Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Grahamstown and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,121 in Grahamstown, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown and in Cairo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,121 per month in Grahamstown vs $647 in Cairo, rent included.

Grahamstown $1,121
Cairo $647

A couple spends around $1,757 per month in Grahamstown vs $1,035 in Cairo, rent included.

Grahamstown $1,757
Cairo $1,035

A family of three spends $2,392 per month in Grahamstown vs $1,423 in Cairo, rent included.

Grahamstown $2,392
Cairo $1,423

Grahamstown costs about 73% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Grahamstown and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Grahamstown 17% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.85 R 179

$4.64 E£248

133.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.03 R 692

$28.12 E£1,501

49.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.06 R 99.9

$6.03 E£322

0.50%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R 35.03

$1.72 E£92.1

23.84%

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

$1.04 R 17.21

$0.36 E£19.38

188.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 R 11.94

$0.12 E£6.41

500.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 R 45.45

$1.51 E£80.4

82.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 R 50.6

$2.32 E£124

32.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 R 18.45

$0.92 E£48.92

21.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 R 16.57

$0.73 E£38.92

38.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.86

$0.74 E£39.64

95.95%

Eggs

$2.82 R 46.40

$1.19 E£63.7

136.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.78 R 145

$4.33 E£231

102.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.25 R 86.5

$5.03 E£269

4.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.51 R 140

$9.28 E£496

-8.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 R 36.07

$1.77 E£94.4

23.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.17

$0.73 E£39.03

101.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.91

$0.55 E£29.51

207.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.34

$0.50 E£26.91

244.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.50

$0.42 E£22.42

297.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 R 22.55

$0.41 E£21.81

234.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.36

$0.33 E£17.51

293.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 R 16.73

$0.21 E£11.20

385.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 R 52.7

$1.98 E£106

61.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.68 R 77.1

$7.81 E£417

-40.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 R 20.02

$1.59 E£84.7

-23.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 R 29.34

$2.09 E£112

-14.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.32

$0.35 E£18.83

340.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.69 E£464

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 R 10.13

$0.39 E£21.02

58.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 R 7.72

$0.22 E£11.57

113.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.17 R 135

$1.51 E£80.5

441.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 R 23.07

$0.43 E£22.88

225.58%

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

$35.0K R 576.1K

$32.7K E£1.7M

6.93%

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

$32.8K R 540.0K

$27.2K E£1.5M

20.37%

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

$120 R 1,983

$27.27 E£1,456

341.36%

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

$34.81 R 574

$8.58 E£458

305.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.20 R 728

$13.99 E£747

215.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.55 R 520

$29.69 E£1,585

6.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.55 R 174

$7.25 E£387

45.52%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 R 175

$4.86 E£260

118.11%

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

$175 R 2,891

$121 E£6,438

45.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,834 R 79.6K

$3,560 E£190.1K

35.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.5 R 1,178

$40.28 E£2,151

77.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.90 R 608

$49.53 E£2,645

-25.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 R 1,803

$115 E£6,137

-4.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.3 R 1,553

$60.0 E£3,206

57.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 R 6,497

$222 E£11.9K

77.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,038

$195 E£10.4K

87.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$726 R 12.0K

$550 E£29.3K

32.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$719 R 11.9K

$346 E£18.5K

107.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$874 R 14.4K

$800 E£42.7K

9.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$646 R 10.6K

$525 E£28.0K

23.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,164 R 19.2K

$200 E£10.7K

482.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.94

16.21

-26.34%

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

Last update for Grahamstown: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Grahamstown

$366 32.7%

Cairo

$195 30.2% 46.8% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Grahamstown

$199 17.8%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 75% $150

Groceries & Markets

Grahamstown

$196 17.5%

Cairo

$142 21.9% 27.5% $54

Eating Out

Grahamstown

$158 14.1%

Cairo

$90 13.9% 42.8% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Grahamstown

$140 12.5%

Cairo

$119 18.4% 15.2% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Grahamstown

$53 4.7%

Cairo

$39 6.1% 25.3% $13

Getting Around

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8%

Cairo

$12 1.8% 27.1% $2.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $394 in Grahamstown versus $222 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 483% higher in Grahamstown, 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 $42.00 in Grahamstown versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $196 vs $142 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

10:04 10:04 AM

1 h ahead of Grahamstown

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,264

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

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Between locations

Grahamstown Cairo 7,060 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Grahamstown
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

Grahamstown vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Grahamstown is pricier by about 73%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,682 per month in Grahamstown and $970 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,121 in Grahamstown and $647 in Cairo. That's a gap of about 73%.

Kindergarten costs $175 per month in Grahamstown and $121 in Cairo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Grahamstown at $1,121. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Grahamstown 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, Grahamstown makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.