Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Qalyub

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $451 a month against $635 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
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Qalyub Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$451

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Qalyub

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

A single person spends $635 per month in Cairo vs $451 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cairo $635
Qalyub $451

A couple spends around $1,010 per month in Cairo vs $740 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cairo $1,010
Qalyub $740

A family of three spends $1,385 per month in Cairo vs $1,028 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cairo $1,385
Qalyub $1,028

Cairo costs about 41% more than Qalyub, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Cairo and Qalyub are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 53% lower, Qalyub 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.63 E£258

$4.33 E£241

6.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.66 E£1,542

$19.25 E£1,073

43.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.83 E£325

$4.73 E£264

23.26%

Cappuccino

$1.69 E£94.1

$1.32 E£73.5

28.03%

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

$0.35 E£19.62

$0.29 E£16.43

20.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 E£7.17

$0.13 E£7.38

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 E£81.8

$1.32 E£73.3

11.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 E£123

$2.29 E£128

-3.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£52.7

$0.82 E£45.70

14.63%

White Bread (500g)

$0.79 E£43.82

$0.70 E£39.29

12.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.70 E£39.07

$0.59 E£32.92

18.64%

Eggs

$1.12 E£62.2

$1.13 E£62.8

-0.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.08 E£227

$3.80 E£212

7.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 E£266

$4.35 E£242

9.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.81 E£491

$9.12 E£508

-3.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 E£93.7

$1.54 E£86.0

9.09%

Banana (1kg)

$0.71 E£39.76

$0.78 E£43.67

-8.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.59 E£32.70

$0.57 E£31.54

3.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 E£28.26

$0.33 E£18.27

54.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 E£20.69

$0.24 E£13.37

54.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.44 E£24.51

$0.32 E£18.05

37.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 E£19.19

$0.25 E£13.82

36.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.66

$0.20 E£11.00

5.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.99 E£111

$1.93 E£108

3.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.49 E£418

$5.77 E£322

29.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 E£84.0

$1.19 E£66.6

26.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 E£116

$2.21 E£123

-5.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 E£19.10

$0.20 E£11.12

70.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.31 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£22.43

$0.40 E£22.23

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.43

$0.20 E£11.21

-5.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 E£83.6

$1.20 E£66.8

25.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£24.82

$0.42 E£23.69

7.14%

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

$33.1K E£1.8M

$32.3K E£1.8M

2.45%

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

$26.1K E£1.5M

$26.9K E£1.5M

-2.66%

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

$27.62 E£1,541

$14.31 E£798

93.01%

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

$7.83 E£437

$6.72 E£375

16.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.39 E£803

$13.08 E£729

10.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.62 E£1,596

$16.40 E£915

74.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.47 E£417

$0.91 E£51.0

720.88%

Cinema Ticket

$4.56 E£254

$2.77 E£155

64.62%

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

$120 E£6,701

$86.6 E£4,832

38.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,476 E£193.9K

$2,104 E£117.3K

65.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.13 E£2,182

$33.54 E£1,870

16.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.04 E£2,735

$45.09 E£2,515

8.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 E£6,198

$117 E£6,499

-4.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.0 E£3,178

$56.0 E£3,123

1.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$215 E£12.0K

$132 E£7,358

63.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$196 E£10.9K

$76.8 E£4,281

155.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$542 E£30.2K

$251 E£14.0K

115.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 E£18.8K

$144 E£8,034

134.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$830 E£46.3K

$752 E£41.9K

10.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$512 E£28.5K

$357 E£19.9K

43.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$195 E£10.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

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

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Last update for Qalyub: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$196 30.8%

Qalyub

$77 17% 60.8% $119

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$137 21.6%

Qalyub

$126 27.8% 8.5% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$115 18.2%

Qalyub

$113 25.1% 2% $2.3

Eating Out

Cairo

$88 13.9%

Qalyub

$78 17.2% 12.3% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.8%

Qalyub

$34 7.6% 31.6% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$38 5.9%

Qalyub

$22 4.9% 41.8% $16

Getting Around

Cairo

$11 1.7%

Qalyub

$2.2 * 0.5% 80% $8.8

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $215 in Cairo versus $132 in Qalyub. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Cairo versus $19 in Qalyub. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $137 vs $126 – making Qalyub the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🕒 Local time

09:17 9:17 AM

Same time as Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

109,000

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Cairo Qalyub 15 km

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Cairo
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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 Qalyub: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 41%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in leisure.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $953 per month in Cairo and $677 in Qalyub. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qalyub, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $132 there versus $215 in Cairo.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $635 in Cairo and $451 in Qalyub. That’s a gap of about 41%.

Kindergarten costs $120 per month in Cairo and $87 in Qalyub. 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 $635 in Cairo and $451 in Qalyub, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Qalyub – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.