Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Pilikwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Pilikwe: $568 a month against $647 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $950 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cairo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Pilikwe
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Pilikwe Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Pilikwe

🇧🇼 Botswana

$568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Pilikwe

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $568 in Pilikwe, rent included.

Cairo $647
Pilikwe $568

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $914 in Pilikwe, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Pilikwe $914

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $1,259 in Pilikwe, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Pilikwe $1,259

Cairo costs about 14% more than Pilikwe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cairo and Pilikwe are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Pilikwe 58% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$10.72 P 143

-56.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$28.91 P 386

-2.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$5.66 P 75.7

6.54%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$2.27 P 30.27

-24.23%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$0.76 P 10.21

-52.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.41 P 5.42

-70.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$1.97 P 26.34

-23.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$2.52 P 33.65

-7.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.47 P 19.65

-37.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$0.82 P 11.00

-10.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$1.86 P 24.84

-60.22%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$2.43 P 32.41

-51.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$6.42 P 85.8

-32.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$4.66 P 62.3

7.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$5.03 P 67.3

84.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$1.66 P 22.22

6.63%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$1.46 P 19.46

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$2.07 P 27.61

-73.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$1.59 P 21.31

-68.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.36 P 18.17

-69.12%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.16 P 15.50

-64.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.29 P 17.30

-74.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.95 P 12.75

-77.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$3.56 P 47.53

-44.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$4.35 P 58.1

79.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.38 P 18.43

15.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$1.74 P 23.31

20.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$0.61 P 8.15

-36.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$2.50 P 33.41

-91.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$2.86 P 38.28

-47.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.34 P 17.93

-67.91%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$20.1K P 268.7K

62.65%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$20.0K P 267.7K

35.92%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$60.2 P 804

-54.67%

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

$8.58 E£458

$18.66 P 249

-54.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$44.56 P 595

-68.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$6.29 P 84.1

-22.73%

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

$121 E£6,438

$127 P 1,703

-5.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$2,466 P 33.0K

44.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$47.79 P 639

-15.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$16.52 P 221

199.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$71.6 P 956

60.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$78.2 P 1,045

-23.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

11.33

43.07%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pilikwe: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Pilikwe

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Pilikwe

$173 30.5% 22.1% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Pilikwe

$96 17% 19.1% $23

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Pilikwe

$149 26.3% 66% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Pilikwe

$123 21.7% 148% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Pilikwe

$13 * 2.2% 68.1% $27

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Pilikwe

$13 * 2.3% 13.2% $1.5

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28.00 in Cairo versus $29.00 in Pilikwe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $173 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇧🇼 Pilikwe

🕒 Local time

11:41 11:41 AM

10:41 10:41 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

1,375

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 BWP = 7.48 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, 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).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 13.36 BWP (100 BWP = 7.48 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Pilikwe 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Pilikwe

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 Pilikwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 14%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $852 in Pilikwe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $647 in Cairo and $568 in Pilikwe. That's a gap of about 14%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $127 in Pilikwe. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $647 in Cairo and $568 in Pilikwe, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Pilikwe – 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 Pilikwe. 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.