Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Lac

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,075 in Lac, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Lac
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Lac Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Lac

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,075

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Lac

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $1,075 in Lac, rent included.

Cairo $647
Lac $1,075

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $1,649 in Lac, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Lac $1,649

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $2,222 in Lac, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Lac $2,222

Cairo is about 40% cheaper than Lac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Lac are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Lac 20% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$9.62 ALL 775

-51.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$38.92 ALL 3,134

-27.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$7.31 ALL 589

-17.51%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$1.92 ALL 155

-10.42%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$1.81 ALL 146

-80.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.68 ALL 54.7

-82.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$2.51 ALL 202

-39.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$3.30 ALL 266

-29.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.90 ALL 153

-51.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$0.98 ALL 78.6

-25.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$2.03 ALL 163

-63.55%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$2.57 ALL 207

-53.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$10.05 ALL 809

-56.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$8.32 ALL 670

-39.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$13.88 ALL 1,118

-33.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$1.87 ALL 151

-5.35%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.23 ALL 180

-67.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$1.51 ALL 121

-63.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$1.64 ALL 132

-69.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.05 ALL 84.2

-60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.22 ALL 98.2

-66.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.18 ALL 95.3

-72.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.78 ALL 63.2

-73.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$4.36 ALL 351

-54.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$8.03 ALL 646

-2.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.80 ALL 145

-11.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$1.25 ALL 100

67.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$0.54 ALL 43.38

-35.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$19.41 ALL 1,563

-55.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$3.73 ALL 301

-89.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$3.74 ALL 301

-94.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$18.01 ALL 1,450

-91.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$2.22 ALL 178

-80.63%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$33.6K ALL 2.7M

-2.65%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$24.4K ALL 2.0M

11.59%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$60.7 ALL 4,887

-55.06%

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

$8.58 E£458

$16.51 ALL 1,330

-48.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$16.83 ALL 1,355

-16.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$54.1 ALL 4,356

-45.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$8.30 ALL 669

-41.45%

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

$121 E£6,438

$98.5 ALL 7,935

22.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$48.09 ALL 3,873

-16.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$54.8 ALL 4,415

-9.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$98.8 ALL 7,958

16.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$146 ALL 11.7K

-58.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$440 ALL 35.4K

-49.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$314 ALL 25.3K

-37.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$642 ALL 51.7K

-14.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$464 ALL 37.3K

-25.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$1,701 ALL 137.0K

-53.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$1,062 ALL 85.5K

-50.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

224.20%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lac: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Lac

$314 29.3% 61.2% $119

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Lac

$245 22.8% 72.6% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Lac

$156 14.5% 31.3% $37

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Lac

$151 14.1% 67.9% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Lac

$94 8.7% 88.6% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Lac

$71 6.6% 79.4% $31

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Lac

$44 4.1% 280% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $440 in Lac. 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 $39.00 in Lac. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $245 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇦🇱 Lac

🕒 Local time

12:04 12:04 PM

11:04 11:04 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

17,086

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Lac 1,650 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Lac

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 Lac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lac is pricier by about 66%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $1,613 in Lac. 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 73% more in Lac, 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 $39.00 in Lac. 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 Lac at $1,075. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lac 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, Lac makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.