Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gaborone and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $866 in Gaborone, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gaborone and in Cairo

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

A single person spends $866 per month in Gaborone vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Gaborone $866
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $1,301 per month in Gaborone vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Gaborone $1,301
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $1,737 per month in Gaborone vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Gaborone $1,737
Cairo $1,431

Gaborone costs about 35% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Gaborone and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Gaborone 35% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.04 P 148

$4.69 E£245

135.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.11 P 390

$28.49 E£1,491

2.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.87 P 78.6

$6.03 E£315

-2.65%

Cappuccino

$2.37 P 31.70

$1.81 E£94.7

30.94%

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

$0.71 P 9.45

$0.35 E£18.18

102.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 P 5.87

$0.15 E£7.95

193.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 P 26.47

$1.45 E£76.0

36.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 P 34.24

$2.24 E£117

14.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 P 19.66

$0.97 E£50.7

51.55%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 P 11.59

$0.73 E£37.96

19.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 P 26.48

$0.77 E£40.24

157.14%

Eggs

$2.54 P 34.06

$1.17 E£61.2

117.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.45 P 86.4

$4.32 E£226

49.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.77 P 63.9

$5.07 E£265

-5.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.88 P 65.4

$8.92 E£467

-45.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.64 P 22.01

$1.83 E£95.8

-10.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 P 18.73

$0.75 E£39.07

86.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 P 26.07

$0.57 E£29.78

242.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 P 22.13

$0.51 E£26.62

223.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 P 17.53

$0.38 E£20.05

244.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 P 15.40

$0.42 E£21.88

173.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 P 17.20

$0.35 E£18.43

265.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 P 12.50

$0.24 E£12.57

287.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 P 49.75

$1.99 E£104

86.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.39 P 58.8

$7.48 E£391

-41.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 P 19.23

$1.52 E£79.4

-5.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 P 23.26

$2.13 E£112

-18.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 P 9.00

$0.33 E£17.10

103.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.16 P 404

$8.66 E£453

248.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.64 P 8.60

$0.37 E£19.27

72.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.61 P 35.04

$0.20 E£10.65

1205.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 P 38.37

$1.49 E£77.8

91.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 P 17.74

$0.46 E£23.94

186.96%

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

$19.6K P 263.0K

$32.6K E£1.7M

-39.84%

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

$19.9K P 266.4K

$28.4K E£1.5M

-29.99%

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

$60.2 P 807

$27.54 E£1,441

118.55%

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

$19.85 P 266

$8.27 E£432

140.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.94 P 575

$14.05 E£735

205.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.16 P 458

$28.27 E£1,479

20.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.03 P 215

$6.70 E£350

139.25%

Cinema Ticket

$5.98 P 80.1

$4.40 E£230

35.91%

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

$130 P 1,740

$121 E£6,356

6.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,526 P 33.8K

$3,619 E£189.3K

-30.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.16 P 645

$40.16 E£2,101

19.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.58 P 222

$49.61 E£2,596

-66.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.0 P 991

$115 E£6,033

-35.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.3 P 1,049

$60.6 E£3,170

29.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$363 P 4,860

$220 E£11.5K

64.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 P 2,941

$194 E£10.2K

13.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$542 P 7,263

$514 E£26.9K

5.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$354 P 4,741

$334 E£17.5K

6.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,021 P 27.1K

$806 E£42.2K

150.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,252 P 16.8K

$513 E£26.9K

143.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$450 P 6,033

$200 E£10.5K

124.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

16.21

-30.10%

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

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gaborone

$219 25.5%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 11.5% $25

Groceries & Markets

Gaborone

$174 20.2%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 18.7% $33

Eating Out

Gaborone

$154 17.9%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 40.8% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gaborone

$123 14.3%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 59.5% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Gaborone

$98 11.4%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 22.5% $22

Getting Around

Gaborone

$47 5.4%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 75.6% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Gaborone

$46 5.4%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 19.6% $9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $363 in Gaborone versus $220 in Cairo. 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 125% higher in Gaborone, 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 $29.00 in Gaborone versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $174 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

08:16 8:16 AM

09:16 9:16 AM

1 h ahead of Gaborone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,626 Capital

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Botswana Pula BWP P

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.65 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to BWP – Botswana Pula Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇼 Botswana Pula (P)

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.03 BWP (100 BWP = 6.65 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

USD to BWP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gaborone Cairo 6,110 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Gaborone
Cairo

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

Gaborone vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Gaborone is pricier by about 35%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,299 per month in Gaborone and $965 in Cairo. 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 23% more in Gaborone, 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 $29.00 in Gaborone and $28.00 in Cairo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $866 in Gaborone and $643 in Cairo, 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.

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, Gaborone makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.