Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,025 in Harare, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Harare

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

A single person spends $643 per month in Cairo vs $1,025 in Harare, rent included.

Cairo $643
Harare $1,025

A couple spends around $1,037 per month in Cairo vs $1,682 in Harare, rent included.

Cairo $1,037
Harare $1,682

A family of three spends $1,431 per month in Cairo vs $2,339 in Harare, rent included.

Cairo $1,431
Harare $2,339

Cairo is about 37% cheaper than Harare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Harare are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Harare 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$10.12 ZWL 270

-53.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$45.29 ZWL 1,210

-37.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$5.60 ZWL 150

7.68%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$3.01 ZWL 80.4

-39.87%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$0.97 ZWL 26.04

-63.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$0.45 ZWL 12.07

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$1.22 ZWL 32.56

18.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$1.95 ZWL 52.2

14.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.47 ZWL 39.29

-34.01%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$1.02 ZWL 27.29

-28.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.71 ZWL 45.80

-54.97%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

-40.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$11.40 ZWL 304

-62.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$5.53 ZWL 148

-8.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$6.42 ZWL 171

38.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$3.07 ZWL 82.1

-40.39%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$1.70 ZWL 45.29

-55.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$2.08 ZWL 55.4

-72.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.51 ZWL 40.45

-66.23%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$1.75 ZWL 46.67

-78.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$1.78 ZWL 47.51

-76.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$1.22 ZWL 32.72

-71.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$0.94 ZWL 25.02

-74.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

2.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$8.37 ZWL 224

-10.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$1.38 ZWL 36.81

10.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

7.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$1.01 ZWL 27.10

-67.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$59.1 ZWL 1,578

-85.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$4.12 ZWL 110

-91.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$2.05 ZWL 54.8

-90.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$5.06 ZWL 135

-70.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.84 ZWL 49.04

-75.00%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$21.6K ZWL 576.3K

51.22%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$27.6K ZWL 736.2K

3.02%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$52.2 ZWL 1,394

-47.22%

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

$8.27 E£432

$21.85 ZWL 583

-62.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$68.0 ZWL 1,817

-79.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$48.13 ZWL 1,286

-41.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$22.78 ZWL 609

-70.59%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$9.88 ZWL 264

-55.47%

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

$121 E£6,356

$428 ZWL 11.4K

-71.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$8,427 ZWL 225.1K

-57.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$23.65 ZWL 632

69.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$21.26 ZWL 568

133.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$38.85 ZWL 1,038

196.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$39.60 ZWL 1,058

52.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$389 ZWL 10.4K

-43.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$316 ZWL 8,435

-38.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$838 ZWL 22.4K

-38.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$755 ZWL 20.2K

-55.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$913 ZWL 24.4K

-11.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$388 ZWL 10.4K

32.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$421 ZWL 11.3K

-52.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

13.69

18.41%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Harare

$316 30.9% 62.6% $122

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Harare

$215 21% 52% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Harare

$56 5.4% 53.6% $64

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Harare

$150 14.6% 64.3% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Harare

$142 13.9% 185% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Harare

$68 6.6% 83.1% $31

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Harare

$78 7.6% 583% $66

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $220 in Cairo versus $389 in Harare. 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 110% higher in Harare, 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 $45.00 in Harare. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $215 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

13:59 1:59 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

1,606,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

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

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.93 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Harare 5,320 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Harare is pricier by about 59%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $965 per month in Cairo and $1,537 in Harare. 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.

Groceries cost about 52% more in Harare, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Cairo and $45.00 in Harare. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $643, than in Harare at $1,025. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Harare it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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, Harare makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.