Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Jalalabad

For one person, living is cheaper in Jalalabad: $496 a month against $614 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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 Jalalabad
Learn more

Jalalabad Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$614

/mo nomad

Jalalabad

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$496

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Jalalabad

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

A single person spends $614 per month in Cairo vs $496 in Jalalabad, rent included.

Cairo $614
Jalalabad $496

A couple spends around $974 per month in Cairo vs $681 in Jalalabad, rent included.

Cairo $974
Jalalabad $681

A family of three spends $1,333 per month in Cairo vs $866 in Jalalabad, rent included.

Cairo $1,333
Jalalabad $866

Cairo costs about 24% more than Jalalabad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.61 E£249

$2.35 ؋153

96.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.32 E£1,471

$7.60 ؋494

259.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.33 E£287

$3.83 ؋249

39.16%

Cappuccino

$1.64 E£88.2

$0.78 ؋50.7

110.26%

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

$0.34 E£18.56

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 E£8.51

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£75.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 E£114

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 E£45.75

$0.83 ؋53.8

2.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.74 E£39.79

$0.40 ؋25.79

85.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£35.03

$1.89 ؋123

-65.61%

Eggs

$1.15 E£61.9

$1.62 ؋106

-29.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.84 E£207

$5.39 ؋351

-28.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 E£253

$2.78 ؋181

68.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.98 E£484

$6.32 ؋411

42.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 E£89.8

$0.59 ؋38.63

183.05%

Banana (1kg)

$0.72 E£38.99

$0.65 ؋42.02

10.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.64

$0.80 ؋51.7

-31.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.85

$0.48 ؋31.01

8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£19.92

$0.39 ؋25.68

-5.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.23

$0.32 ؋21.05

21.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 E£16.13

$0.30 ؋19.38

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.87

$0.29 ؋19.15

-24.14%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.96 ؋257

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ؋49.35

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.06 ؋68.7

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.87 E£100

$2.30 ؋149

-18.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.34 E£395

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 E£79.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.93 E£104

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 E£18.51

$0.14 ؋9.18

142.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.76 E£418

$10.89 ؋708

-28.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 E£20.21

$0.75 ؋49.05

-49.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 E£8.26

$0.45 ؋28.94

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 E£29.68

$1.51 ؋98.0

-63.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.44 E£23.69

$1.11 ؋72.1

-60.36%

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

$31.8K E£1.7M

$8,475 ؋551.0K

275.01%

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

$25.0K E£1.3M

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

$25.45 E£1,370

$22.94 ؋1,492

10.94%

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

$7.67 E£413

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.55 E£783

$229 ؋14.9K

-93.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.17 E£1,463

$7.63 ؋496

256.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£391

$4.60 ؋299

57.61%

Cinema Ticket

$4.35 E£234

$1.57 ؋102

177.07%

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

$123 E£6,599

$15.68 ؋1,019

681.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.3K E£552.3K

$1,214 ؋78.9K

744.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.47 E£2,125

$18.69 ؋1,215

111.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.07 E£2,642

$15.20 ؋988

222.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 E£6,099

$22.83 ؋1,484

396.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.0 E£2,909

$31.00 ؋2,015

74.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 E£11.3K

$117 ؋7,579

80.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 E£9,995

$46.03 ؋2,992

303.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 E£25.0K

$229 ؋14.9K

103.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$306 E£16.5K

$124 ؋8,070

146.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$808 E£43.5K

$461 ؋30.0K

75.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$491 E£26.4K

$230 ؋14.9K

113.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$184 E£9,917

$183 ؋11.9K

0.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

15.93

13.88

14.77%

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

Last update for Cairo: November 2, 2026

Last update for Jalalabad: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$186 30.2%

Jalalabad

$46 9.3% 75.2% $140

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$134 21.8%

Jalalabad

$94 19% 29.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$115 18.7%

Jalalabad

$39 8% 65.7% $76

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14%

Jalalabad

$40 * 8% 53.8% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.8%

Jalalabad

$252 * 50.7% 428% $204

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.8%

Jalalabad

$11 2.2% 70% $25

Getting Around

Cairo

$10 1.7%

Jalalabad

$14 2.9% 40.4% $4.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $210 in Cairo versus $117 in Jalalabad. 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 $27 in Cairo versus $8 in Jalalabad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $134 vs $94 – making Jalalabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇦🇫 Jalalabad

🕒 Local time

12:08 12:08 PM

14:38 2:38 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

168,600

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.86 USD

100 EGP = 1.65 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 53.85 EGP (100 EGP = 1.86 USD). 1 EUR = 60.48 EGP (100 EGP = 1.65 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 65.02 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 73.02 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Jalalabad 3,700 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Jalalabad

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 Jalalabad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 24%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $922 per month in Cairo and $745 in Jalalabad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jalalabad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $117 there versus $210 in Cairo.

Groceries cost about 42% more in Cairo, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo and $8 in Jalalabad. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $614 in Cairo and $496 in Jalalabad, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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