Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Sandvika

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $2,607 in Sandvika, rent and utilities included – about $23,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Sandvika
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Sandvika Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Sandvika

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Sandvika

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $2,607 in Sandvika, rent included.

Cairo $647
Sandvika $2,607

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $4,031 in Sandvika, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Sandvika $4,031

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $5,454 in Sandvika, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Sandvika $5,454

Cairo is about 75% cheaper than Sandvika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 52% below the global median, while Sandvika is 93% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$16.56 NOK 156

-71.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$98.4 NOK 927

-71.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$21.61 NOK 203

-72.10%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$4.06 NOK 38.27

-57.64%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$2.91 NOK 27.41

-87.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$2.35 NOK 22.16

-94.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$8.48 NOK 79.9

-82.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$10.69 NOK 101

-78.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$2.42 NOK 22.83

-61.98%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$3.44 NOK 32.38

-78.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$3.91 NOK 36.84

-81.07%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$4.85 NOK 45.70

-75.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$13.19 NOK 124

-67.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$26.81 NOK 252

-81.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$24.09 NOK 227

-61.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$3.40 NOK 32.03

-47.94%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$2.56 NOK 24.13

-71.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$3.44 NOK 32.34

-84.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$4.81 NOK 45.31

-89.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$2.63 NOK 24.77

-84.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$3.19 NOK 30.03

-87.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$2.30 NOK 21.66

-85.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$1.54 NOK 14.53

-86.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$16.05 NOK 151

-87.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$18.41 NOK 173

-57.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$3.86 NOK 36.36

-58.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$5.23 NOK 49.19

-60.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 E£18.83

$4.04 NOK 38.06

-91.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

$83.6 NOK 786

-89.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 E£21.02

$8.15 NOK 76.8

-95.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$1.58 NOK 14.89

-86.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$55.2 NOK 520

-97.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$2.34 NOK 22.07

-81.62%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$43.1K NOK 405.7K

-24.13%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$42.5K NOK 399.9K

-35.91%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$269 NOK 2,532

-89.86%

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

$8.58 E£458

$30.84 NOK 290

-72.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$64.6 NOK 609

-78.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

$64.2 NOK 605

-53.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

$37.07 NOK 349

-80.44%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$20.56 NOK 194

-76.36%

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

$121 E£6,438

$307 NOK 2,891

-60.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$12.7K NOK 120.0K

-72.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$143 NOK 1,348

-71.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$63.9 NOK 601

-22.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$131 NOK 1,232

-12.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$207 NOK 1,944

-70.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 E£11.9K

$1,216 NOK 11.4K

-81.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 E£10.4K

$927 NOK 8,730

-78.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 E£29.3K

$1,953 NOK 18.4K

-71.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$346 E£18.5K

$1,693 NOK 15.9K

-79.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$800 E£42.7K

$8,428 NOK 79.3K

-90.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$525 E£28.0K

$4,390 NOK 41.3K

-88.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$200 E£10.7K

$5,488 NOK 51.7K

-96.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

5.03

222.27%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sandvika: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Sandvika

$927 35.6% 376% $732

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Sandvika

$518 19.9% 266% $377

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Sandvika

$245 9.4% 106% $126

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Sandvika

$331 12.7% 268% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Sandvika

$364 14% 631% $315

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Sandvika

$105 4% 167% $66

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Sandvika

$116 4.4% 900% $104

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $222 in Cairo versus $1,216 in Sandvika. 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 2647% higher in Sandvika, 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 $98.0 in Sandvika. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $518 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇳🇴 Sandvika

🕒 Local time

19:14 7:14 PM

18:14 6:14 PM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

129,572

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.04 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Sandvika 3,660 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Sandvika

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 Sandvika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sandvika is pricier by about 303%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $3,911 in Sandvika. 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 266% more in Sandvika, 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 $98.0 in Sandvika. 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 Sandvika at $2,607. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sandvika 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, Sandvika makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.