Cost of Living in Cairo 2026: What Foreigners Actually Spend

EGYPT · EXPAT GUIDE

Everything except housing and schooling costs very little here in dollar terms. That is the whole story, and it is why published averages are so misleading.

Cairo is cheap in dollars and getting less so in pounds. Both statements are true and the gap between them is what confuses new arrivals.

The central bank rate was 51.31 pounds to the dollar on 13 September 2026. Note that Friday and Saturday are the banking weekend, so no new rate is set then.

The currency has not been stable this year. It traded at 46.68 to the dollar in mid-February and 54.69 in early April, a swing of about 17 percent.

The cause was an oil shock in the first half of the year that pushed Brent crude above US$100. Everything else in this guide follows from that.

There is no meaningful parallel market premium in 2026. Market feeds sit inside the official spread, which was not true three years ago.

Inflation, and Where It Bites

Urban prices rose 14.5 percent in the year to August 2026. Core inflation was 14.9 percent, which means it now runs above the headline.

The composition matters more than the number. Food and drink rose only 6.3 percent and actually fell month on month.

Housing and utilities rose at roughly three times the headline rate. Subsidy reform, not the weekly shop, is what a foreign resident feels.

Interest rates were held for a fifth consecutive meeting on 20 August, at 19 percent on deposits and 20 percent on lending. Cuts are not expected before 2027.

Rent, With a Health Warning

This is the weakest data in any guide to Cairo and it is worth saying so. There is no authoritative published series for furnished rents in foreign districts.

Crowdsourced figures put a one-bedroom flat in the centre near US$222 a month and a three-bedroom near US$538. Asking prices for two-bedroom flats cluster around US$389 to US$613 depending on the district.

New Cairo sits at the top of that range and the western suburbs below it. Those are unfurnished asking prices, not what an agent will quote a foreigner.

The furnished expat market in Maadi and Zamalek is separate, agent-mediated and materially more expensive. Budget above every published figure and negotiate.

The Old Rent Law

Egypt reformed its Nasser-era rent control in 2025, and the reform is often misdescribed. There are two laws on two different timetables.

The residential law took effect in August 2025. It multiplies frozen rents by twenty in areas classified as distinguished and by ten elsewhere.

Those rents then rise 15 percent a year, and the first such increase landed this month. Residential tenancies end after seven years and commercial ones after five.

A separate 2022 law covers leases held by companies and institutions. Those expire in March 2027.

None of this affects a foreigner arriving now. Old-rent tenancies are legacy family arrangements, and a new lease is a free-market contract.

Utilities

Electricity rose twice in 2026, in April and again in August. The regulator’s published table still shows the April bands.

Under the August rates, a flat using 400 units a month pays about 612 pounds, some US$12. At 800 units that becomes 1,945 pounds, roughly US$38.

A villa running heavy air conditioning at 1,800 units pays about 4,972 pounds, near US$97. Those are real bills rather than averages.

The band structure has a trap in it. Cross 650 units in a month and every unit you used is repriced at the higher flat rate, not just the excess.

Crowdsourced figures put all-in utilities for a mid-sized flat near US$27 to US$31 a month. Home internet runs from about US$8 to US$14.

A rumoured 35 percent rise in internet and mobile prices was denied by the regulator in August. Bottled cooking gas costs 275 pounds for a large cylinder, about US$5.35.

Food and Eating Out

Groceries are the cheapest part of life here. A litre of milk is about 95 cents and a dozen eggs about US$1.23.

Chicken breast runs near US$5.06 a kilo and beef near US$9.36. Rice and tomatoes are well under a dollar a kilo.

A meal at an inexpensive restaurant costs around 250 pounds, about US$4.87. Dinner for two at a mid-range place runs near 1,550 pounds, some US$30.

One correction worth making. The subsidised bread price did not change in 2025 or 2026, despite what many guides say.

What is changing is the mechanism. The in-kind bread subsidy is being converted to a cash transfer on a unified card, which does not affect foreign residents directly.

Getting Around

The metro raised fares on 27 March 2026 and they remain very low. A trip of up to nine stations costs ten pounds, about 19 cents.

Up to sixteen stations costs twelve pounds and longer trips cost fifteen or twenty. Fares are set by the number of stations, not by zone.

Petrol rose on 10 March 2026. Ninety-five octane is 24 pounds a litre, some 47 cents, and diesel is 20.50 pounds or about 40 cents.

Treat any government pledge on fuel prices with scepticism. A promise of no increases until October 2026 was made in December and broken in March.

What This Adds Up To

Outside rent and schooling, Cairo is among the cheapest large capitals in the world in dollar terms. That is the honest headline.

A single person living frugally can manage on roughly US$600 to US$900 a month. A comfortable single budget runs nearer US$1,400 to US$2,200.

A family of four needs roughly US$1,300 to US$1,900 frugally, or US$3,000 to US$4,500 comfortably. School fees sit entirely on top of those figures.

Those ranges are an editorial estimate built from the verified components above. The uncertainty in them is almost entirely rent.

International school fees are the one cost nobody will tell you in advance. The main schools publish no current figures and answer by enquiry form only.

At least one large school appears to price in sterling rather than pounds or dollars. Get a written fee schedule before you commit to a move.

The Wider Picture

The support programme with the International Monetary Fund is live and on track. A seventh review was approved on 30 July 2026, releasing about US$1.774 billion.

The stated policy direction is the full removal of fuel subsidies. Expect further increases whatever the current assurance happens to be.

For scale, the national minimum wage is 8,000 pounds a month, about US$156. That is the gap between foreign and local purchasing power in a single figure.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a foreigner need to live in Cairo?

Roughly US$1,400 to US$2,200 a month for a comfortable single life, and US$3,000 to US$4,500 for a family of four before school fees.

What is the exchange rate?

About 51.31 pounds to the dollar on 13 September 2026. The currency ranged between 46.68 and 54.69 during the year.

Is rent expensive?

Published figures put two-bedroom asking rents between about US$389 and US$613, but the furnished market aimed at foreigners costs more.

What do utilities cost?

About US$12 a month for a modest flat and up to US$97 for a villa running heavy air conditioning. Electricity rose twice in 2026.

Is public transport cheap?

Very. A metro trip of up to nine stations costs about 19 cents, with fares set by station count rather than zone.

Sources: Central Bank of Egypt, CAPMAS, EgyptERA, Ministry of Petroleum, Law 164 of 2025, International Monetary Fund, Numbeo, Expatistan.

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