Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karlstad and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $647 a month against $1,713 in Karlstad, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Karlstad
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Karlstad Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Karlstad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,713

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$647

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,713 per month in Karlstad vs $647 in Cairo, rent included.

Karlstad $1,713
Cairo $647

A couple spends around $2,643 per month in Karlstad vs $1,035 in Cairo, rent included.

Karlstad $2,643
Cairo $1,035

A family of three spends $3,572 per month in Karlstad vs $1,423 in Cairo, rent included.

Karlstad $3,572
Cairo $1,423

Karlstad costs about 165% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Karlstad sits 27% above the global median, while Cairo is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.97 SEK 148

$4.64 E£248

222.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.2 SEK 775

$28.12 E£1,501

178.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.66 SEK 95.7

$6.03 E£322

60.20%

Cappuccino

$4.80 SEK 47.60

$1.72 E£92.1

179.07%

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

$2.54 SEK 25.21

$0.36 E£19.38

605.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 SEK 20.98

$0.12 E£6.41

1666.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.69 SEK 76.2

$1.51 E£80.4

409.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.45 SEK 63.9

$2.32 E£124

178.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 SEK 15.00

$0.92 E£48.92

64.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 SEK 28.64

$0.73 E£38.92

295.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 SEK 36.48

$0.74 E£39.64

397.30%

Eggs

$4.50 SEK 44.60

$1.19 E£63.7

278.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 SEK 97.5

$4.33 E£231

127.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.17 SEK 140

$5.03 E£269

181.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.97 SEK 178

$9.28 E£496

93.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 SEK 27.95

$1.77 E£94.4

59.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.64 SEK 26.12

$0.73 E£39.03

261.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.09 SEK 30.57

$0.55 E£29.51

461.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.09 SEK 50.4

$0.50 E£26.91

918.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 SEK 18.88

$0.42 E£22.42

354.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SEK 16.58

$0.41 E£21.81

307.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.61 SEK 25.90

$0.33 E£17.51

690.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 SEK 12.95

$0.21 E£11.20

523.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.89 SEK 68.3

$1.98 E£106

247.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.86 SEK 97.7

$7.81 E£417

26.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 SEK 23.46

$1.59 E£84.7

49.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 SEK 20.69

$2.09 E£112

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.16 SEK 31.32

$0.35 E£18.83

802.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$79.9 SEK 792

$8.69 E£464

819.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.42 SEK 53.7

$0.39 E£21.02

1289.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.33 SEK 13.16

$0.22 E£11.57

504.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$61.5 SEK 609

$1.51 E£80.5

3970.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 SEK 17.50

$0.43 E£22.88

311.63%

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

$32.2K SEK 319.4K

$32.7K E£1.7M

-1.42%

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

$32.7K SEK 323.8K

$27.2K E£1.5M

20.03%

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

$101 SEK 1,001

$27.27 E£1,456

270.55%

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

$15.82 SEK 157

$8.58 E£458

84.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.59 SEK 442

$13.99 E£747

218.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.52 SEK 441

$29.69 E£1,585

49.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.95 SEK 168

$7.25 E£387

133.79%

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 SEK 138

$4.86 E£260

186.21%

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

$123 SEK 1,223

$121 E£6,438

2.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,560 E£190.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 SEK 1,039

$40.28 E£2,151

160.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.98 SEK 386

$49.53 E£2,645

-21.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.5 SEK 728

$115 E£6,137

-36.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 SEK 1,403

$60.0 E£3,206

135.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 SEK 8,264

$222 E£11.9K

275.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$567 SEK 5,617

$195 E£10.4K

190.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,154 SEK 11.4K

$550 E£29.3K

109.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$861 SEK 8,528

$346 E£18.5K

148.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,710 SEK 36.8K

$800 E£42.7K

363.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,794 SEK 27.7K

$525 E£28.0K

432.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,220 SEK 31.9K

$200 E£10.7K

1512.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

16.21

-76.56%

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

Last update for Karlstad: 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

Karlstad

$567 33.1%

Cairo

$195 30.2% 65.6% $372

Groceries & Markets

Karlstad

$370 21.6%

Cairo

$142 21.9% 61.6% $228

Eating Out

Karlstad

$276 16.1%

Cairo

$90 13.9% 67.4% $186

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karlstad

$161 9.4%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 69.1% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Karlstad

$161 9.4%

Cairo

$119 18.4% 26.2% $42

Getting Around

Karlstad

$105 6.1%

Cairo

$12 1.8% 88.9% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Karlstad

$72 4.2%

Cairo

$39 6.1% 45.5% $33

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $834 in Karlstad 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 1512% higher in Karlstad, 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 $78.0 in Karlstad versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $370 vs $142 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Karlstad

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

15:58 3:58 PM

16:58 4:58 PM

1 h ahead of Karlstad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,797

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Karlstad Cairo 3,520 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Karlstad
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

Karlstad vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Karlstad is pricier by about 165%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,569 per month in Karlstad 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.

Groceries cost about 161% more in Karlstad, 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 $78.0 in Karlstad and $28.00 in Cairo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $647, than in Karlstad at $1,713. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Karlstad 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, Karlstad makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.