap of about 21%.

Kindergarten costs $117 per month in Cairo and $37 in Dambulla. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $611 in Cairo and $505 in Dambulla, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Cairo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $505 in Dambulla to $611 in Cairo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.