Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Somalia and Egypt

Name: Egypt
Address: EG

For one person, living is cheaper in Egypt: $449 a month against $620 in Somalia, rent and utilities included – about $2,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Somalia
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Somalia Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Egypt
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Egypt Living Index

Jump to prices

🇸🇴 Somalia

$620

/mo nomad

🇪🇬 Egypt

$449

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $620 in Somalia versus $449 in Egypt.

Somalia $620
Egypt $449

Estimated couple costs with rent: $924 in Somalia versus $733 in Egypt.

Somalia $924
Egypt $733

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,229 in Somalia versus $1,017 in Egypt.

Somalia $1,229
Egypt $1,017

Internal cost variation is higher in Somalia: monthly costs span $70 to $616, compared to $295–$677 in Egypt. City choice carries more weight in Somalia.

Living in Somalia is roughly 38% more expensive than in Egypt on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Somalia 54% lower, Egypt 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.06 SOS 1,740

$3.46 E£194

-11.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.28 SOS 8,677

$17.81 E£997

-14.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.14 SOS 2,918

$4.51 E£252

13.97%

Cappuccino

$1.53 SOS 870

$1.38 E£77.5

10.87%

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

$1.01 SOS 571

$0.34 E£18.77

197.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 SOS 252

$0.14 E£7.66

214.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.14 SOS 6,329

$1.37 E£76.5

713.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$14.81 SOS 8,410

$2.70 E£151

448.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 SOS 755

$0.79 E£44.14

68.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 SOS 635

$0.68 E£38.09

64.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 SOS 502

$0.60 E£33.35

46.67%

Eggs

$2.16 SOS 1,226

$1.18 E£65.8

83.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.81 SOS 2,733

$3.18 E£178

51.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.55 SOS 2,585

$3.91 E£219

16.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.60 SOS 2,610

$7.74 E£433

-40.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 SOS 1,203

$1.45 E£81.2

46.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 SOS 707

$0.67 E£37.24

86.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 SOS 1,032

$0.49 E£27.26

271.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 SOS 662

$0.35 E£19.85

231.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 SOS 719

$0.36 E£20.23

252.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 SOS 910

$0.35 E£19.74

357.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 SOS 556

$0.28 E£15.74

250.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 SOS 405

$0.19 E£10.40

273.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$0.98 SOS 557

$1.83 E£102

-46.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.06 SOS 1,168

$6.19 E£347

-66.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 SOS 1,169

$1.30 E£72.5

58.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 SOS 1,128

$1.87 E£105

6.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 SOS 163

$0.28 E£15.69

3.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.00 SOS 6,815

$7.24 E£405

65.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 SOS 840

$0.37 E£20.85

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 SOS 327

$0.26 E£14.52

123.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.47 SOS 1,971

$1.82 E£102

90.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 SOS 528

$0.40 E£22.29

132.50%

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

$10.1K SOS 5.8M

$29.9K E£1.7M

-66.07%

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

$9,146 SOS 5.2M

$24.0K E£1.3M

-61.92%

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

$111 SOS 63.0K

$20.40 E£1,142

443.63%

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

$6.82 SOS 3,872

$6.78 E£379

0.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.60 SOS 22.5K

$12.41 E£694

219.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.71 SOS 15.7K

$17.00 E£952

63.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.97 SOS 1,116

$6.36 E£356

-69.03%

Cinema Ticket

$2.93 E£164

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

$39.61 SOS 22.5K

$94.2 E£5,271

-57.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$290 SOS 164.9K

$2,362 E£132.2K

-87.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.84 SOS 7,290

$25.33 E£1,418

-49.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.14 SOS 9,736

$41.23 E£2,308

-58.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$17.10 SOS 9,711

$105 E£5,875

-83.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.01 SOS 14.8K

$47.95 E£2,684

-45.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$124 SOS 70.6K

$140 E£7,826

-11.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$78.4 SOS 44.5K

$88.9 E£4,974

-11.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$373 SOS 212.1K

$282 E£15.8K

32.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 SOS 104.4K

$179 E£10.0K

2.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,674 SOS 2.7M

$683 E£38.2K

584.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,699 SOS 2.1M

$432 E£24.2K

757.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$274 SOS 155.4K

$141 E£7,900

93.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.11

-12.33%

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

Last update for Somalia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Egypt: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Somalia

$157 25.4%

Egypt

$40 8.8% 74.8% $118

Groceries & Markets

Somalia

$157 25.3%

Egypt

$117 26% 25.4% $40

Eating Out

Somalia

$149 24.1%

Egypt

$72 16% 51.8% $77

Accommodation & Living

Somalia

$78 12.7%

Egypt

$89 19.8% 13.3% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Somalia

$33 5.3%

Egypt

$99 22% 200% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Somalia

$28 * 4.5%

Egypt

$23 5.1% 17.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Somalia

$18 2.8%

Egypt

$10 2.2% 42.6% $7.5

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $115 in Somalia, $136 in Egypt. Capital cities: $192 in Mogadishu vs $203 in Cairo.

National salary averages: $297 in Somalia, $129 in Egypt. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 18% higher in Egypt.

Dining out costs 31% more in Somalia.

Public transport is 71% more expensive in Somalia.

Salaries are about 2.3 times higher in Somalia, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Somalia.

Good to know

🇸🇴 Somalia

🇪🇬 Egypt

🕒 Local time

11:46 11:46 AM

Same time as Somalia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,031,386

114,535,772

💱 Currency

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.58 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to SOS – Somali Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇴 Somali Shilling (Sh)

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 632 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.58 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 55.97 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.29 EGP (100 EGP = 1.61 EUR).

USD to SOS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Somalia Egypt 3,450 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Somalia
Egypt

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

Somalia vs Egypt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $449 per month in Egypt and $620 in Somalia, there’s a 38% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Overall, Egypt is the cheaper option, but not in every category: rent, groceries, transport, and eating out each follow their own pattern. Check the categories you spend the most on before deciding.

It depends on what you’re after: Egypt wins on affordability; Somalia may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.