Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Montreux

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $3,392 in Montreux, rent and utilities included – about $32,900 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
165

Cost of Living Index in Montreux
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Montreux Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Montreux

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,392

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Montreux

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $3,392 in Montreux, rent included.

Cairo $647
Montreux $3,392

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $5,203 in Montreux, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Montreux $5,203

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $7,015 in Montreux, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Montreux $7,015

Cairo is about 81% cheaper than Montreux, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Montreux is 151% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$30.50 CHF 25.12

-84.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$132 CHF 109

-78.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$18.41 CHF 15.16

-67.25%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$5.93 CHF 4.89

-70.99%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$4.86 CHF 4.00

-92.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$4.11 CHF 3.38

-97.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$9.83 CHF 8.10

-84.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$9.85 CHF 8.11

-76.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$2.12 CHF 1.75

-56.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$3.35 CHF 2.76

-78.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$3.23 CHF 2.66

-77.09%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$7.08 CHF 5.83

-83.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$24.74 CHF 20.37

-82.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$28.15 CHF 23.19

-82.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$39.23 CHF 32.31

-76.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$3.47 CHF 2.86

-48.99%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$1.63 CHF 1.35

-55.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$2.43 CHF 2.00

-77.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$4.62 CHF 3.81

-89.18%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.79 CHF 1.47

-76.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.92 CHF 1.58

-78.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.96 CHF 1.61

-83.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.72 CHF 1.42

-87.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$10.67 CHF 8.79

-81.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$11.98 CHF 9.87

-34.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$2.70 CHF 2.22

-41.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$3.16 CHF 2.60

-33.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$4.54 CHF 3.74

-92.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$101 CHF 82.8

-91.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$7.52 CHF 6.20

-94.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$3.95 CHF 3.25

-94.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$62.4 CHF 51.4

-97.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$2.30 CHF 1.89

-81.30%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$38.2K CHF 31.4K

-14.33%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$38.8K CHF 32.0K

-29.83%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$285 CHF 234

-90.42%

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

$8.58 E£458

$36.64 CHF 30.18

-76.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$50.9 CHF 41.94

-72.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$88.5 CHF 72.9

-66.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$45.52 CHF 37.49

-84.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$23.83 CHF 19.63

-79.61%

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

$121 E£6,438

$2,416 CHF 1,990

-95.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$35.8K CHF 29.5K

-90.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$137 CHF 113

-70.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$76.0 CHF 62.6

-34.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$163 CHF 134

-29.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$185 CHF 152

-67.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$1,673 CHF 1,378

-86.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$1,440 CHF 1,186

-86.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$2,879 CHF 2,371

-80.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$2,458 CHF 2,025

-85.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$15.6K CHF 12.9K

-94.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$12.1K CHF 9,982

-95.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$8,082 CHF 6,657

-97.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

1.95

731.28%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Montreux: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Montreux

$1.4K 42.5% 639% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Montreux

$570 16.8% 302% $428

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Montreux

$252 7.4% 112% $133

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Montreux

$475 14% 428% $385

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Montreux

$372 11% 647% $322

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Montreux

$136 4% 245% $97

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Montreux

$146 4.3% 1161% $134

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $1,673 in Montreux. 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 3946% higher in Montreux, 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 $132 in Montreux. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $570 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇨🇭 Montreux

🕒 Local time

08:24 8:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

26,208

💱 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 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 Montreux 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Montreux

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 Montreux: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Montreux is pricier by about 424%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $5,088 in Montreux. 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 302% more in Montreux, 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 $132 in Montreux. 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 Montreux at $3,392. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Montreux 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, Montreux makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.