Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,036 in Pietermaritzburg, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Pietermaritzburg
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Pietermaritzburg Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Pietermaritzburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,036

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,036 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $1,036
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $1,560 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $1,560
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $2,083 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $2,083
Cairo $1,431

Pietermaritzburg costs about 61% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Pietermaritzburg and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Pietermaritzburg 23% lower, Cairo 52% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 R 130

$4.69 E£245

68.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 R 588

$28.49 E£1,491

25.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 R 92.6

$6.03 E£315

-6.97%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R 37.86

$1.81 E£94.7

26.52%

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

$1.16 R 19.12

$0.35 E£18.18

231.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.08

$0.15 E£7.95

546.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 R 36.89

$1.45 E£76.0

54.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 R 42.25

$2.24 E£117

14.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 R 21.88

$0.97 E£50.7

37.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.45

$0.73 E£37.96

36.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.78

$0.77 E£40.24

125.97%

Eggs

$3.20 R 52.7

$1.17 E£61.2

173.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.93 R 114

$4.32 E£226

60.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.96 R 81.8

$5.07 E£265

-2.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.57 R 108

$8.92 E£467

-26.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R 33.40

$1.83 E£95.8

10.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.75 E£39.07

153.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.35

$0.57 E£29.78

285.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 R 34.00

$0.51 E£26.62

303.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.92

$0.38 E£20.05

360.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.93

$0.42 E£21.88

316.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 R 25.31

$0.35 E£18.43

337.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R 17.98

$0.24 E£12.57

354.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R 49.69

$1.99 E£104

51.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.94 R 65.0

$7.48 E£391

-47.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.72

$1.52 E£79.4

-9.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 R 29.70

$2.13 E£112

-15.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.84 R 46.92

$0.33 E£17.10

760.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.57 R 323

$8.66 E£453

125.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.65 R 27.23

$0.37 E£19.27

345.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 R 17.60

$0.20 E£10.65

435.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 E£77.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 R 23.49

$0.46 E£23.94

208.70%

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

$26.7K R 440.1K

$32.6K E£1.7M

-18.24%

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

$26.2K R 432.5K

$28.4K E£1.5M

-7.67%

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

$206 R 3,398

$27.54 E£1,441

647.75%

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

$31.68 R 523

$8.27 E£432

283.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.96 R 610

$14.05 E£735

163.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.95 R 725

$28.27 E£1,479

55.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.03 R 50.1

$6.70 E£350

-54.78%

Cinema Ticket

$4.72 R 77.8

$4.40 E£230

7.27%

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

$181 R 2,993

$121 E£6,356

49.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,207 R 85.9K

$3,619 E£189.3K

43.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$40.16 E£2,101

37.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.93 R 560

$49.61 E£2,596

-31.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,910

$115 E£6,033

0.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.9 R 1,137

$60.6 E£3,170

13.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$219 R 3,607

$220 E£11.5K

-0.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$222 R 3,670

$194 E£10.2K

14.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$581 R 9,593

$514 E£26.9K

13.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 R 6,698

$334 E£17.5K

21.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,971 R 98.5K

$806 E£42.2K

640.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$149 R 2,455

$513 E£26.9K

-71.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,074 R 17.7K

$200 E£10.5K

436.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.67

16.21

-28.01%

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

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pietermaritzburg

$275 26.4%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 81.8% $225

Accommodation & Living

Pietermaritzburg

$222 21.4%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 12.7% $28

Groceries & Markets

Pietermaritzburg

$195 18.8%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 27.6% $54

Eating Out

Pietermaritzburg

$132 12.8%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 31.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Pietermaritzburg

$123 11.9%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 3% $3.7

Sport & Entertainment

Pietermaritzburg

$53 5.1%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 30.6% $16

Getting Around

Pietermaritzburg

$38 3.7%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 70.1% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $219 in Pietermaritzburg 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 436% higher in Pietermaritzburg, 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 $36.00 in Pietermaritzburg versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $195 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pietermaritzburg

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

09:31 9:31 AM

10:31 10:31 AM

1 h ahead of Pietermaritzburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

618,536

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

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Between locations

Pietermaritzburg Cairo 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Pietermaritzburg
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

Pietermaritzburg vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Pietermaritzburg is pricier by about 61%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,555 per month in Pietermaritzburg 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 38% more in Pietermaritzburg, 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 $36.00 in Pietermaritzburg and $28.00 in Cairo. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,036 in Pietermaritzburg and $643 in Cairo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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, Pietermaritzburg makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.