Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Lulea

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,823 in Lulea, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Lulea
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Lulea Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Lulea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,823

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Lulea

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

A single person spends $643 per month in Cairo vs $1,823 in Lulea, rent included.

Cairo $643
Lulea $1,823

A couple spends around $1,037 per month in Cairo vs $2,920 in Lulea, rent included.

Cairo $1,037
Lulea $2,920

A family of three spends $1,431 per month in Cairo vs $4,016 in Lulea, rent included.

Cairo $1,431
Lulea $4,016

Cairo is about 65% cheaper than Lulea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Lulea is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$11.72 SEK 117

-59.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$95.5 SEK 955

-70.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$10.95 SEK 109

-44.93%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$4.36 SEK 43.52

-58.49%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$2.51 SEK 25.10

-86.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$1.87 SEK 18.66

-91.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$8.58 SEK 85.8

-83.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$9.49 SEK 94.8

-76.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$1.77 SEK 17.71

-45.20%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$3.26 SEK 32.60

-77.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$4.94 SEK 49.41

-84.41%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$4.65 SEK 46.43

-74.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$12.25 SEK 122

-64.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$13.21 SEK 132

-61.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$26.18 SEK 262

-65.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$2.55 SEK 25.47

-28.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$2.65 SEK 26.53

-71.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$2.49 SEK 24.87

-77.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$4.11 SEK 41.10

-87.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$2.04 SEK 20.39

-81.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$1.54 SEK 15.43

-72.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$3.36 SEK 33.58

-89.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$1.29 SEK 12.93

-81.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$6.68 SEK 66.7

-70.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$12.05 SEK 120

-37.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$1.78 SEK 17.77

-14.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$1.72 SEK 17.15

23.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$3.32 SEK 33.21

-90.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$55.4 SEK 554

-84.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$9.04 SEK 90.3

-95.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$2.05 SEK 20.52

-90.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$70.6 SEK 706

-97.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$1.77 SEK 17.65

-74.01%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$31.9K SEK 318.5K

2.39%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$33.5K SEK 334.6K

-15.20%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$160 SEK 1,603

-82.83%

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

$8.27 E£432

$31.51 SEK 315

-73.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$26.96 SEK 269

-47.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$46.15 SEK 461

-38.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$35.47 SEK 354

-81.11%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$12.94 SEK 129

-66.00%

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

$121 E£6,356

$153 SEK 1,528

-20.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$5,466 SEK 54.6K

-33.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$117 SEK 1,168

-65.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$31.97 SEK 320

55.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$120 SEK 1,202

-4.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$161 SEK 1,611

-62.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$778 SEK 7,773

-71.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$581 SEK 5,811

-66.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$1,418 SEK 14.2K

-63.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$1,098 SEK 11.0K

-69.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$3,049 SEK 30.5K

-73.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$2,254 SEK 22.5K

-77.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$2,595 SEK 25.9K

-92.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

3.85

321.04%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lulea: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Lulea

$581 32% 199% $387

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Lulea

$404 22.2% 186% $263

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Lulea

$194 10.7% 61.9% $74

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Lulea

$258 14.2% 184% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Lulea

$219 12.1% 339% $169

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Lulea

$72 4% 94.3% $35

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Lulea

$88 4.9% 676% $77

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $220 in Cairo versus $778 in Lulea. 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 1197% higher in Lulea, 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 $96.0 in Lulea. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $404 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇸🇪 Lulea

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

08:12 8:12 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

73,864

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Lulea 4,000 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Lulea

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 Lulea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lulea is pricier by about 183%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $965 per month in Cairo and $2,734 in Lulea. 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 186% more in Lulea, 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 $96.0 in Lulea. 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 Lulea at $1,823. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lulea 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, Lulea makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.