Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Mendrisio

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $3,034 in Mendrisio, rent and utilities included – about $28,600 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
148

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
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Mendrisio Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,034

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Mendrisio

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $3,034 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cairo $647
Mendrisio $3,034

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $3,758 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Mendrisio $3,758

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $4,483 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Mendrisio $4,483

Cairo is about 79% cheaper than Mendrisio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Mendrisio is 125% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$34.26 CHF 28.21

-86.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$177 CHF 146

-84.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$18.99 CHF 15.64

-68.25%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$4.80 CHF 3.96

-64.17%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$5.41 CHF 4.46

-93.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$4.37 CHF 3.60

-97.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$8.36 CHF 6.88

-81.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$7.03 CHF 5.79

-67.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$2.18 CHF 1.80

-57.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$3.70 CHF 3.04

-80.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$4.15 CHF 3.42

-82.17%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$7.07 CHF 5.83

-83.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$25.44 CHF 20.95

-82.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$28.11 CHF 23.15

-82.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$39.04 CHF 32.15

-76.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$3.15 CHF 2.60

-43.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$1.70 CHF 1.40

-57.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$2.56 CHF 2.11

-78.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$6.49 CHF 5.35

-92.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.84 CHF 1.52

-77.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$2.13 CHF 1.76

-80.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$2.34 CHF 1.93

-85.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.16 CHF 0.96

-81.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$10.74 CHF 8.84

-81.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$14.64 CHF 12.06

-46.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$3.36 CHF 2.77

-52.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$4.08 CHF 3.36

-48.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$3.03 CHF 2.50

-88.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$7.07 CHF 5.82

-94.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$5.38 CHF 4.43

-95.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$78.3 CHF 64.5

-98.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$2.20 CHF 1.81

-80.45%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$34.6K CHF 28.5K

-5.55%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$38.6K CHF 31.8K

-29.42%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$304 CHF 250

-91.02%

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

$8.58 E£458

$25.15 CHF 20.71

-65.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$48.38 CHF 39.85

-71.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$73.1 CHF 60.2

-59.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$21.74 CHF 17.91

-77.64%

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

$121 E£6,438

$3,187 CHF 2,625

-96.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$38.5K CHF 31.7K

-90.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$107 CHF 87.8

-62.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$47.52 CHF 39.14

4.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$164 CHF 135

-30.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$166 CHF 137

-63.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$1,381 CHF 1,137

-83.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$1,199 CHF 987

-83.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$6,944 CHF 5,719

-97.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

2.37

583.97%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mendrisio: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Mendrisio

$1.2K 39.5% 515% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Mendrisio

$594 19.6% 319% $452

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Mendrisio

$218 7.2% 83% $99

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Mendrisio

$484 15.9% 437% $394

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Mendrisio

$377 12.4% 657% $327

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Mendrisio

$117 3.8% 196% $77

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Mendrisio

$46 * 1.5% 298% $34

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 $1,381 in Mendrisio. 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 3377% higher in Mendrisio, 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 $177 in Mendrisio. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $594 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

18:13 6:13 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

15,562

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.04 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Mendrisio 2,610 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Mendrisio

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 Mendrisio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mendrisio is pricier by about 369%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $4,551 in Mendrisio. 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 $3,034 in Mendrisio. That's a gap of about 369%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $3,187 in Mendrisio. 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 Mendrisio at $3,034. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mendrisio 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, Mendrisio makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.