Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and El Mahalla El Kubra

For one person, living is cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra: $408 a month against $635 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 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
20

Cost of Living Index in El Mahalla El Kubra
Learn more

El Mahalla El Kubra Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

El Mahalla El Kubra

🇪🇬 Egypt

$408

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in El Mahalla El Kubra

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 El Mahalla El Kubra actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $635 per month in Cairo vs $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Cairo $635
El Mahalla El Kubra $408

A couple spends around $1,010 per month in Cairo vs $661 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Cairo $1,010
El Mahalla El Kubra $661

A family of three spends $1,385 per month in Cairo vs $914 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Cairo $1,385
El Mahalla El Kubra $914

Cairo costs about 56% more than El Mahalla El Kubra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and El Mahalla El Kubra are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 53% lower, El Mahalla El Kubra 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.63 E£258

$4.15 E£231

11.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.66 E£1,542

$14.14 E£789

95.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 E£325

$2.99 E£167

94.98%

Cappuccino

$1.69 E£94.1

$1.27 E£70.7

33.07%

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

$0.35 E£19.62

$0.32 E£17.90

9.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£7.17

$0.11 E£5.89

18.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 E£81.8

$1.31 E£73.0

12.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 E£123

$2.89 E£161

-23.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£52.7

$0.85 E£47.50

10.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 E£43.82

$0.30 E£16.87

163.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.70 E£39.07

$0.52 E£28.74

34.62%

Eggs

$1.12 E£62.2

$1.13 E£63.1

-0.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.08 E£227

$2.89 E£161

41.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 E£266

$4.01 E£224

18.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.81 E£491

$7.40 E£413

19.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 E£93.7

$1.54 E£86.1

9.09%

Banana (1kg)

$0.71 E£39.76

$0.65 E£36.21

9.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.59 E£32.70

$0.45 E£25.05

31.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£28.26

$0.33 E£18.20

54.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.69

$0.24 E£13.30

54.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.44 E£24.51

$0.30 E£16.53

46.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 E£19.19

$0.27 E£15.21

25.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.66

$0.22 E£12.44

-4.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£111

$1.86 E£104

6.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.49 E£418

$5.79 E£323

29.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 E£84.0

$1.19 E£66.2

26.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 E£116

$2.26 E£126

-7.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 E£19.10

$0.20 E£11.11

70.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.31 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£22.43

$0.32 E£17.70

25.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.43

$0.46 E£25.38

-58.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 E£83.6

$0.91 E£50.9

64.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£24.82

$0.43 E£24.23

4.65%

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

$33.1K E£1.8M

$31.8K E£1.8M

4.28%

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

$26.1K E£1.5M

$22.8K E£1.3M

14.83%

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

$27.62 E£1,541

$14.47 E£807

90.88%

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

$7.83 E£437

$3.93 E£219

99.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.39 E£803

$8.50 E£474

69.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.62 E£1,596

$15.92 E£888

79.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.47 E£417

Cinema Ticket

$4.56 E£254

$2.79 E£156

63.44%

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

$120 E£6,701

$32.18 E£1,795

273.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,476 E£193.9K

$2,084 E£116.2K

66.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.13 E£2,182

$16.89 E£942

131.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.04 E£2,735

$43.76 E£2,441

12.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 E£6,198

$101 E£5,630

10.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.0 E£3,178

$56.4 E£3,146

1.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$215 E£12.0K

$131 E£7,322

63.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 E£10.9K

$75.4 E£4,204

159.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$542 E£30.2K

$254 E£14.2K

113.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 E£18.8K

$144 E£8,011

135.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$830 E£46.3K

$745 E£41.6K

11.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$512 E£28.5K

$355 E£19.8K

44.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$195 E£10.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

21.33

-24.00%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Last update for El Mahalla El Kubra: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$196 30.8%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$75 18.5% 61.5% $121

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$137 21.6%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$111 27.3% 18.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$115 18.2%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$98 24.1% 14.9% $17

Eating Out

Cairo

$88 13.9%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$71 17.5% 19.3% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.8%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$27 6.6% 46% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$38 5.9%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$22 5.3% 43% $16

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.7%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$3.4 * 0.8% 69.2% $7.6

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $215 in Cairo versus $131 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Cairo versus $14 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $137 vs $111 – making El Mahalla El Kubra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra

🕒 Local time

08:39 8:39 AM

Same time as Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

431,052

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Cairo El Mahalla El Kubra 100 km

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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 El Mahalla El Kubra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 56%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $953 per month in Cairo and $612 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $131 there versus $215 in Cairo.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $635 in Cairo and $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That’s a gap of about 56%.

Kindergarten costs $120 per month in Cairo and $32 in El Mahalla El Kubra. 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 $635 in Cairo and $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward El Mahalla El Kubra – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.