Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Egypt and Libya

Name: Libya
Address: LY

For one person, living is cheaper in Egypt: $480 a month against $533 in Libya, rent and utilities included – about $640 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Libya outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

23

Cost of Living Index in Egypt
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Egypt Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Libya
Learn more

Libya Living Index

Jump to prices

🇪🇬 Egypt

$480

/mo nomad

🇱🇾 Libya

$533

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Egypt and in Libya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $480 in Egypt versus $533 in Libya.

Egypt $480
Libya $533

Estimated couple costs with rent: $790 in Egypt versus $800 in Libya.

Egypt $790
Libya $800

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,101 in Egypt versus $1,068 in Libya.

Egypt $1,101
Libya $1,068

Living in Egypt costs about 10% less than in Libya on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Egypt 64% lower, Libya 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 E£197

$3.06 LYD 19.59

23.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.70 E£978

$12.30 LYD 78.7

52.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.84 E£253

$2.65 LYD 16.96

82.64%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.55 LYD 3.55

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 LYD 4.12

Cappuccino

$1.52 E£79.5

$0.53 LYD 3.38

186.79%

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

$0.35 E£18.32

$0.41 LYD 2.64

-14.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.99

$0.12 LYD 0.76

-8.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£76.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 E£151

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 E£46.75

$0.93 LYD 5.95

-4.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 E£37.71

$0.24 LYD 1.54

200.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£34.01

$1.10 LYD 7.02

-40.91%

Eggs

$1.30 E£68.0

$1.38 LYD 8.80

-5.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.43 E£179

$5.06 LYD 32.36

-32.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 E£226

$3.27 LYD 20.90

31.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.76 E£458

$9.35 LYD 59.8

-6.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.53 E£80.0

$2.28 LYD 14.57

-32.89%

Banana (1kg)

$0.72 E£37.88

$1.53 LYD 9.77

-52.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.04

$0.86 LYD 5.53

-39.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.42 E£21.92

$0.59 LYD 3.78

-28.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.36 E£18.62

$0.67 LYD 4.31

-46.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.38 E£19.79

$0.51 LYD 3.23

-25.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 E£15.85

$0.41 LYD 2.64

-26.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£10.97

$0.18 LYD 1.17

16.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.77 LYD 11.31

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 LYD 5.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 LYD 5.21

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.92 E£100

$1.92 LYD 12.27

Wine (Bottle)

$6.78 E£355

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 E£71.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 E£109

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 E£15.75

$0.65 LYD 4.16

-53.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.62 E£399

$39.59 LYD 253

-80.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 E£20.68

$0.80 LYD 5.15

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.28 E£14.62

$0.48 LYD 3.10

-41.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 E£101

$2.38 LYD 15.24

-18.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£23.80

$0.02 LYD 0.12

2150.00%

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

$32.2K E£1.7M

$23.7K LYD 152.0K

35.74%

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

$26.9K E£1.4M

$17.1K LYD 109.2K

57.72%

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

$21.24 E£1,111

$109 LYD 696

-80.47%

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

$7.29 E£381

$5.29 LYD 33.88

37.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.27 E£694

$19.91 LYD 127

-33.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.84 E£933

$18.57 LYD 119

-3.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.52 E£341

$4.95 LYD 31.66

31.72%

Cinema Ticket

$2.96 E£155

$4.79 LYD 30.64

-38.20%

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

$101 E£5,290

$50.8 LYD 325

98.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,565 E£134.2K

$750 LYD 4,803

241.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.84 E£1,404

$26.00 LYD 166

3.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.32 E£2,267

$30.79 LYD 197

40.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 E£5,786

$44.02 LYD 282

151.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.3 E£2,633

$39.81 LYD 255

26.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 E£7,878

$243 LYD 1,557

-38.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$94.3 E£4,932

$113 LYD 724

-16.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$292 E£15.3K

$423 LYD 2,709

-30.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 E£9,945

$212 LYD 1,359

-10.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$737 E£38.6K

$309 LYD 1,977

138.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$450 E£23.6K

$109 LYD 699

312.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$150 E£7,861

$257 LYD 1,647

-41.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.11

-14.45%

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

Last update for Egypt: October 3, 2026

Last update for Libya: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Egypt

$128 26.7%

Libya

$115 21.3% 10.4% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Egypt

$104 21.6%

Libya

$63 11.7% 39.1% $41

Accommodation & Living

Egypt

$94 19.6%

Libya

$113 21% 20.1% $19

Eating Out

Egypt

$78 16.2%

Libya

$41 7.6% 47.4% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Egypt

$42 8.7%

Libya

$134 24.8% 221% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Egypt

$24 4.9%

Libya

$28 5.2% 18.5% $4.4

Getting Around

Egypt

$11 2.2%

Libya

$45 8.4% 328% $35

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $139 in Egypt, $22.00 in Libya. Capital cities: $220 in Cairo vs $356 in Tripoli.

National salary averages: $139 in Egypt, $252 in Libya. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 532% higher in Egypt.

Dining out costs 240% more in Egypt.

Public transport is 50% more expensive in Egypt.

Salaries are 81% higher in Libya, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Libya.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Egypt

🇱🇾 Libya

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

15:55 3:55 PM

1 h behind Egypt

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,535,772

6,678,567

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.4 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.17 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Egypt Libya 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Egypt
Libya

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 Libya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $480 per month in Egypt and $533 in Libya, there's a 11% 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 Libya 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; Libya may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.