Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Kigali

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $881 in Kigali, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kigali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Kigali
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Kigali Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Kigali

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$881

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Kigali

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

A single person spends $643 per month in Cairo vs $881 in Kigali, rent included.

Cairo $643
Kigali $881

A couple spends around $1,037 per month in Cairo vs $1,376 in Kigali, rent included.

Cairo $1,037
Kigali $1,376

A family of three spends $1,431 per month in Cairo vs $1,871 in Kigali, rent included.

Cairo $1,431
Kigali $1,871

Cairo is about 27% cheaper than Kigali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Kigali are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Kigali 34% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$2.75 RWF 4,037

70.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$30.32 RWF 44.6K

-6.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$6.73 RWF 9,895

-10.40%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$2.45 RWF 3,599

-26.12%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$0.76 RWF 1,112

-53.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$0.55 RWF 803

-72.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$1.00 RWF 1,471

45.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$2.34 RWF 3,435

-4.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$0.82 RWF 1,204

18.29%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$1.07 RWF 1,577

-31.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$1.32 RWF 1,935

-41.67%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$1.60 RWF 2,354

-26.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$4.19 RWF 6,162

3.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$4.68 RWF 6,878

8.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$4.51 RWF 6,631

97.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$2.45 RWF 3,601

-25.31%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$0.74 RWF 1,093

1.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$1.54 RWF 2,263

-62.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$1.06 RWF 1,564

-51.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$0.49 RWF 719

-22.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$0.71 RWF 1,050

-40.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$0.70 RWF 1,024

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$0.82 RWF 1,204

-70.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$1.97 RWF 2,897

1.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$10.28 RWF 15.1K

-27.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$1.00 RWF 1,468

52.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$1.59 RWF 2,342

33.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$0.35 RWF 516

-5.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$25.24 RWF 37.1K

-65.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$2.67 RWF 3,920

-86.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$2.01 RWF 2,957

-90.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$3.31 RWF 4,869

-54.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.84 RWF 2,702

-75.00%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$26.5K RWF 38.9M

23.23%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$29.1K RWF 42.7M

-2.29%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$82.6 RWF 121.5K

-66.67%

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

$8.27 E£432

$7.06 RWF 10.4K

17.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$20.85 RWF 30.6K

-32.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$26.26 RWF 38.6K

7.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$4.16 RWF 6,115

61.06%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$3.49 RWF 5,126

26.07%

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

$121 E£6,356

$112 RWF 164.1K

8.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$9,532 RWF 14.0M

-62.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$17.17 RWF 25.2K

133.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$15.74 RWF 23.1K

215.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$22.31 RWF 32.8K

416.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$34.12 RWF 50.2K

77.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$670 RWF 984.8K

-67.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$411 RWF 604.6K

-52.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$1,361 RWF 2.0M

-62.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$837 RWF 1.2M

-60.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$3,404 RWF 5.0M

-76.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$3,062 RWF 4.5M

-83.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$275 RWF 404.6K

-27.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

16.2

0.06%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Kigali: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Kigali

$411 47.1% 112% $217

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Kigali

$153 17.5% 7.9% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Kigali

$40 4.6% 66.4% $79

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Kigali

$86 9.9% 5.1% $4.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Kigali

$111 12.7% 122% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Kigali

$33 3.8% 10.4% $3.8

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Kigali

$39 4.5% 247% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $220 in Cairo versus $670 in Kigali. 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 38% higher in Kigali, 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 $30.00 in Kigali. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $153 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇷🇼 Kigali

🕒 Local time

15:02 3:02 PM

14:02 2:02 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

1,132,686 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 EUR

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, 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).

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,647 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Kigali 3,560 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Kigali

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 Kigali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Kigali is pricier by about 37%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $965 per month in Cairo and $1,321 in Kigali. 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 8% more in Kigali, 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 $30.00 in Kigali. 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 Kigali at $881. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kigali 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Kigali makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.