Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Oslo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $3,443 in Oslo, rent and utilities included – about $33,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
165

Cost of Living Index in Oslo
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Oslo Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Oslo

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Oslo

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

A single person spends $643 per month in Cairo vs $3,443 in Oslo, rent included.

Cairo $643
Oslo $3,443

A couple spends around $1,037 per month in Cairo vs $4,981 in Oslo, rent included.

Cairo $1,037
Oslo $4,981

A family of three spends $1,431 per month in Cairo vs $6,519 in Oslo, rent included.

Cairo $1,431
Oslo $6,519

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

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Oslo is 157% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.69 E£245

$20.80 NOK 199

-77.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.49 E£1,491

$125 NOK 1,194

-77.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£315

$15.81 NOK 151

-61.86%

Cappuccino

$1.81 E£94.7

$6.03 NOK 57.6

-69.98%

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

$0.35 E£18.18

$4.41 NOK 42.10

-92.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.95

$3.28 NOK 31.33

-95.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.0

$11.75 NOK 112

-87.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£117

$12.73 NOK 122

-82.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£50.7

$2.46 NOK 23.53

-60.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£37.96

$4.20 NOK 40.08

-82.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£40.24

$4.62 NOK 44.16

-83.33%

Eggs

$1.17 E£61.2

$5.99 NOK 57.2

-80.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.32 E£226

$14.83 NOK 142

-70.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.07 E£265

$15.56 NOK 149

-67.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.92 E£467

$31.16 NOK 298

-71.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 E£95.8

$3.36 NOK 32.05

-45.54%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£39.07

$2.58 NOK 24.62

-70.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 E£29.78

$3.52 NOK 33.63

-83.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£26.62

$5.74 NOK 54.9

-91.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£20.05

$2.67 NOK 25.46

-85.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.88

$2.84 NOK 27.08

-85.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 E£18.43

$3.15 NOK 30.05

-88.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.57

$2.48 NOK 23.66

-90.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£104

$19.09 NOK 182

-89.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.48 E£391

$16.58 NOK 158

-54.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 E£79.4

$3.35 NOK 32.01

-54.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 E£112

$4.33 NOK 41.31

-50.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.33 E£17.10

$4.84 NOK 46.25

-93.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.66 E£453

$82.6 NOK 789

-89.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.27

$11.70 NOK 112

-96.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.65

$1.85 NOK 17.68

-89.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

$69.0 NOK 659

-97.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£23.94

$2.33 NOK 22.23

-80.26%

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

$32.6K E£1.7M

$47.4K NOK 453.0K

-31.21%

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

$28.4K E£1.5M

$43.5K NOK 415.8K

-34.78%

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

$27.54 E£1,441

$415 NOK 3,967

-93.37%

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

$8.27 E£432

$33.37 NOK 319

-75.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.05 E£735

$55.1 NOK 526

-74.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.27 E£1,479

$58.7 NOK 561

-51.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

$28.61 NOK 273

-76.58%

Cinema Ticket

$4.40 E£230

$19.45 NOK 186

-77.38%

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

$121 E£6,356

$233 NOK 2,229

-47.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,619 E£189.3K

$15.4K NOK 147.2K

-76.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.16 E£2,101

$101 NOK 962

-60.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 E£2,596

$58.6 NOK 560

-15.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,033

$134 NOK 1,276

-13.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.6 E£3,170

$153 NOK 1,462

-60.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 E£11.5K

$2,021 NOK 19.3K

-89.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$194 E£10.2K

$1,576 NOK 15.0K

-87.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 E£26.9K

$3,054 NOK 29.2K

-83.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 E£17.5K

$2,346 NOK 22.4K

-85.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$806 E£42.2K

$11.8K NOK 112.2K

-93.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$513 E£26.9K

$6,804 NOK 65.0K

-92.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.5K

$4,578 NOK 43.7K

-95.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

4.94

228.14%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Last update for Oslo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$194 30.1%

Oslo

$1.6K 46.1% 711% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$141 21.9%

Oslo

$514 15.1% 264% $373

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$120 18.6%

Oslo

$201 5.9% 67.9% $81

Eating Out

Cairo

$91 14.1%

Oslo

$401 11.7% 341% $310

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Oslo

$504 14.8% 911% $454

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$37 5.8%

Oslo

$98 2.9% 163% $61

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.8%

Oslo

$123 3.6% 983% $112

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $220 in Cairo versus $2,021 in Oslo. 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 2187% higher in Oslo, 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 $125 in Oslo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $514 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇳🇴 Oslo

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

08:12 8:12 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

1,098,061 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.71 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Oslo 3,660 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Oslo

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 Oslo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Oslo is pricier by about 435%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $965 per month in Cairo and $5,164 in Oslo. 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 264% more in Oslo, 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 $125 in Oslo. 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 Oslo at $3,443. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Oslo 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, Oslo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.