Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Kolonnawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolonnawa: $488 a month against $611 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Kolonnawa
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Kolonnawa Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Kolonnawa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Kolonnawa

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $488 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Cairo $611
Kolonnawa $488

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $794 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Cairo $970
Kolonnawa $794

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $1,100 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Kolonnawa $1,100

Cairo costs about 25% more than Kolonnawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Kolonnawa are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 55% lower, Kolonnawa 64% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£253

$3.87 LKR 1,285

16.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,514

$25.33 LKR 8,422

6.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£300

$7.38 LKR 2,453

-27.64%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.2

$2.45 LKR 816

-29.80%

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

$0.34 E£19.10

$0.71 LKR 236

-52.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.10

$0.25 LKR 82.6

-44.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£78.0

$2.16 LKR 718

-35.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£121

$3.06 LKR 1,018

-29.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.67

$1.56 LKR 519

-44.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.55

$0.53 LKR 178

43.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.18

$0.58 LKR 192

8.62%

Eggs

$1.09 E£61.0

$1.66 LKR 551

-34.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£210

$10.53 LKR 3,502

-64.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£259

$4.63 LKR 1,539

-0.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£472

$7.32 LKR 2,433

15.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.6

$6.75 LKR 2,243

-74.96%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.27

$0.85 LKR 281

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.19

$4.43 LKR 1,472

-87.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.22

$1.32 LKR 439

-64.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.57

$1.04 LKR 347

-63.46%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.86

$0.77 LKR 255

-49.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.77

$0.93 LKR 308

-64.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.35

$0.43 LKR 142

-48.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$10.34 LKR 3,436

-82.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£406

$10.50 LKR 3,489

-31.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.5

$1.77 LKR 588

-19.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.22 LKR 738

-10.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.35

$0.16 LKR 53.2

93.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£402

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.51

$0.40 LKR 134

-12.50%

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

$0.93 LKR 308

56.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.40

$1.33 LKR 442

-69.92%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$43.9K LKR 14.6M

-26.31%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$41.1K LKR 13.7M

-39.55%

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

$26.70 E£1,497

$59.6 LKR 19.8K

-55.19%

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

$7.51 E£421

$4.20 LKR 1,397

78.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£786

$20.66 LKR 6,870

-32.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,514

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£401

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£248

$4.65 LKR 1,546

-5.16%

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

$117 E£6,538

$37.35 LKR 12.4K

212.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£183.3K

$1,188 LKR 394.9K

175.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,114

$18.07 LKR 6,007

108.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,670

$16.73 LKR 5,562

184.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,121

$80.1 LKR 26.6K

36.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,119

$41.69 LKR 13.9K

33.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

12.69

27.74%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Kolonnawa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Kolonnawa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Kolonnawa

$217 44.6% 65.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Kolonnawa

$70 14.5% 37.4% $42

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Kolonnawa

$103 21.2% 20.3% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Kolonnawa

$84 17.3% 75.1% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Kolonnawa

$9.3 * 1.9% 74% $27

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Kolonnawa

$2.8 * 0.6% 71.3% $6.9

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $25 in Kolonnawa. Groceries tell a different story – $131 in Cairo vs $217 in Kolonnawa – so Cairo wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇱🇰 Kolonnawa

🕒 Local time

22:17 10:17 PM

00:47 12:47 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

64,800

💱 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 Kolonnawa 5,680 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Kolonnawa

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 Kolonnawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 25%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo and $732 in Kolonnawa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $611 in Cairo and $488 in Kolonnawa. That’s a gap of about 25%.

Kindergarten costs $117 per month in Cairo and $37 in Kolonnawa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $611 in Cairo and $488 in Kolonnawa, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Kolonnawa has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $488 in Kolonnawa to $611 in Cairo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.