Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Kandy

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandy: $513 a month against $611 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Kandy
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Kandy Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Kandy

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Kandy

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $513 in Kandy, rent included.

Cairo $611
Kandy $513

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $728 in Kandy, rent included.

Cairo $970
Kandy $728

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $943 in Kandy, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Kandy $943

Cairo costs about 19% more than Kandy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Kandy are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 55% lower, Kandy 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£253

$2.66 LKR 885

69.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,514

$13.01 LKR 4,324

107.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£300

$6.00 LKR 1,996

-11.00%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.2

$1.90 LKR 632

-9.47%

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

$0.34 E£19.10

$0.52 LKR 174

-34.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.10

$0.26 LKR 87.1

-46.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£78.0

$1.86 LKR 620

-25.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£121

$2.80 LKR 931

-23.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.67

$1.15 LKR 382

-24.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.55

$0.52 LKR 174

46.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.18

$0.77 LKR 255

-18.18%

Eggs

$1.09 E£61.0

$1.71 LKR 568

-36.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£210

$5.14 LKR 1,708

-27.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£259

$4.25 LKR 1,412

8.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£472

$6.87 LKR 2,285

22.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.6

$3.14 LKR 1,043

-46.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.27

$0.84 LKR 280

-19.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.19

$1.73 LKR 574

-67.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.22

$1.29 LKR 429

-63.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.57

$1.02 LKR 339

-62.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.86

$0.83 LKR 277

-53.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.77

$0.43 LKR 144

-23.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.35

$0.42 LKR 140

-47.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$8.02 LKR 2,668

-76.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£406

$11.28 LKR 3,751

-35.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.5

$1.93 LKR 643

-26.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.08 LKR 691

-4.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.35

$0.16 LKR 53.3

93.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£402

$4.38 LKR 1,457

63.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.51

$0.41 LKR 136

-14.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.89

$0.35 LKR 116

-45.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 E£81.6

$0.47 LKR 156

210.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.40

$1.15 LKR 383

-65.22%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$14.0K LKR 4.6M

131.23%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$36.7K LKR 12.2M

-32.36%

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

$26.70 E£1,497

$59.0 LKR 19.6K

-54.75%

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

$7.51 E£421

$3.86 LKR 1,282

94.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£786

$12.72 LKR 4,227

10.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,514

$10.85 LKR 3,606

148.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£401

$6.80 LKR 2,262

5.15%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£248

$2.74 LKR 909

60.95%

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

$117 E£6,538

$21.65 LKR 7,199

438.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£183.3K

$304 LKR 101.0K

976.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,114

$18.28 LKR 6,078

106.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,670

$10.15 LKR 3,375

369.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,121

$67.7 LKR 22.5K

61.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,119

$26.56 LKR 8,831

109.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

$172 LKR 57.2K

18.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

$113 LKR 37.5K

66.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.4K

$172 LKR 57.2K

204.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

$93.6 LKR 31.1K

239.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.5K

$397 LKR 131.9K

99.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

$400 LKR 133.0K

20.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.4K

$262 LKR 86.9K

-29.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

35.08%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Kandy: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Kandy

$113 22% 39.9% $75

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Kandy

$166 32.3% 26.4% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Kandy

$55 10.8% 50.9% $57

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Kandy

$80 15.6% 6.6% $5.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Kandy

$76 14.7% 56.7% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Kandy

$16 3.2% 54.5% $20

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Kandy

$7.2 1.4% 26.3% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $203 in Cairo versus $172 in Kandy. 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 42% higher in Kandy, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $13 in Kandy. Groceries tell a different story – $131 in Cairo vs $166 in Kandy – so Cairo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇱🇰 Kandy

🕒 Local time

20:33 8:33 PM

23:03 11:03 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

125,000

💱 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

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Between locations

Cairo Kandy 5,730 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Kandy

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 Kandy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo and $770 in Kandy. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kandy, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $172 there versus $203 in Cairo.

Interestingly, groceries are about 21% cheaper in Cairo – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo and $13 in Kandy. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $611 in Cairo and $513 in Kandy, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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