Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Lubumbashi

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,228 in Lubumbashi, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Lubumbashi
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Lubumbashi Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Lubumbashi

🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo

$1,228

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Lubumbashi

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $1,228 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

Cairo $647
Lubumbashi $1,228

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $2,727 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Lubumbashi $2,727

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $4,226 in Lubumbashi, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Lubumbashi $4,226

Cairo is about 47% cheaper than Lubumbashi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Lubumbashi are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Lubumbashi 9% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$9.91 CDF 22.5K

-53.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$99.1 CDF 224.6K

-71.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$9.92 CDF 22.5K

-39.21%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$4.03 CDF 9,131

-57.32%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$1.08 CDF 2,458

-66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$1.99 CDF 4,508

-24.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$2.54 CDF 5,756

-8.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.96 CDF 4,446

-53.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$1.22 CDF 2,764

-40.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$3.18 CDF 7,204

-76.73%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$2.10 CDF 4,761

-43.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$14.77 CDF 33.5K

-70.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$7.70 CDF 17.4K

-34.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$15.52 CDF 35.2K

-40.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$4.96 CDF 11.2K

-64.31%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$3.07 CDF 6,960

-76.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$4.88 CDF 11.1K

-88.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$2.98 CDF 6,745

-83.22%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$2.56 CDF 5,810

-83.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$2.66 CDF 6,020

-84.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$0.98 CDF 2,220

-66.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.22 CDF 2,774

-82.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$4.07 CDF 9,227

-51.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$12.73 CDF 28.8K

-38.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.15 CDF 2,600

38.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$2.08 CDF 4,719

0.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$1.01 CDF 2,289

-65.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$4.47 CDF 10.1K

-91.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$9.87 CDF 22.4K

-84.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.48 CDF 3,361

-70.95%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$25.1K CDF 56.8M

30.52%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$30.6K CDF 69.3M

-10.95%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$99.9 CDF 226.3K

-72.70%

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

$8.58 E£458

$20.13 CDF 45.6K

-57.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$60.3 CDF 136.6K

-76.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$73.6 CDF 166.8K

-59.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

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

$121 E£6,438

$132 CDF 297.9K

-8.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$4,456 CDF 10.1M

-20.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$22.35 CDF 50.6K

80.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$22.55 CDF 51.1K

119.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$59.1 CDF 133.9K

94.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$86.5 CDF 196.0K

-30.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$862 CDF 2.0M

-74.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$376 CDF 851.7K

-48.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$2,522 CDF 5.7M

-78.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$2,051 CDF 4.6M

-83.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$1,012 CDF 2.3M

-20.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$499 CDF 1.1M

5.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$1,064 CDF 2.4M

-81.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Lubumbashi: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Lubumbashi

$376 30.6% 92.8% $181

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Lubumbashi

$327 26.6% 131% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Lubumbashi

$86 7% 28.1% $33

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Lubumbashi

$177 * 14.4% 96.4% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Lubumbashi

$180 14.7% 262% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Lubumbashi

$74 * 6% 86.8% $34

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Lubumbashi

$8.5 * 0.7% 26.5% $3.1

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $862 in Lubumbashi. 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 433% higher in Lubumbashi, 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 $99.0 in Lubumbashi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $327 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇨🇩 Lubumbashi

🕒 Local time

11:42 11:42 AM

10:42 10:42 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

1,139,064

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Congolese Franc CDF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD

10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CDF, 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).

Congolese Franc exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 2,265 CDF (10,000 CDF = 4.41 USD). 1 EUR = 2,547 CDF (10,000 CDF = 3.93 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

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Between locations

Cairo Lubumbashi 4,660 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
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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 Lubumbashi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lubumbashi is pricier by about 90%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $1,842 in Lubumbashi. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $647 in Cairo and $1,228 in Lubumbashi. That's a gap of about 90%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $132 in Lubumbashi. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Lubumbashi at $1,228. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lubumbashi 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.

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