Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Ndola

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $726 in Ndola, rent and utilities included – about $950 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
Learn more

Ndola Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Ndola

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $726 in Ndola, rent included.

Cairo $647
Ndola $726

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $1,738 in Ndola, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Ndola $1,738

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $2,750 in Ndola, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Ndola $2,750

Cairo is about 11% cheaper than Ndola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Ndola are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Ndola 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$5.52 ZMW 110

-15.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$30.75 ZMW 612

-8.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$4.94 ZMW 98.2

22.06%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$2.75 ZMW 54.7

-37.45%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$0.52 ZMW 10.38

-30.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.26 ZMW 5.20

-53.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$1.28 ZMW 25.38

17.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$2.22 ZMW 44.18

4.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.60 ZMW 31.86

-42.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$1.13 ZMW 22.44

-35.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$2.01 ZMW 40.08

-63.18%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$1.62 ZMW 32.27

-26.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$10.37 ZMW 206

-58.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$6.48 ZMW 129

-22.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$6.45 ZMW 128

43.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$1.55 ZMW 30.81

14.19%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.38 ZMW 47.28

-69.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$3.70 ZMW 73.6

-85.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$1.50 ZMW 29.93

-66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$2.59 ZMW 51.6

-83.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.88 ZMW 37.49

-78.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.12 ZMW 22.20

-70.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.62 ZMW 12.35

-66.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$3.08 ZMW 61.3

-35.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$9.98 ZMW 198

-21.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.42 ZMW 28.17

11.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$2.27 ZMW 45.20

-7.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$0.73 ZMW 14.59

-52.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$2.60 ZMW 51.6

-85.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$1.47 ZMW 29.15

-85.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$5.13 ZMW 102

-70.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.34 ZMW 26.57

-67.91%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$7,515 ZMW 149.5K

335.12%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$27.1K ZMW 538.2K

0.63%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$81.5 ZMW 1,622

-66.55%

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

$8.58 E£458

$10.36 ZMW 206

-17.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$55.4 ZMW 1,102

-74.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$6.10 ZMW 121

-20.33%

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

$121 E£6,438

$138 ZMW 2,743

-12.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$16.4K ZMW 326.7K

-78.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$23.72 ZMW 472

69.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$15.32 ZMW 305

223.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$45.00 ZMW 895

155.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$72.1 ZMW 1,434

-16.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$176 ZMW 3,508

25.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$153 ZMW 3,050

27.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$384 ZMW 7,630

43.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$1,503 ZMW 29.9K

-76.97%

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

$602 ZMW 12.0K

-66.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

-44.10%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ndola: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Ndola

$153 21.1% 21.4% $42

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Ndola

$224 30.9% 58% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Ndola

$70 9.7% 41% $49

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Ndola

$106 14.6% 17.7% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Ndola

$147 20.3% 196% $97

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Ndola

$12 * 1.7% 69% $27

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Ndola

$13 * 1.8% 11.1% $1.3

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 $176 in Ndola. 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 201% higher in Ndola, 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 $31.00 in Ndola. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $224 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇿🇲 Ndola

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

455,194

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, 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).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Ndola 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Ndola

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 Ndola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ndola is pricier by about 12%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $1,089 in Ndola. 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 $726 in Ndola. That's a gap of about 12%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $138 in Ndola. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $647 in Cairo and $726 in Ndola, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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, Ndola makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.