Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pretoria and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $1,337 in Pretoria, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,337

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,337 per month in Pretoria vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

Pretoria $1,337
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $2,001 per month in Pretoria vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

Pretoria $2,001
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $2,664 per month in Pretoria vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

Pretoria $2,664
Cairo $1,431

Pretoria costs about 108% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Pretoria sits 0% above the global median, while Cairo is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.12 R 150

$4.69 E£245

94.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.06 R 595

$28.49 E£1,491

26.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.28 R 87.1

$6.03 E£315

-12.44%

Cappuccino

$2.19 R 36.11

$1.81 E£94.7

20.99%

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

$1.09 R 17.97

$0.35 E£18.18

211.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 R 14.64

$0.15 E£7.95

493.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 R 42.67

$1.45 E£76.0

78.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 R 53.1

$2.24 E£117

43.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 19.14

$0.97 E£50.7

19.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 R 17.78

$0.73 E£37.96

47.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.81 R 29.83

$0.77 E£40.24

135.06%

Eggs

$2.45 R 40.35

$1.17 E£61.2

109.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.20 R 135

$4.32 E£226

89.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R 82.0

$5.07 E£265

-1.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.08 R 117

$8.92 E£467

-20.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.59

$1.83 E£95.8

-5.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.23

$0.75 E£39.07

120.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.16

$0.57 E£29.78

210.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.62

$0.51 E£26.62

215.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.16

$0.38 E£20.05

189.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 R 19.15

$0.42 E£21.88

176.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.05

$0.35 E£18.43

248.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 R 21.11

$0.24 E£12.57

433.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.21 R 52.9

$1.99 E£104

61.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.17 R 85.4

$7.48 E£391

-30.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 R 25.17

$1.52 E£79.4

0.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 R 32.54

$2.13 E£112

-7.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.72 R 77.8

$0.33 E£17.10

1330.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$180 R 2,961

$8.66 E£453

1972.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 R 5.16

$0.37 E£19.27

-16.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.77 R 12.66

$0.20 E£10.65

285.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.46 R 239

$1.49 E£77.8

870.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.62

$0.46 E£23.94

223.91%

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

$35.7K R 588.2K

$32.6K E£1.7M

9.26%

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

$33.2K R 547.3K

$28.4K E£1.5M

16.83%

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

$152 R 2,515

$27.54 E£1,441

453.56%

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

$36.42 R 601

$8.27 E£432

340.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.56 R 603

$14.05 E£735

160.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.39 R 518

$28.27 E£1,479

11.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.30 R 170

$6.70 E£350

53.73%

Cinema Ticket

$7.03 R 116

$4.40 E£230

59.77%

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

$256 R 4,219

$121 E£6,356

110.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,665 R 126.5K

$3,619 E£189.3K

111.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 R 880

$40.16 E£2,101

32.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.55 R 521

$49.61 E£2,596

-36.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 R 1,511

$115 E£6,033

-20.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.1 R 1,370

$60.6 E£3,170

37.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$453 R 7,475

$220 E£11.5K

105.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$410 R 6,772

$194 E£10.2K

111.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$950 R 15.7K

$514 E£26.9K

84.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$756 R 12.5K

$334 E£17.5K

126.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 R 14.3K

$806 E£42.2K

7.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$692 R 11.4K

$513 E£26.9K

34.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,385 R 22.9K

$200 E£10.5K

591.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

16.21

-30.04%

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

Last update for Pretoria: 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

Pretoria

$410 30.8%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 52.7% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pretoria

$225 16.9%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 77.9% $176

Getting Around

Pretoria

$203 15.2%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 94.4% $191

Groceries & Markets

Pretoria

$192 14.4%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 26.2% $50

Eating Out

Pretoria

$142 10.7%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 36% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Pretoria

$117 8.8%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 2.3% $2.7

Sport & Entertainment

Pretoria

$45 3.4%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 18.4% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $453 in Pretoria 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 592% higher in Pretoria, 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 Pretoria versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $192 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

08:03 8:03 AM

1 h ahead of Pretoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

741,651 Capital

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

Pretoria Cairo 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Pretoria
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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

Pretoria vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Pretoria is pricier by about 108%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,006 per month in Pretoria 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 36% more in Pretoria, 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 Pretoria 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 Pretoria at $1,337. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Pretoria 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, Pretoria makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.