Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Misrata

For one person, living is cheaper in Misrata: $440 a month against $647 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Misrata
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Misrata Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Misrata

🇱🇾 Libya

$440

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Misrata

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $440 in Misrata, rent included.

Cairo $647
Misrata $440

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $708 in Misrata, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Misrata $708

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $977 in Misrata, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Misrata $977

Cairo costs about 47% more than Misrata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Misrata are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Misrata 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$2.57 LYD 16.49

80.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$7.93 LYD 50.8

254.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$2.58 LYD 16.50

133.72%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 LYD 2.88

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$0.44 LYD 2.81

290.91%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$0.46 LYD 2.94

-21.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.11 LYD 0.70

9.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$0.90 LYD 5.79

2.22%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$0.20 LYD 1.28

265.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$0.96 LYD 6.17

-22.92%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$1.22 LYD 7.79

-2.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$4.02 LYD 25.76

7.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$3.41 LYD 21.88

47.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$8.66 LYD 55.5

7.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$2.31 LYD 14.77

-23.38%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$1.46 LYD 9.38

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$0.74 LYD 4.72

-25.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$0.60 LYD 3.85

-16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$0.72 LYD 4.61

-41.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$0.50 LYD 3.22

-18.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$0.40 LYD 2.55

-17.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.17 LYD 1.12

23.53%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.20 LYD 14.08

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 LYD 4.45

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 LYD 5.30

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$1.91 LYD 12.27

3.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$0.64 LYD 4.09

-45.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$38.98 LYD 250

-77.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$0.79 LYD 5.09

-50.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$0.49 LYD 3.16

-55.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$2.34 LYD 15.02

-35.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$0.02 LYD 0.13

2050.00%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$23.2K LYD 148.9K

40.75%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$19.6K LYD 125.6K

38.94%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$63.2 LYD 405

-56.88%

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

$8.58 E£458

$6.23 LYD 39.94

37.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$26.42 LYD 169

-47.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$14.26 LYD 91.4

108.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$7.77 LYD 49.79

-6.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$4.56 LYD 29.21

6.58%

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

$121 E£6,438

$25.48 LYD 163

373.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$824 LYD 5,282

331.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$23.01 LYD 147

75.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$17.16 LYD 110

188.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$46.94 LYD 301

144.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$41.91 LYD 269

43.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$147 LYD 944

50.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$73.7 LYD 472

164.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$321 LYD 2,057

71.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$218 LYD 1,398

58.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$505 LYD 3,237

58.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$102 LYD 653

414.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$396 LYD 2,535

-49.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

-18.95%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Misrata: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Misrata

$74 16.8% 62.2% $121

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Misrata

$108 24.6% 23.9% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Misrata

$58 13.2% 51.3% $61

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Misrata

$36 8.2% 60.2% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Misrata

$96 21.8% 92.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Misrata

$23 5.3% 40.7% $16

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Misrata

$45 10.2% 287% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $147 in Misrata. 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 98% higher in Misrata, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Cairo versus $8.00 in Misrata. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $108 – making Misrata the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇱🇾 Misrata

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

00:10 12:10 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

600,000

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, 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 = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Misrata 1,560 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Misrata

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 Misrata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 47%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $659 in Misrata. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Misrata, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Cairo, 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 $8.00 in Misrata. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $647 in Cairo and $440 in Misrata, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Misrata – 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 Misrata. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cairo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.