Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Kista

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,726 in Kista, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Kista
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Kista Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Kista

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Kista

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $1,726 in Kista, rent included.

Cairo $647
Kista $1,726

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $2,685 in Kista, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Kista $2,685

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $3,644 in Kista, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Kista $3,644

Cairo is about 63% cheaper than Kista, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Kista is 28% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$12.98 SEK 129

-64.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$75.9 SEK 752

-62.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$10.22 SEK 101

-41.00%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$4.44 SEK 44.02

-61.26%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$2.59 SEK 25.65

-86.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$2.20 SEK 21.83

-94.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$7.07 SEK 70.1

-78.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$7.28 SEK 72.1

-68.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.64 SEK 16.27

-43.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$2.69 SEK 26.68

-72.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$3.51 SEK 34.75

-78.92%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$4.24 SEK 42.04

-71.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$11.67 SEK 116

-62.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$11.62 SEK 115

-56.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$17.38 SEK 172

-46.61%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$3.05 SEK 30.22

-41.97%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.48 SEK 24.53

-70.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$2.89 SEK 28.60

-80.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$4.30 SEK 42.59

-88.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.62 SEK 16.01

-74.07%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.56 SEK 15.49

-73.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$2.28 SEK 22.56

-85.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.45 SEK 14.33

-85.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$7.22 SEK 71.6

-72.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$9.69 SEK 96.0

-19.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.95 SEK 19.29

-18.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$2.13 SEK 21.15

-1.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$3.27 SEK 32.41

-89.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$76.2 SEK 755

-88.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$6.01 SEK 59.5

-93.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$1.71 SEK 16.99

-87.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$58.4 SEK 579

-97.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.79 SEK 17.70

-75.98%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$32.5K SEK 322.2K

0.57%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$33.1K SEK 327.9K

-17.71%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$102 SEK 1,013

-73.32%

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

$8.58 E£458

$23.99 SEK 238

-64.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$37.81 SEK 375

-63.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$37.48 SEK 371

-20.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$25.74 SEK 255

-71.83%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$16.18 SEK 160

-69.96%

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

$121 E£6,438

$154 SEK 1,522

-21.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$5,003 SEK 49.6K

-28.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$90.7 SEK 898

-55.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$40.01 SEK 396

23.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$89.3 SEK 885

28.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$140 SEK 1,383

-56.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$795 SEK 7,877

-72.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$619 SEK 6,131

-68.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$1,317 SEK 13.0K

-58.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$1,016 SEK 10.1K

-65.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$3,969 SEK 39.3K

-79.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$2,749 SEK 27.2K

-80.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

3.45

369.86%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kista: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Kista

$619 35.9% 217% $424

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Kista

$351 20.3% 147% $209

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Kista

$162 9.4% 35.8% $43

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Kista

$257 14.9% 185% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Kista

$164 9.5% 229% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Kista

$70 4.1% 77.2% $30

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Kista

$104 6% 797% $92

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $795 in Kista. 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 $28.00 in Cairo versus $76.0 in Kista. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $351 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇸🇪 Kista

🕒 Local time

15:12 3:12 PM

14:12 2:12 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

10,254

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Kista 3,410 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Kista

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 Kista: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Kista is pricier by about 167%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $2,589 in Kista. 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 147% more in Kista, 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 $76.0 in Kista. 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 $647, than in Kista at $1,726. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kista 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, Kista makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.