Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Egypt and Eritrea

Name: Eritrea
Address: ER

For one person, living is cheaper in Egypt: $480 a month against $1,352 in Eritrea, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Egypt
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Egypt Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Eritrea
Learn more

Eritrea Living Index

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🇪🇬 Egypt

$480

/mo nomad

🇪🇷 Eritrea

$1,352

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Egypt and in Eritrea

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Egypt and in Eritrea actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $480 in Egypt versus $1,352 in Eritrea.

Egypt $480
Eritrea $1,352

Estimated couple costs with rent: $790 in Egypt versus $2,179 in Eritrea.

Egypt $790
Eritrea $2,179

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,101 in Egypt versus $3,006 in Eritrea.

Egypt $1,101
Eritrea $3,006

Living in Egypt costs about 65% less than in Eritrea on average.

Egypt (64% below) and Eritrea (1% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 E£197

$20.96 ERN 315

-82.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.70 E£978

$33.58 ERN 504

-44.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.84 E£253

$5.41 ERN 81.3

-10.54%

Cappuccino

$1.52 E£79.5

$0.69 ERN 10.33

120.29%

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

$0.35 E£18.32

$0.98 ERN 14.69

-64.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.99

$1.02 ERN 15.38

-89.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.1

$0.98 ERN 14.72

47.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 E£151

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 E£46.75

$1.56 ERN 23.48

-42.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 E£37.71

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£34.01

$2.27 ERN 34.10

-71.37%

Eggs

$1.30 E£68.0

$4.48 ERN 67.3

-70.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.43 E£179

$3.03 ERN 45.56

13.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 E£226

$27.34 ERN 411

-84.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.76 E£458

$10.04 ERN 151

-12.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.53 E£80.0

$12.12 ERN 182

-87.38%

Banana (1kg)

$0.72 E£37.88

$1.26 ERN 18.89

-42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.04

$1.95 ERN 29.34

-73.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.92

$1.15 ERN 17.32

-63.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.36 E£18.62

$1.76 ERN 26.50

-79.55%

Onion (1kg)

$0.38 E£19.79

$0.96 ERN 14.45

-60.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 E£15.85

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£10.97

$2.17 ERN 32.64

-90.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.92 E£100

Wine (Bottle)

$6.78 E£355

$12.23 ERN 184

-44.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 E£71.5

$0.98 ERN 14.75

39.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£109

$0.98 ERN 14.68

113.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 E£15.75

$0.11 ERN 1.68

172.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.62 E£399

$7.88 ERN 118

-3.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£20.68

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 E£14.62

$0.57 ERN 8.57

-50.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 E£101

$9.84 ERN 148

-80.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£23.80

$2.53 ERN 38.01

-82.21%

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

$32.2K E£1.7M

$68.0K ERN 1.0M

-52.56%

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

$26.9K E£1.4M

$70.8K ERN 1.1M

-61.99%

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

$21.24 E£1,111

$25.19 ERN 378

-15.68%

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

$7.29 E£381

$67.3 ERN 1,010

-89.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.27 E£694

$203 ERN 3,051

-93.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.84 E£933

$26.53 ERN 399

-32.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.52 E£341

$4.95 ERN 74.3

31.72%

Cinema Ticket

$2.96 E£155

$1.19 ERN 17.87

148.74%

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

$101 E£5,290

$25.19 ERN 378

301.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,565 E£134.2K

$2,624 ERN 39.4K

-2.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.84 E£1,404

$138 ERN 2,065

-80.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.32 E£2,267

$120 ERN 1,806

-63.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 E£5,786

$200 ERN 3,009

-44.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.3 E£2,633

$151 ERN 2,267

-66.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 E£7,878

$251 ERN 3,774

-40.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$94.3 E£4,932

$198 ERN 2,970

-52.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$292 E£15.3K

$450 ERN 6,764

-35.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 E£9,945

$433 ERN 6,503

-56.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$737 E£38.6K

$1,272 ERN 19.1K

-42.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$450 E£23.6K

$2,215 ERN 33.3K

-79.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$150 E£7,861

$510 ERN 7,656

-70.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.11

18.5

-7.51%

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

Last update for Egypt: October 3, 2026

Last update for Eritrea: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Egypt

$128 26.7%

Eritrea

$365 * 26.5% 184% $237

Clothing & Footwear

Egypt

$104 21.6%

Eritrea

$274 19.9% 164% $170

Accommodation & Living

Egypt

$94 19.6%

Eritrea

$198 14.4% 110% $103

Eating Out

Egypt

$78 16.2%

Eritrea

$205 * 14.9% 164% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Egypt

$42 8.7%

Eritrea

$296 21.5% 607% $254

Sport & Entertainment

Egypt

$24 4.9%

Eritrea

$29 2.1% 21.7% $5.1

Getting Around

Egypt

$11 2.2%

Eritrea

$11 * 0.8% 5.3% $0.6

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $139 in Egypt, $123 in Eritrea. Capital cities: $220 in Cairo vs $246 in Asmara.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 13% higher in Egypt.

Public transport is 33% more expensive in Eritrea.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Egypt

🇪🇷 Eritrea

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

Same time as Egypt

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,535,772

3,497,000

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Eritrean Nakfa ERN ናቕፋ

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 EUR

100 ERN = 6.66 USD

100 ERN = 5.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ERN, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

Eritrean Nakfa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.02 ERN (100 ERN = 6.66 USD). 1 EUR = 16.83 ERN (100 ERN = 5.94 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Egypt Eritrea 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Egypt
Eritrea

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

Egypt vs Eritrea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $480 per month in Egypt and $1,352 in Eritrea, there's a 182% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Overall, Egypt is the cheaper option, but not in every category: rent, groceries, transport, and eating out each follow their own pattern. Check the categories you spend the most on before deciding.

In Egypt, $1,000 covers most cities easily; in Eritrea it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: Egypt wins on affordability; Eritrea may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.