---
title: "Cost of Living: Shanghai vs Cairo — Geo-Parity"
description: "Egypt is 74% cheaper than China for monthly essentials ($259 vs $981). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-egypt/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=EG"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · CN vs EG

# 🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇪🇬 Cairo: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$981** in China vs **$259** in Egypt — 74% cheaper.

- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Essentials, Egypt**: $259/mo
- **Difference**: -74%
- **1-bed city rent, Egypt**: $131/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Egypt

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -79%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -79%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -79%

Closest to China prices

- Jeans (mid-range brand): -36%
- Running shoes (brand): -36%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -36%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | China | Egypt | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $628 | $131 (6,449 EGP) | -79% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $502 | $105 (5,160 EGP) | -79% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,149 | $240 (11,793 EGP) | -79% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.05 | $2.35 (116 EGP) | -71% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $33.53 | $9.78 (481 EGP) | -71% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $5.29 | $1.73 (85 EGP) | -67% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.61 | $0.25 (12 EGP) | -59% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.78 | $0.73 (36 EGP) | -59% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.89 | $0.77 (38 EGP) | -59% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.57 | $2.27 (112 EGP) | -59% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.23 | $0.91 (45 EGP) | -59% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.67 | $1.09 (54 EGP) | -59% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.68 | $2.73 (134 EGP) | -59% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.11 | $0.45 (22 EGP) | -59% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.68 | $0.78 (38 EGP) | -71% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.97 | $3.81 (188 EGP) | -36% |
| Cappuccino | $2.24 | $0.65 (32 EGP) | -71% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.28 | $0.52 (26 EGP) | -59% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $31.27 | $10.21 (503 EGP) | -67% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.32 | $0.43 (21 EGP) | -67% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.79 | $0.52 (26 EGP) | -71% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.80 | $0.23 (11 EGP) | -71% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.71 | $0.45 (22 EGP) | -37% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $96.20 | $31.40 (1,546 EGP) | -67% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $33.67 | $10.99 (541 EGP) | -67% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $21.65 | $7.07 (348 EGP) | -67% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $22.35 | $6.52 (321 EGP) | -71% |
| Cinema seat | $6.26 | $1.83 (90 EGP) | -71% |
| Men's haircut | $13.41 | $3.91 (192 EGP) | -71% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.04 | $26.23 (1,291 EGP) | -36% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $67.16 | $42.91 (2,112 EGP) | -36% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $112 | $32.62 (1,606 EGP) | -71% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=CN&target=EG).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **6,990 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇨🇳 China | 🇪🇬 Egypt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $767 | $291 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $246 | $81.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Shanghai and Cairo. | 77 | 117 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.9 (low) | 5.1 (high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 6 | 15 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 32.1 | 53.6 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78 | 71.8 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 91.6% | 74.6% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 31.4 | 27 |

## The whole China → Egypt move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the China → Egypt report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/china-to-egypt/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Egypt vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/egypt-vs-china/)
- [Fair salary: China → Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/salary/china-to-egypt/)
- [How much to retire in Egypt?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/egypt/)
- [Cost of living in Egypt vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/egypt/)

## More comparisons

### China compared with

- [China vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-nigeria/)
- [China vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-india/)
- [China vs Indonesia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-indonesia/)
- [China vs Vietnam](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-vietnam/)
- [China vs Thailand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-thailand/)
- [China vs Malaysia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-malaysia/)

### Moving to Egypt from

- [Chile vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-egypt/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-egypt/)
- [Argentina vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-egypt/)
- [Brazil vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-egypt/)
- [Poland vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-egypt/)
- [Hungary vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/hungary-vs-egypt/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Egypt than China?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $259 in Egypt versus $981 in China — 74% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Egypt?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $0.78 in Egypt (≈ 38.4 EGP), versus about $2.68 in China.
- **How much is rent in Egypt compared to China?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $131/month in Egypt versus $628/month in China (-79%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=EG.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-egypt/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=EG