Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $647 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
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Sabratha Living Index

Jump to prices

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Sabratha

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $406 in Sabratha, rent included.

Cairo $647
Sabratha $406

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $597 in Sabratha, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Sabratha $597

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $787 in Sabratha, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Sabratha $787

Cairo costs about 59% more than Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Cairo and Sabratha are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Sabratha 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$3.04 LYD 19.46

52.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$9.22 LYD 59.1

204.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$1.52 LYD 9.75

296.71%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$0.48 LYD 3.09

258.33%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$0.30 LYD 1.90

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.07 LYD 0.44

71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$0.89 LYD 5.67

3.37%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$0.22 LYD 1.41

231.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$1.10 LYD 7.07

-32.73%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$1.37 LYD 8.76

-13.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$5.27 LYD 33.79

-17.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$3.48 LYD 22.32

44.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$9.58 LYD 61.4

-3.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$2.00 LYD 12.79

-11.50%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$1.54 LYD 9.89

-52.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$0.73 LYD 4.70

-24.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$0.57 LYD 3.64

-12.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$0.49 LYD 3.13

-14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$0.29 LYD 1.89

41.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$0.32 LYD 2.06

3.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.17 LYD 1.06

23.53%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 LYD 5.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LYD 5.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$1.84 LYD 11.79

7.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$0.75 LYD 4.80

-53.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$0.76 LYD 4.88

-48.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$0.30 LYD 1.89

-26.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$0.81 LYD 5.22

86.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$0.02 LYD 0.14

2050.00%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$22.9K LYD 146.9K

42.67%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$21.3K LYD 136.5K

27.87%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$92.0 LYD 590

-70.37%

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

$8.58 E£458

$3.99 LYD 25.56

115.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$13.73 LYD 88.0

1.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$10.85 LYD 69.5

173.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$7.74 LYD 49.62

-6.33%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

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

$121 E£6,438

$39.51 LYD 253

205.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$945 LYD 6,055

276.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$19.54 LYD 125

106.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$17.60 LYD 113

181.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$64.6 LYD 414

77.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$15.66 LYD 100

283.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$158 LYD 1,011

40.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$78.2 LYD 501

149.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$229 LYD 1,466

140.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$110 LYD 705

214.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$281 LYD 1,802

184.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$185 LYD 1,183

184.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$189 LYD 1,212

5.62%

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 11, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Sabratha

$78 19.3% 59.9% $117

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Sabratha

$113 27.9% 20.1% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Sabratha

$53 13% 55.7% $66

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Sabratha

$36 8.9% 59.9% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Sabratha

$110 27% 120% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 72.5% $29

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Sabratha

$5.2 * 1.3% 54.7% $6.3

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 $158 in Sabratha. 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 6% higher in Cairo, 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 $9.00 in Sabratha. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $113 – making Sabratha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

22:16 10:16 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

83,398

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, 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).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo Sabratha 1,800 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Sabratha

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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 59%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $609 in Sabratha. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sabratha, 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 $406 in Sabratha. That's a gap of about 59%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $39.51 in Sabratha. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $647 in Cairo and $406 in Sabratha, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Sabratha – 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 Sabratha. 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.