Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between New Cairo and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in New Cairo: $728 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in New Cairo
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New Cairo Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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New Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$728

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in New Cairo and in Cape Town

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in New Cairo and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $728 per month in New Cairo vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

New Cairo $728
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,097 per month in New Cairo vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

New Cairo $1,097
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,467 per month in New Cairo vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

New Cairo $1,467
Cape Town $3,263

New Cairo is about 54% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

New Cairo sits 46% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.74 E£307

$12.14 R 200

-52.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.75 E£1,375

$45.34 R 747

-43.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 E£299

$5.88 R 96.9

-4.76%

Cappuccino

$2.00 E£107

$2.50 R 41.18

-20.00%

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

$0.38 E£20.30

$1.27 R 20.94

-70.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 E£7.89

$0.98 R 16.14

-84.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.93 E£156

$2.99 R 49.33

-2.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 E£180

$3.72 R 61.4

-9.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.96 E£51.4

$1.30 R 21.40

-26.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 E£54.1

$1.25 R 20.68

-19.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 E£41.36

$2.23 R 36.76

-65.47%

Eggs

$1.51 E£80.5

$3.11 R 51.2

-51.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.25 E£227

$9.06 R 149

-53.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.53 E£295

$6.92 R 114

-20.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.34 E£445

$9.30 R 153

-10.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.71 E£91.6

$1.84 R 30.25

-7.07%

Banana (1kg)

$0.74 E£39.29

$1.96 R 32.29

-62.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.49 E£25.94

$1.67 R 27.45

-70.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 E£21.56

$2.17 R 35.70

-81.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.29

$1.57 R 25.81

-79.62%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 E£24.94

$1.48 R 24.45

-68.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.20 E£10.67

$1.30 R 21.41

-84.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.24 E£12.82

$1.13 R 18.60

-78.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.90 E£101

$3.60 R 59.3

-47.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.75 E£521

$6.15 R 101

58.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 E£75.0

$1.38 R 22.66

1.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 E£107

$2.14 R 35.20

-6.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£8.91

$1.50 R 24.65

-88.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 E£29.35

$0.59 R 9.71

-6.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.16 E£8.60

$1.50 R 24.65

-89.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.83 E£205

$5.11 R 84.2

-25.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.42

$1.55 R 25.50

-72.90%

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

$32.4K E£1.7M

$36.2K R 596.5K

-10.47%

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

$26.7K E£1.4M

$31.2K R 514.8K

-14.44%

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

$40.44 E£2,159

$114 R 1,883

-64.63%

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

$9.41 E£503

$28.91 R 476

-67.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.06 E£751

$39.73 R 654

-64.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.14 E£1,556

$49.01 R 808

-40.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.16 E£329

$10.99 R 181

-43.95%

Cinema Ticket

$3.24 E£173

$9.15 R 151

-64.59%

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

$180 E£9,611

$259 R 4,264

-30.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,744 E£253.3K

$6,794 R 111.9K

-30.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.25 E£2,470

$56.2 R 926

-17.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 E£2,908

$32.41 R 534

68.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 E£6,151

$121 R 1,987

-4.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.5 E£3,016

$108 R 1,781

-47.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$300 E£16.0K

$1,021 R 16.8K

-70.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$246 E£13.1K

$717 R 11.8K

-65.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$548 E£29.3K

$1,824 R 30.1K

-69.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 E£19.1K

$1,327 R 21.9K

-73.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,204 E£64.3K

$2,391 R 39.4K

-49.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$647 E£34.5K

$1,542 R 25.4K

-58.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$187 E£10.0K

$1,639 R 27.0K

-88.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.4

10.97

3.92%

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

Last update for New Cairo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

New Cairo

$246 33.8%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 191% $471

Groceries & Markets

New Cairo

$147 20.2%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 52.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

New Cairo

$123 16.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 16.5% $20

Eating Out

New Cairo

$110 15.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 59.9% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

New Cairo

$64 8.8%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 186% $119

Sport & Entertainment

New Cairo

$36 4.9%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 89% $32

Getting Around

New Cairo

$2 * 0.3%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 3604% $73

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $300 in New Cairo versus $1,021 in Cape Town. 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 775% higher in Cape Town, 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 $26.00 in New Cairo versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $147 vs $225 – making New Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 New Cairo

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:00 1:00 AM

00:00 12:00 AM

1 h behind New Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

298,343

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

New Cairo Cape Town 7,240 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

New Cairo
Cape Town

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

New Cairo vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 118% more than New Cairo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,092 per month in New Cairo and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in New 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 $728 in New Cairo and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 118%.

Kindergarten costs $180 per month in New Cairo and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in New Cairo, where all-in costs run around $728, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In New Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. New Cairo costs $728 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 New Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.