Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $611 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lisbon vs $611 in Cairo, rent included.

Lisbon $2,210
Cairo $611

A couple spends around $3,275 per month in Lisbon vs $970 in Cairo, rent included.

Lisbon $3,275
Cairo $970

A family of three spends $4,341 per month in Lisbon vs $1,329 in Cairo, rent included.

Lisbon $4,341
Cairo $1,329

Lisbon costs about 262% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Lisbon sits 62% above the global median, while Cairo is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.96

$4.51 E£252

269.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.5

$27.00 E£1,511

128.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.20

$5.34 E£299

112.73%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.67

$1.72 E£96.0

72.67%

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

$2.29 €2.06

$0.34 E£19.07

573.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.56

$0.14 E£8.09

1142.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.06

$1.39 E£77.9

144.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.97

$2.15 E£120

53.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$0.87 E£48.58

33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.72

$0.76 E£42.47

151.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.36

$0.63 E£35.12

139.68%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.61

$1.09 E£60.9

268.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.62

$3.74 E£209

245.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.99

$4.61 E£258

68.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.96

$8.42 E£471

110.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.07

$1.69 E£94.4

36.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.56

$0.68 E£38.20

154.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.67

$0.56 E£31.13

232.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.33

$0.47 E£26.18

451.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.64

$0.38 E£21.53

378.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.77

$0.39 E£21.82

405.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.32

$0.33 E£18.74

345.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.22 E£12.33

227.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.92

$1.85 E£104

255.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.04

$7.24 E£405

-22.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.42 E£79.3

-4.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.92

$1.98 E£111

8.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.10

$0.31 E£17.32

651.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €40.14

$7.17 E£401

523.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.46

$0.35 E£19.47

1000.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.96

$0.19 E£10.87

463.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.79

$1.46 E£81.5

1027.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.98

$0.40 E£22.36

450.00%

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

$34.2K €30.7K

$32.3K E£1.8M

5.80%

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

$38.7K €34.8K

$24.9K E£1.4M

55.82%

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

$161 €145

$26.70 E£1,495

503.82%

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

$18.41 €16.54

$7.51 E£420

145.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.41

$14.02 E£785

133.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €40.03

$27.01 E£1,512

64.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.16

$7.15 E£400

167.13%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.62

$4.41 E£247

117.69%

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

$668 €600

$117 E£6,527

472.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.8K

$3,269 E£182.9K

438.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.7

$37.71 E£2,111

170.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.95

$47.61 E£2,665

-6.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €88.5

$109 E£6,110

-9.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €111

$55.6 E£3,114

122.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,445

$203 E£11.4K

690.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,069

$188 E£10.5K

533.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,527

$524 E£29.3K

436.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,809

$318 E£17.8K

533.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €7,043

$793 E£44.4K

888.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,111

$484 E£27.1K

846.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,415

$185 E£10.3K

752.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

16.21

-76.25%

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Cairo

$188 30.7% 84.2% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Cairo

$131 21.5% 51.8% $141

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Cairo

$86 14.1% 64.6% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Cairo

$48 7.9% 77.3% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Cairo

$113 18.4% 32.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Cairo

$36 5.9% 43.8% $28

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Cairo

$9.7 1.6% 84.6% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,608 in Lisbon versus $203 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 in Lisbon are about 8.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Lisbon versus $27 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $272 vs $131 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

13:05 1:05 PM

3 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.97 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Cairo 3,800 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

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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

Lisbon vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Lisbon is pricier by about 262%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,315 per month in Lisbon and $917 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $203 there versus $1,608 in Lisbon.

Groceries cost about 108% more in Lisbon, 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 $62 in Lisbon and $27 in Cairo. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $611, than in Lisbon at $2,210. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisbon 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.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lisbon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.