For one person, living is cheaper in Egypt: $449 a month against $1,821 in Sierra Leone, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.
How much you'll spend in Sierra Leone and in Egypt
Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sierra Leone and in Egypt actually costs, broken down by who's living it.
Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,821 in Sierra Leone versus $449 in Egypt.
Sierra Leone $1,821
Egypt $449
Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,538 in Sierra Leone versus $733 in Egypt.
Sierra Leone $1,538
Egypt $733
Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,256 in Sierra Leone versus $1,017 in Egypt.
Sierra Leone $1,256
Egypt $1,017
📏
Internal cost variation is higher in Egypt: monthly costs span $295 to $677, compared to $1,778–$1,778 in Sierra Leone. City choice carries more weight in Egypt.
🌍
Living in Sierra Leone is roughly 306% more expensive than in Egypt on average.
📊
Sierra Leone (34% above) and Egypt (67% below) straddle the global median.
Currency
No currencies found
🍽 Eating Out
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.01SLL 46.0K
$3.46E£194
-41.91%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$40.44SLL 923.1K
$17.81E£997
127.06%
Fast Food Meal(McDonalds, etc)
$10.82SLL 247.0K
$4.51E£252
139.91%
Cappuccino
$2.58SLL 59.0K
$1.38E£77.5
86.96%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite(0.33 liter bottle)
$1.64SLL 37.5K
$0.34E£18.77
382.35%
Water(0.33 liter bottle)
$0.83SLL 18.9K
$0.14E£7.66
492.86%
Local Beer(0.5 liter draught)
$2.05SLL 46.8K
$1.37E£76.5
49.64%
Imported Beer(0.33 liter bottle)
$3.52SLL 80.3K
$2.70E£151
30.37%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Milk(1 liter)
$2.44SLL 55.8K
$0.79E£44.14
208.86%
White Bread(500g)
$0.68SLL 15.5K
$0.68E£38.09
-
Rice(white)(1kg)
$1.28SLL 29.3K
$0.60E£33.35
113.33%
Eggs
$1.83SLL 41.7K
$1.18E£65.8
55.08%
Local Cheese(1kg)
$7.28SLL 166.2K
$3.18E£178
128.93%
Chicken Fillets(1kg)
$9.85SLL 224.9K
$3.91E£219
151.92%
Beef Round Steak(1kg)
$5.20SLL 118.7K
$7.74E£433
-32.82%
Apples(1kg)
$7.17SLL 163.7K
$1.45E£81.2
394.48%
Banana(1kg)
$2.93SLL 66.8K
$0.67E£37.24
337.31%
Oranges(1kg)
$0.74SLL 16.9K
$0.49E£27.26
51.02%
Tomato(1kg)
$5.08SLL 116.0K
$0.35E£19.85
1351.43%
Potato(1kg)
$1.98SLL 45.2K
$0.36E£20.23
450.00%
Onion(1kg)
$1.62SLL 36.9K
$0.35E£19.74
362.86%
Lettuce(1 head)
-
$0.28E£15.74
-
Water(1.5 liter bottle)
$1.12SLL 25.7K
$0.19E£10.40
489.47%
Cigarettes 20 Pack(Marlboro, Camel)
$3.06SLL 69.7K
$1.83E£102
67.21%
Wine(Bottle)
$7.90SLL 180.2K
$6.19E£347
27.63%
Local Beer(0.5 liter bottle)
$1.52SLL 34.6K
$1.30E£72.5
16.92%
Imported Beer(0.33 liter bottle)
$1.95SLL 44.4K
$1.87E£105
4.28%
🚌 Getting Around
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
One-way Ticket(Public Transport)
$0.45SLL 10.2K
$0.28E£15.69
60.71%
Public Transport Monthly Pass(Regular Price)
-
$7.24E£405
-
Taxi Start(Normal Tariff)
$0.49SLL 11.1K
$0.37E£20.85
32.43%
Taxi(Normal Tariff)(1km)
$0.52SLL 11.9K
$0.26E£14.52
100.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting(Normal Tariff)
-
$1.82E£102
-
Gasoline(1 liter)
$1.36SLL 31.0K
$0.40E£22.29
240.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l(Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$12.2KSLL 277.8M
$29.9KE£1.7M
-59.27%
Compact Sedan 1.6l(Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.2KSLL 574.9M
$24.0KE£1.3M
4.85%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment(Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage)(85m2)
$60.6SLL 1.4M
$20.40E£1,142
196.86%
SIM Card Monthly Plan(Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.71SLL 404.4K
$6.78E£379
161.21%
Internet(50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$52.3SLL 1.2M
$12.41E£694
321.27%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Gym Membership(Monthly)
-
$17.00E£952
-
Tennis Court(1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$6.36E£356
-
Cinema Ticket
-
$2.93E£164
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child(Monthly)
-
$94.2E£5,271
-
International Primary School, 1 Child(Yearly)
-
$2,362E£132.2K
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Jeans(Levis 501 Or Similar)
$10.02SLL 228.8K
$25.33E£1,418
-60.44%
Summer Dress(H&M, Zara, etc)
-
$41.23E£2,308
-
Sport Shoes(Adidas, Nike)
$20.12SLL 459.3K
$105E£5,875
-80.83%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$50.1SLL 1.1M
$47.95E£2,684
4.46%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center(Monthly)
$918SLL 21.0M
$140E£7,826
556.75%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center(Monthly)
$1,281SLL 29.2M
$88.9E£4,974
1341.26%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center(Monthly)
$3,505SLL 80.0M
$282E£15.8K
1141.92%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center(Monthly)
-
$179E£10.0K
-
Buy Apartment in City Center(m2)
$1,099SLL 25.1M
$683E£38.2K
60.87%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center(m2)
$1,092SLL 24.9M
$432E£24.2K
152.91%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sierra Leone
Egypt
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary(After Tax)
$1,317SLL 30.1M
$141E£7,900
833.35%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate(Annual %)
0
17.11
-
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for Sierra Leone: October 26, 2026
Last update for Egypt: October 25, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
🏠Accommodation & Living
Sierra Leone
$1.3K 70.3%
Egypt
$89 19.8% ↓ 93.1%$1.2K
🛒Groceries & Markets
Sierra Leone
$262 * 14.4%
Egypt
$117 26% ↓ 55.4%$145
🧾Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sierra Leone
$131 7.2%
Egypt
$40 8.8% ↓ 69.7%$91
🍽Eating Out
Sierra Leone
$107 5.9%
Egypt
$72 16% ↓ 32.6%$35
👕👟Clothing & Footwear
Sierra Leone
$36 * 2%
Egypt
$99 22% ↑ 174%$63
🚌Getting Around
Sierra Leone
$4.9 * 0.3%
Egypt
$10 2.2% ↑ 105%$5.1
🎉Sport & Entertainment
Sierra Leone
- * 0%
Egypt
$23 5.1%
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
🏠Accommodation & Living
Sierra Leone
- * 0%
Egypt
-179 17.6%
🛒Groceries & Markets
Sierra Leone
-617 * 49.1%
Egypt
-268 26.3% ↓ 56.6%-349
🧾Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sierra Leone
-148 11.8%
Egypt
-46 4.6% ↓ 68.7%-102
🍽Eating Out
Sierra Leone
-400 31.8%
Egypt
-232 22.8% ↓ 42.1%-168
👕👟Clothing & Footwear
Sierra Leone
-80 * 6.4%
Egypt
-219 21.6% ↑ 174%-139
🚌Getting Around
Sierra Leone
-11 * 0.9%
Egypt
-21 2% ↑ 93.2%-10
🎉Sport & Entertainment
Sierra Leone
- * 0%
Egypt
-52 5.1%
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
Cost Breakdown
🏠National rent averages: $942 in Sierra Leone, $136 in Egypt. Capital cities: $942 in Freetown vs $203 in Cairo.
💰National salary averages: $1,332 in Sierra Leone, $129 in Egypt. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.
Cost Highlights
⭐Rent is 593% higher in Sierra Leone.
⭐Dining out costs 150% more in Sierra Leone.
⭐Salaries are about 10 times higher in Sierra Leone, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Sierra Leone.
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
Sierra Leone vs Egypt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost difference between Egypt and Sierra Leone?
At $449 per month in Egypt and $1,821 in Sierra Leone, there’s a 306% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.
Which country has higher housing costs?
Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $942 in Sierra Leone and $136 in Egypt. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.
Should I move to Egypt or to Sierra Leone?
It depends on what you’re after: Egypt wins on affordability; Sierra Leone may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.
Sierra Leone vs other spots: cost of living compared