Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Gallen and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $3,632 in St. Gallen, rent and utilities included – about $35,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

178

Cost of Living Index in St. Gallen
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St. Gallen Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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St. Gallen

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,632

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,632 per month in St. Gallen vs $643 in Cairo, rent included.

St. Gallen $3,632
Cairo $643

A couple spends around $5,284 per month in St. Gallen vs $1,037 in Cairo, rent included.

St. Gallen $5,284
Cairo $1,037

A family of three spends $6,937 per month in St. Gallen vs $1,431 in Cairo, rent included.

St. Gallen $6,937
Cairo $1,431

St. Gallen costs about 464% more than Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

St. Gallen sits 171% above the global median, while Cairo is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.41 CHF 24.41

$4.69 E£245

527.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$145 CHF 121

$28.49 E£1,491

410.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$17.82 CHF 14.79

$6.03 E£315

195.52%

Cappuccino

$5.99 CHF 4.97

$1.81 E£94.7

230.94%

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

$5.81 CHF 4.83

$0.35 E£18.18

1560.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 CHF 4.42

$0.15 E£7.95

3453.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.23 CHF 7.66

$1.45 E£76.0

536.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.17 CHF 5.12

$2.24 E£117

175.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.23 CHF 1.85

$0.97 E£50.7

129.90%

White Bread (500g)

$3.18 CHF 2.64

$0.73 E£37.96

335.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.68 CHF 3.06

$0.77 E£40.24

377.92%

Eggs

$7.68 CHF 6.37

$1.17 E£61.2

556.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.41 CHF 21.09

$4.32 E£226

488.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.97 CHF 24.05

$5.07 E£265

471.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$38.85 CHF 32.25

$8.92 E£467

335.54%

Apples (1kg)

$3.16 CHF 2.62

$1.83 E£95.8

72.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 CHF 1.33

$0.75 E£39.07

114.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$0.57 E£29.78

305.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.01 CHF 4.99

$0.51 E£26.62

1078.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 CHF 1.41

$0.38 E£20.05

347.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.16 CHF 1.80

$0.42 E£21.88

414.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.16 CHF 1.79

$0.35 E£18.43

517.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 CHF 0.98

$0.24 E£12.57

391.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.65 CHF 8.84

$1.99 E£104

435.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 CHF 9.39

$7.48 E£391

51.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 CHF 1.81

$1.52 E£79.4

43.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 CHF 1.92

$2.13 E£112

8.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.17 CHF 3.46

$0.33 E£17.10

1163.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$128 CHF 106

$8.66 E£453

1381.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.64 CHF 5.51

$0.37 E£19.27

1694.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.79 CHF 3.98

$0.20 E£10.65

2295.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$77.3 CHF 64.2

$1.49 E£77.8

5089.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.22 CHF 1.84

$0.46 E£23.94

382.61%

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

$35.3K CHF 29.3K

$32.6K E£1.7M

8.25%

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

$39.5K CHF 32.7K

$28.4K E£1.5M

38.96%

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

$305 CHF 253

$27.54 E£1,441

1007.73%

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

$38.46 CHF 31.92

$8.27 E£432

365.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.2 CHF 44.95

$14.05 E£735

285.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.7 CHF 67.0

$28.27 E£1,479

185.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.70 E£350

Cinema Ticket

$30.32 CHF 25.16

$4.40 E£230

589.09%

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

$2,308 CHF 1,915

$121 E£6,356

1799.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$31.8K CHF 26.4K

$3,619 E£189.3K

777.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 CHF 122

$40.16 E£2,101

264.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.6 CHF 53.7

$49.61 E£2,596

30.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$147 CHF 122

$115 E£6,033

27.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$179 CHF 148

$60.6 E£3,170

194.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,734 CHF 1,439

$220 E£11.5K

688.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,698 CHF 1,410

$194 E£10.2K

774.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,854 CHF 2,369

$514 E£26.9K

455.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,153 CHF 1,787

$334 E£17.5K

545.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.1K CHF 10.0K

$806 E£42.2K

1397.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$9,070 CHF 7,528

$513 E£26.9K

1667.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,528 CHF 5,418

$200 E£10.5K

3160.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.1

16.21

-87.05%

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

Last update for St. Gallen: 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

St. Gallen

$1.7K 46%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 88.6% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

St. Gallen

$572 15.5%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 75.3% $431

Eating Out

St. Gallen

$464 12.6%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 80.4% $373

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Gallen

$398 10.8%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 87.5% $348

Clothing & Footwear

St. Gallen

$242 6.6%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 50.5% $122

Getting Around

St. Gallen

$176 4.8%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 93.5% $164

Sport & Entertainment

St. Gallen

$141 3.8%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 73.8% $104

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,734 in St. Gallen 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 3161% higher in St. Gallen, 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 $145 in St. Gallen versus $28.00 in Cairo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $572 vs $141 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 St. Gallen

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

06:55 6:55 AM

07:55 7:55 AM

1 h ahead of St. Gallen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,213

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.2 USD

1 CHF = 1.07 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.83 CHF (1 CHF = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 0.931 CHF (1 CHF = 1.07 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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Gallen Cairo 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

St. Gallen
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

St. Gallen vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – St. Gallen is pricier by about 464%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,447 per month in St. Gallen 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 305% more in St. Gallen, 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 $145 in St. Gallen 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 St. Gallen at $3,632. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Gallen 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.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, St. Gallen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.