Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qena and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $459 a month against $635 in Cairo, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Qena
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Qena Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
Learn more

Cairo Living Index

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Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$459

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$635

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $459 per month in Qena vs $635 in Cairo, rent included.

Qena $459
Cairo $635

A couple spends around $738 per month in Qena vs $1,010 in Cairo, rent included.

Qena $738
Cairo $1,010

A family of three spends $1,018 per month in Qena vs $1,385 in Cairo, rent included.

Qena $1,018
Cairo $1,385

Qena is about 28% cheaper than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Qena and Cairo are more affordable than the global median – Qena 66% lower, Cairo 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.85 E£205

$4.63 E£247

-16.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.46 E£826

$27.66 E£1,477

-44.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.62 E£300

$5.83 E£311

-3.60%

Cappuccino

$2.04 E£109

$1.69 E£90.1

20.71%

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

$0.48 E£25.57

$0.35 E£18.79

37.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 E£9.12

$0.13 E£6.86

30.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 E£102

$1.47 E£78.3

29.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 E£163

$2.21 E£118

38.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£50.1

$0.94 E£50.5

White Bread (500g)

$0.77 E£40.94

$0.79 E£41.96

-2.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 E£31.01

$0.70 E£37.41

-17.14%

Eggs

$1.94 E£103

$1.12 E£59.5

73.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.29 E£175

$4.08 E£218

-19.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.63 E£301

$4.77 E£255

18.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.47 E£506

$8.81 E£470

7.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 E£78.1

$1.68 E£89.7

-13.10%

Banana (1kg)

$0.48 E£25.55

$0.71 E£38.07

-32.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.40 E£21.54

$0.59 E£31.31

-32.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.39 E£20.82

$0.51 E£27.06

-23.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.35 E£18.47

$0.37 E£19.81

-5.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 E£19.46

$0.44 E£23.47

-18.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.31

$0.34 E£18.37

-20.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.19 E£10.31

$0.21 E£11.16

-9.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.24 E£120

$1.99 E£106

12.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 E£384

$7.49 E£400

-4.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 E£66.7

$1.51 E£80.4

-17.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 E£91.9

$2.08 E£111

-17.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 E£9.83

$0.34 E£18.29

-47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.31 E£444

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£19.71

$0.40 E£21.48

-7.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 E£11.03

$0.19 E£9.99

10.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 E£63.8

$1.50 E£80.0

-20.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.42 E£22.55

$0.45 E£23.77

-6.67%

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

$31.6K E£1.7M

$33.1K E£1.8M

-4.43%

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

$21.8K E£1.2M

$26.1K E£1.4M

-16.60%

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

$24.89 E£1,329

$27.62 E£1,475

-9.88%

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

$7.88 E£421

$7.83 E£418

0.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.41 E£503

$14.39 E£769

-34.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.98 E£853

$28.62 E£1,528

-44.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.47 E£399

Cinema Ticket

$3.46 E£185

$4.56 E£244

-24.12%

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

$98.5 E£5,261

$120 E£6,417

-18.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$590 E£31.5K

$3,476 E£185.6K

-83.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.53 E£1,096

$39.13 E£2,090

-47.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.77 E£1,803

$49.04 E£2,619

-31.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 E£6,240

$111 E£5,934

5.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.01 E£1,549

$57.0 E£3,043

-49.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$131 E£7,012

$215 E£11.5K

-39.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$74.6 E£3,984

$196 E£10.5K

-61.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$258 E£13.8K

$542 E£28.9K

-52.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$146 E£7,795

$338 E£18.0K

-56.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$761 E£40.6K

$830 E£44.3K

-8.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$356 E£19.0K

$512 E£27.3K

-30.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$195 E£10.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

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

Last update for Qena: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Qena

$137 29.8%

Cairo

$137 21.6% 0.5% $0.7

Eating Out

Qena

$90 19.7%

Cairo

$88 13.9% 2.1% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Qena

$90 19.6%

Cairo

$115 18.2% 28% $25

Accommodation & Living

Qena

$75 16.3%

Cairo

$196 30.8% 163% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qena

$42 9.2%

Cairo

$50 7.8% 18.2% $7.7

Sport & Entertainment

Qena

$23 5%

Cairo

$38 5.9% 64.9% $15

Getting Around

Qena

$2.1 * 0.5%

Cairo

$11 1.7% 415% $8.9

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $131 in Qena 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Qena versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $137 vs $137 – making Qena the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Qena

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

19:00 7:00 PM

Same time as Qena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

235,362

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Qena
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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

Qena vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cairo is pricier by about 39%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $688 per month in Qena 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 Qena, 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 $459 in Qena and $635 in Cairo. That's a gap of about 39%.

Kindergarten costs $98.5 per month in Qena and $120 in Cairo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $459 in Qena and $635 in Cairo, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Qena – 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 Qena. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cairo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.