Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and San Sebastian

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
95

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,948

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in San Sebastian

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cairo $647
San Sebastian $1,948

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $2,889 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
San Sebastian $2,889

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $3,830 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
San Sebastian $3,830

Cairo is about 67% cheaper than San Sebastian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while San Sebastian is 44% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$16.76 €14.90

-72.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$60.6 €53.9

-53.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$10.58 €9.41

-43.01%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$2.08 €1.85

-17.31%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$2.87 €2.55

-87.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$1.62 €1.44

-92.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$3.44 €3.06

-56.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$3.62 €3.22

-35.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.13 €1.01

-18.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$1.06 €0.94

-31.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$1.75 €1.56

-57.71%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$3.72 €3.31

-68.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$22.34 €19.87

-80.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$8.17 €7.27

-38.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$21.10 €18.77

-56.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$2.51 €2.24

-29.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.36 €2.10

-69.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$3.34 €2.97

-83.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$2.90 €2.58

-82.76%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$2.06 €1.83

-79.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$1.98 €1.76

-79.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$1.18 €1.05

-72.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.61 €0.54

-65.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$6.07 €5.40

-67.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$7.39 €6.58

5.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$1.08 €0.96

47.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$1.83 €1.63

14.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$2.11 €1.88

-83.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$33.85 €30.11

-74.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$6.57 €5.85

-94.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$0.91 €0.81

-75.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$22.70 €20.19

-93.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.70 €1.51

-74.71%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$36.2K €32.2K

-9.64%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$28.7K €25.5K

-5.15%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$136 €121

-80.00%

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

$8.58 E£458

$20.40 €18.15

-57.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$35.36 €31.45

-60.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$42.41 €37.73

-29.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$19.95 €17.75

-63.66%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$8.44 €7.50

-42.42%

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

$121 E£6,438

$453 €403

-73.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$13.7K €12.2K

-74.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$72.5 €64.5

-44.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$31.46 €27.99

57.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$74.7 €66.5

53.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$134 €119

-55.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$1,407 €1,252

-84.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$954 €849

-79.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$2,239 €1,992

-75.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$1,522 €1,354

-77.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$9,603 €8,541

-91.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$4,748 €4,223

-88.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$3,027 €2,693

-93.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

2.92

455.14%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for San Sebastian: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

San Sebastian

$954 49% 389% $759

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

San Sebastian

$316 16.2% 123% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

San Sebastian

$141 7.2% 18% $21

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

San Sebastian

$233 12% 159% $143

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

San Sebastian

$192 9.9% 286% $142

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

San Sebastian

$59 3% 50.4% $20

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

San Sebastian

$53 2.7% 361% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $1,407 in San Sebastian. 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 1416% higher in San Sebastian, 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 $61.0 in San Sebastian. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $316 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🕒 Local time

00:05 12:05 AM

23:05 11:05 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

188,743

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cairo San Sebastian 3,280 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
San Sebastian

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 San Sebastian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – San Sebastian is pricier by about 201%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $2,922 in San Sebastian. 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 123% more in San Sebastian, 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 $61.0 in San Sebastian. 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 $647, than in San Sebastian at $1,948. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Sebastian 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, San Sebastian makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.