Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Xai-Xai

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $680 in Xai-Xai, rent and utilities included – about $400 less a year. The total is higher in Xai-Xai despite lower rent and utilities.

32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Xai-Xai
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Xai-Xai Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Xai-Xai

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$680

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cairo and in Xai-Xai

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

A single person spends $647 per month in Cairo vs $680 in Xai-Xai, rent included.

Cairo $647
Xai-Xai $680

A couple spends around $1,035 per month in Cairo vs $1,143 in Xai-Xai, rent included.

Cairo $1,035
Xai-Xai $1,143

A family of three spends $1,423 per month in Cairo vs $1,607 in Xai-Xai, rent included.

Cairo $1,423
Xai-Xai $1,607

Cairo is about 5% cheaper than Xai-Xai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cairo and Xai-Xai are more affordable than the global median – Cairo 52% lower, Xai-Xai 50% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.64 E£248

$10.00 MZN 632

-53.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 E£1,501

$62.2 MZN 3,932

-54.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.03 E£322

$7.29 MZN 461

-17.28%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£92.1

$2.25 MZN 142

-23.56%

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

$0.36 E£19.38

$0.86 MZN 54.6

-58.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.41

$0.70 MZN 44.08

-82.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 E£80.4

$1.54 MZN 97.6

-1.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 E£124

$2.37 MZN 150

-2.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 E£48.92

$1.52 MZN 96.1

-39.47%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 E£38.92

$1.03 MZN 65.4

-29.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.64

$1.59 MZN 101

-53.46%

Eggs

$1.19 E£63.7

$2.43 MZN 154

-51.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.33 E£231

$21.25 MZN 1,344

-79.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.03 E£269

$5.69 MZN 360

-11.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 E£496

$5.55 MZN 351

67.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 E£94.4

$1.99 MZN 126

-11.06%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 E£39.03

$0.76 MZN 48.08

-3.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£29.51

$1.63 MZN 103

-66.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.50 E£26.91

$1.05 MZN 66.2

-52.38%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.01 MZN 63.7

-58.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.81

$0.79 MZN 50.2

-48.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£17.51

$0.93 MZN 58.9

-64.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.20

$0.86 MZN 54.5

-75.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.98 E£106

$2.74 MZN 174

-27.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.81 E£417

$10.08 MZN 638

-22.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 E£84.7

$0.99 MZN 62.5

60.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£112

$1.28 MZN 81.1

63.28%

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

$1.55 MZN 98.0

-74.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.57

$1.19 MZN 75.4

-81.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 E£80.5

$24.71 MZN 1,563

-93.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.88

$1.41 MZN 89.4

-69.50%

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

$32.7K E£1.7M

$32.1K MZN 2.0M

1.75%

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

$27.2K E£1.5M

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

19.30%

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

$27.27 E£1,456

$70.5 MZN 4,459

-61.32%

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

$8.58 E£458

$7.86 MZN 497

9.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.99 E£747

$88.5 MZN 5,597

-84.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.69 E£1,585

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.25 E£387

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 E£260

$8.01 MZN 507

-39.33%

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

$121 E£6,438

$129 MZN 8,179

-6.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

$5,214 MZN 329.8K

-31.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$40.28 E£2,151

$49.93 MZN 3,158

-19.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.53 E£2,645

$56.0 MZN 3,541

-11.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,137

$78.1 MZN 4,938

47.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.0 E£3,206

$80.1 MZN 5,065

-25.02%

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

-35.16%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Xai-Xai: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$195 30.2%

Xai-Xai

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$142 21.9%

Xai-Xai

$223 32.8% 57.4% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$119 18.4%

Xai-Xai

$119 17.5% 0.3% $0.3

Eating Out

Cairo

$90 13.9%

Xai-Xai

$148 21.7% 63.9% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$50 7.7%

Xai-Xai

$167 24.5% 235% $117

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$39 6.1%

Xai-Xai

$16 * 2.4% 59.4% $23

Getting Around

Cairo

$12 1.8%

Xai-Xai

$7.5 * 1.1% 35.1% $4.1

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 $62.0 in Xai-Xai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $142 vs $223 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇲🇿 Xai-Xai

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

00:55 12:55 AM

1 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

116,343

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Xai-Xai 6,130 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
Xai-Xai

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 Xai-Xai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Xai-Xai is pricier by about 5%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $970 per month in Cairo and $1,020 in Xai-Xai. 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 $680 in Xai-Xai. That's a gap of about 5%.

Kindergarten costs $121 per month in Cairo and $129 in Xai-Xai. 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 $647 in Cairo and $680 in Xai-Xai, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Xai-Xai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.