Algeria is cheap in US dollars, but how cheap depends on which of its two exchange rates you use. At the official rate of 135.91 dinars per US dollar (Banque d’Algérie, the central bank, as relayed for 4 November 2026), a median two-room flat in Algiers, the capital, asks about 60,000 dinars (US$442 at our 135.74 conversion rate, based on RT market data) a month.
Key Facts
—Rent. Median asking rent in Algiers is 60,000 dinars (US$442) for two rooms, 97,500 (US$718) for three.
—Money. Official rate 135.91 dinars per US$; informal street rate 243 to 246, about 79% to 81% higher.
—Fuel. Petrol costs 47 dinars a litre (US$0.35) and diesel 31 (US$0.23) since 1 January 2026.
—Pay. The legal minimum wage is 24,000 dinars a month (US$177) gross, since 1 January 2026.
Two Exchange Rates, One Big Gap
The Banque d’Algérie rate on Wednesday 4 November 2026, as relayed by Algerian media, was 135.91 dinars per US dollar and 152.07 per euro. The market rate on 10 November was about 135.7 per dollar (RT, a market-data provider), so we convert every dinar amount in this guide at 135.74.
At the Square Port-Saïd, Algiers’s best-known street money market, dealers bought dollars at 243 dinars and sold them at 246 on the same day. They paid 276 for euros and sold them at 278, roughly 79% to 81% (dollars) and 81% to 83% (euros) above the official rates.
One Algerian outlet explains the gap this way: the dinar is not freely convertible and banks ration access to foreign currency. It says much of the demand for travel, study abroad and imports therefore moves to the street market.
The difference changes the maths of daily life. A 60,000-dinar rent is US$442 at the official rate but only about US$244 at 246 dinars per dollar.
Rent in Algiers, Oran and Constantine
On 22 October 2026 a review of 500 listings on Ouedkniss, Algeria’s main classifieds site, gave median asking rents in Algiers of 60,000 dinars (US$442) for a two-room flat and 97,500 (US$718) for three rooms. These are asking prices, not rents actually paid.
The capital splits sharply, between its wealthy hilltop districts and the rest. In Hydra, El Biar, Ben Aknoun, Dely Brahim, Bir Mourad Raïs and Chéraga a three-room flat asks about 190,000 dinars (US$1,400), against 70,000 to 80,000 (US$516 to US$589) elsewhere in the city, depending on how the listings are grouped.
For Oran and Constantine we found no survey with a stated method. One guide puts a three-room flat at 20,000 to 80,000 dinars (US$147 to US$589) in Oran and 18,000 to 40,000 (US$133 to US$295) in Constantine, but its own tables disagree, so treat both ranges as unconfirmed.
Food, Fuel and Transport
Mutton stood at 3,000 dinars a kilo (US$22.10) in Algiers in August 2026, against 2,500 (US$18.42) a year earlier. That figure is from the national statistics office’s August bulletin as relayed by Algerian media, and we could not open the bulletin itself.
Some staples are price-controlled. A joint ministerial order of 6 April 2025 set subsidised milk in sachets at 25 dinars a litre (US$0.18); we found no later change.
Fuel is heavily subsidised, with petrol at 47 dinars a litre (US$0.35), diesel at 31 (US$0.23) and LPG, the liquefied gas many cars run on, at 12 (US$0.09) since 1 January 2026. The earlier prices were 45.62 (US$0.34), 29.01 (US$0.21) and 9 (US$0.07).
Article 218 of the draft 2027 budget law, adopted by the Council of Ministers, Algeria’s cabinet, on 4 October 2026, says fuel prices may be revised “in case of need, by the parties concerned”. It sets no new price and no date, and parliament has not yet voted.
Utilities and Healthcare
We could not confirm current household tariffs for electricity, gas, water or internet. One living-cost guide estimates 20 to 40 euros a month for electricity, water and gas (about US$22 to US$45) and 10 to 20 euros for internet and mobile (about US$11 to US$22), but its components do not add up to its own totals.
A July 2023 health ministry order reportedly set a fee of 800 dinars (US$5.89) for a general consultation for foreigners at public hospitals. A diaspora guide dated May 2026 puts private consultations at 2,000 to 6,000 dinars (US$15 to US$44); neither figure is confirmed against the order or a clinic price list.
Monthly Budgets for a Single Expat and a Family
A single expat renting a two-room flat at the Algiers median pays 60,000 dinars (US$442). One living-cost guide estimates 300 to 450 euros (about US$336 to US$504 at the official cross rate) for everything except rent, which at its own 145 dinars per euro is 43,500 to 65,250 dinars (US$320 to US$481), giving roughly 103,500 to 125,250 dinars (US$762 to US$923) a month.
Treat that as an indicative range, not a measured budget. The guide’s estimate is unsourced and internally inconsistent.
For a family we publish rent anchors only: a three-room flat asks 97,500 dinars (US$718) in Algiers and about 190,000 (US$1,400) in the hilltop districts. We found no reliable family spending data for food, schooling or transport.
For scale, the minimum wage is 24,000 dinars a month (US$177) gross, set by presidential decree no. 26-01 and in force since 1 January 2026. The previous level was 20,000 dinars (US$147).
What It Means for US Readers
A US visitor’s costs depend on which rate applies to the dinars they spend. At the official 135.91 per dollar the dollar prices in this guide hold, while at the street rate of about 246 the same rent would look about 45% cheaper.
Prices are also moving. The statistics office’s August bulletin is reported to show consumer prices 8.01% above August 2025 nationally and 8.27% in Algiers, though we could not open the bulletin itself.
Readers weighing a move should read our guides to Algeria’s politics, gas and economy and who runs the economy. The dependence on gas exports and the country’s population explain why subsidies and prices matter so much.
What Is Not Known
We could not confirm Algiers metro fares, household utility tariffs, Oran and Constantine rents, or any family spending data. We also could not open the Banque d’Algérie and statistics-office websites from our servers, so the exchange rates and price figures above rest on published quotations and bulletins relayed in the Algerian press.
It is also unclear whether and how a foreign resident can legally obtain dinars at a rate better than the official one. Nor is it known whether fuel prices will rise in 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to live in Algeria per month?
A single person renting a two-room flat in Algiers needs roughly 103,500 to 125,250 dinars (US$762 to US$923) a month. That range is indicative and not confirmed.
What is the exchange rate for the Algerian dinar?
The Banque d’Algérie rate on 4 November 2026, as relayed by Algerian media, was 135.91 dinars per US dollar. Street dealers in Algiers sold dollars at 246, about 81% higher.
How much is rent in Algiers?
The median asking rent on 22 October 2026 was 60,000 dinars (US$442) for two rooms and 97,500 (US$718) for three. The six hilltop districts ask about 190,000 (US$1,400) for three rooms.
Is petrol cheap in Algeria?
Petrol costs 47 dinars a litre (US$0.35) and diesel 31 (US$0.23) since 1 January 2026. The draft 2027 budget law allows a future revision but sets no price.
Sources
Banque d’Algérie exchange rates of 4 November 2026, as relayed by Algerian media · National Statistics Office (ONS) consumer price bulletin, August 2026, as relayed by Algerian media · Presidential decree no. 26-01 on the minimum wage, published in the Journal Officiel, Algeria’s official gazette · Review of 500 Ouedkniss listings, 22 October 2026, Ouedkniss · Draft 2027 finance law, article 218 · Market data: RT, 10 November 2026
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