Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maputo and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,109 in Maputo, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Maputo
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Maputo Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
Learn more

Cairo Living Index

Jump to prices

Maputo

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$1,109

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,109 per month in Maputo vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Maputo $1,109
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $1,720 per month in Maputo vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Maputo $1,720
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $2,331 per month in Maputo vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Maputo $2,331
Cairo $1,431

Maputo costs about 72% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.37 MZN 656

$4.69 E£245

121.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.2 MZN 3,995

$28.49 E£1,491

121.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.95 MZN 440

$6.03 E£315

15.26%

Cappuccino

$2.28 MZN 144

$1.81 E£94.7

25.97%

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

$0.87 MZN 55.2

$0.35 E£18.18

148.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 MZN 46.29

$0.15 E£7.95

386.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.60 MZN 101

$1.45 E£76.0

10.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 MZN 147

$2.24 E£117

3.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 MZN 96.1

$0.97 E£50.7

56.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 MZN 63.0

$0.73 E£37.96

36.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 MZN 106

$0.77 E£40.24

116.88%

Eggs

$2.52 MZN 159

$1.17 E£61.2

115.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.02 MZN 1,329

$4.32 E£226

386.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.87 MZN 371

$5.07 E£265

15.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.59 MZN 353

$8.92 E£467

-37.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 MZN 126

$1.83 E£95.8

8.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 MZN 50.2

$0.75 E£39.07

5.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MZN 108

$0.57 E£29.78

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.09 MZN 68.7

$0.51 E£26.62

113.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 MZN 65.4

$0.38 E£20.05

171.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.75 MZN 47.25

$0.42 E£21.88

78.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 MZN 61.0

$0.35 E£18.43

174.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MZN 57.4

$0.24 E£12.57

279.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.83 MZN 179

$1.99 E£104

42.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.11 MZN 639

$7.48 E£391

35.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MZN 61.7

$1.52 E£79.4

-35.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 MZN 83.6

$2.13 E£112

-38.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 MZN 23.45

$0.33 E£17.10

12.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.65 MZN 1,496

$8.66 E£453

173.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.60 MZN 101

$0.37 E£19.27

332.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 MZN 75.2

$0.20 E£10.65

495.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.44 MZN 1,546

$1.49 E£77.8

1540.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MZN 85.8

$0.46 E£23.94

195.65%

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

$31.7K MZN 2.0M

$32.6K E£1.7M

-2.71%

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

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

$28.4K E£1.5M

-20.74%

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

$71.5 MZN 4,520

$27.54 E£1,441

159.48%

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

$7.75 MZN 490

$8.27 E£432

-6.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.1 MZN 5,573

$14.05 E£735

527.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.26 MZN 2,673

$28.27 E£1,479

49.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.54 MZN 1,679

$6.70 E£350

296.12%

Cinema Ticket

$7.88 MZN 499

$4.40 E£230

79.09%

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

$129 MZN 8,158

$121 E£6,356

6.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,162 MZN 326.5K

$3,619 E£189.3K

42.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.15 MZN 3,109

$40.16 E£2,101

22.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.3 MZN 3,496

$49.61 E£2,596

11.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.2 MZN 4,881

$115 E£6,033

-33.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.1 MZN 4,940

$60.6 E£3,170

28.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$536 MZN 33.9K

$220 E£11.5K

143.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$382 MZN 24.2K

$194 E£10.2K

96.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 MZN 67.1K

$514 E£26.9K

106.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$566 MZN 35.8K

$334 E£17.5K

69.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,129 MZN 261.1K

$806 E£42.2K

412.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,051 MZN 129.7K

$513 E£26.9K

299.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$325 MZN 20.6K

$200 E£10.5K

62.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

54.23%

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

Last update for Maputo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maputo

$382 33.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 49.2% $188

Groceries & Markets

Maputo

$225 19.9%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 37.2% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maputo

$167 14.8%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 70.2% $117

Eating Out

Maputo

$150 13.3%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 39.4% $59

Clothing & Footwear

Maputo

$117 10.3%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 2.3% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Maputo

$58 5.1%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 36.1% $21

Getting Around

Maputo

$33 2.9%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 65.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $536 in Maputo 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 62% higher in Maputo, 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 $63.0 in Maputo versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Maputo

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

1 h ahead of Maputo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,244,227 Capital

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.94 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 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 MZN in detail →

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Maputo Cairo 6,230 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Maputo
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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

Maputo vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Maputo is pricier by about 72%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,663 per month in Maputo 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 59% more in Maputo, 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 $63.0 in Maputo 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 $643, than in Maputo at $1,109. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Maputo 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, Maputo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.