Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mortsel and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $635 a month against $2,130 in Mortsel, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Mortsel
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Mortsel Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Mortsel

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,130

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,130 per month in Mortsel vs $635 in Cairo, rent included.

Mortsel $2,130
Cairo $635

A couple spends around $3,214 per month in Mortsel vs $1,010 in Cairo, rent included.

Mortsel $3,214
Cairo $1,010

A family of three spends $4,298 per month in Mortsel vs $1,385 in Cairo, rent included.

Mortsel $4,298
Cairo $1,385

Mortsel costs about 235% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mortsel sits 57% above the global median, while Cairo is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.95 €19.53

$4.63 E£247

374.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.6

$27.66 E£1,477

284.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.26 €11.80

$5.83 E£311

127.44%

Cappuccino

$4.24 €3.77

$1.69 E£90.1

150.89%

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

$3.38 €3.01

$0.35 E£18.79

865.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 €2.60

$0.13 E£6.86

2146.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.33 €4.74

$1.47 E£78.3

262.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.62 €5.00

$2.21 E£118

154.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.94 E£50.5

43.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 €2.45

$0.79 E£41.96

248.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.70 E£37.41

208.57%

Eggs

$3.99 €3.55

$1.12 E£59.5

256.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.47

$4.08 E£218

326.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.95 €10.63

$4.77 E£255

150.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$23.09 €20.54

$8.81 E£470

162.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 €2.47

$1.68 E£89.7

64.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.33 €2.07

$0.71 E£38.07

228.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.64 €2.35

$0.59 E£31.31

347.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.53

$0.51 E£27.06

458.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$0.37 E£19.81

483.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$0.44 E£23.47

327.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 €1.21

$0.34 E£18.37

300.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$0.21 E£11.16

380.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.18 €11.72

$1.99 E£106

562.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.79 €7.82

$7.49 E£400

17.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.51 E£80.4

29.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.08 E£111

8.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.02 €2.69

$0.34 E£18.29

788.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$59.0 €52.5

$8.31 E£444

610.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.56 €4.95

$0.40 E£21.48

1290.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.73 €2.43

$0.19 E£9.99

1336.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.72 €21.98

$1.50 E£80.0

1548.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 €1.82

$0.45 E£23.77

355.56%

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

$35.5K €31.6K

$33.1K E£1.8M

7.20%

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

$33.6K €29.9K

$26.1K E£1.4M

28.42%

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

$221 €197

$27.62 E£1,475

701.92%

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

$20.75 €18.46

$7.83 E£418

165.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.34 €41.22

$14.39 E£769

222.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.60 €31.66

$28.62 E£1,528

24.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.83 €17.64

$7.47 E£399

165.46%

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 €13.42

$4.56 E£244

230.92%

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

$565 €502

$120 E£6,417

370.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.0K €18.7K

$3,476 E£185.6K

503.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 €98.0

$39.13 E£2,090

181.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.79 €42.51

$49.04 E£2,619

-2.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.7

$111 E£5,934

-6.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$148 €132

$57.0 E£3,043

159.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 €813

$215 E£11.5K

324.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$812 €722

$196 E£10.5K

314.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,406 €1,251

$542 E£28.9K

159.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,194 €1,062

$338 E£18.0K

253.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,134 €3,677

$830 E£44.3K

397.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,946 €2,620

$512 E£27.3K

475.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,323 €2,066

$195 E£10.4K

1091.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

16.21

-78.66%

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

Last update for Mortsel: October 17, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mortsel

$812 38.1%

Cairo

$196 30.8% 75.9% $616

Groceries & Markets

Mortsel

$359 16.9%

Cairo

$137 21.6% 61.8% $222

Eating Out

Mortsel

$329 15.5%

Cairo

$88 13.9% 73.2% $241

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mortsel

$289 13.6%

Cairo

$50 7.8% 82.7% $239

Clothing & Footwear

Mortsel

$185 8.7%

Cairo

$115 18.2% 37.5% $69

Getting Around

Mortsel

$90 4.2%

Cairo

$11 1.7% 87.8% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Mortsel

$66 3.1%

Cairo

$38 5.9% 42.6% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $914 in Mortsel versus $215 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 1092% higher in Mortsel, 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 $106 in Mortsel versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $359 vs $137 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Mortsel

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

00:06 12:06 AM

1 h ahead of Mortsel

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,525

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mortsel Cairo 3,230 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mortsel
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

Mortsel vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Mortsel is pricier by about 235%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,194 per month in Mortsel and $953 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 162% more in Mortsel, 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 $106 in Mortsel 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 $635, than in Mortsel at $2,130. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Mortsel 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, Mortsel makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.