Published: September 30, 2026 | Last updated: September 30, 2026
Key Facts
- Alexandria is the cheapest African city in Numbeo's 2026 index with rent included, scoring 13.4 against 100 for New York City, which makes it roughly 87% cheaper (Numbeo Cost of Living Index 2026)
- Egypt holds the top three spots: Alexandria (13.4), Giza (13.6) and Cairo (15.4) (Numbeo, January 2026)
- Giza has the lowest everyday costs excluding rent, at 20.9, while Alexandria's rent index of 3.1 is the lowest of the 22 African cities covered (Numbeo, January 2026)
- Egypt's urban inflation was 14.5% in August 2026, and actual rents were rising 28.1% year on year in July (CAPMAS, via Enterprise and Daily News Egypt)
- Rwanda's urban inflation hit 15.7% in August 2026, so Kigali's cheap reading is likely to change (NISR, via Rio Times)
| Rank | City | Cost of Living Plus Rent Index | Cost of Living Index (Excl. Rent) | Rent Index | Local Purchasing Power Index | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandria, Egypt | 13.4 | 21.6 | 3.1 | 19.0 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 2 | Giza, Egypt | 13.6 | 20.9 | 4.7 | 20.0 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 3 | Cairo, Egypt | 15.4 | 23.2 | 5.7 | 23.4 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 4 | Algiers, Algeria | 18.6 | 29.2 | 5.3 | 36.3 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 5 | Tunis, Tunisia | 19.9 | 30.7 | 6.5 | 37.8 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 6 | Kampala, Uganda | 20.5 | 27.6 | 11.7 | 18.7 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 7 | Kigali, Rwanda | 21.4 | 25.9 | 15.8 | 24.7 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 8 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | 21.9 | 28.8 | 13.3 | 25.0 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 9 | Marrakech, Morocco | 22.2 | 32.7 | 9.2 | 49.6 | Numbeo 2026 |
| 10 | Nairobi, Kenya | 22.7 | 32.0 | 11.1 | 35.3 | Numbeo 2026 |
Selected Details About Each City
1. Alexandria, Egypt
Cost of living plus rent 13.4. Alexandria has the lowest rent index (3.1) of all 22 cities, and local purchasing power of 19.0 is among the weakest in the top 10. The Egyptian pound slid from about 47.66 per dollar at the start of 2026 to roughly 50.7 by late July, which keeps costs low for anyone earning in dollars. Local prices are rising, though: urban inflation was 14.5% in August 2026, and actual rents rose 28.1% year on year in July.
2. Giza, Egypt
Cost of living plus rent 13.6. Giza has the lowest everyday costs excluding rent of any African city covered, at 20.9, and a groceries index of 20.4. Its rent index is 4.7. Like Alexandria and Cairo, it faces Egypt's rent pressures, which intensified after a law passed in 2025 let landlords raise rents.
3. Cairo, Egypt
Cost of living plus rent 15.4. Cairo costs more than its two Egyptian peers, with a rent index of 5.7 and a cost of living index of 23.2. It has the strongest local purchasing power of the three, at 23.4. Egypt's urban inflation eased from 14.9% in July to 14.5% in August.
4. Algiers, Algeria
Cost of living plus rent 18.6. Rent (5.3) and restaurant prices (18.3) are low, but groceries are not cheap, at 35.8. Algeria's inflation eased to 1.7% over the first nine months of 2025, helped by a stable exchange rate, according to the World Bank. Local purchasing power of 36.3 is among the stronger readings in the top 10.
5. Tunis, Tunisia
Cost of living plus rent 19.9. Restaurant prices are low at 19.4, rent is 6.5, and local purchasing power of 37.8 is the second highest of the ten. Tunisia's inflation rose to 5.4% in August 2026. Freely priced food rose 8.5% year on year, compared with only 0.2% for regulated-price food, so price controls are doing much of the work.
6. Kampala, Uganda
Cost of living plus rent 20.5. Groceries score 29.4 and rent 11.7, while local purchasing power of 18.7 is the lowest in the top 10. Uganda's inflation rose to 4.1% in August 2026, the highest in over three years, with energy, fuel and utilities up 14.3%.
7. Kigali, Rwanda
Cost of living plus rent 21.4. Kigali has the highest rent index (15.8) in the top 10, but cheap groceries (24.3). Its reading predates the inflation surge: urban prices rose 15.7% in August 2026, up from 14.5% in July, with energy up 45.4% and transport up 24.2%. The National Bank of Rwanda raised its policy rate to 8.75% on August 26, so Kigali is likely to drift up the cost ranking.
8. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Cost of living plus rent 21.9. Groceries score 28.0, rent 13.3 and restaurants 23.0. Tanzania's inflation ran at 3.2% in February 2026, among the lower rates in East Africa. Local purchasing power is 25.0.
9. Marrakech, Morocco
Cost of living plus rent 22.2. Marrakech is the best value for local earners among the ten, with a purchasing power index of 49.6, close to double that of most others. Rent (9.2) is low, but groceries (32.5) and restaurants (30.5) are mid-range. Morocco raised its monthly minimum wage 12.41% in January 2026.
10. Nairobi, Kenya
Cost of living plus rent 22.7. Rent is 11.1, groceries 33.5, restaurants 30.3, and local purchasing power 35.3. Kenya's annual inflation rose to 6.6% in August 2026, driven by transport, food, and housing and fuel costs.
Quick Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About this Topic
What is the cheapest city in Africa to live in?
Alexandria, with a cost of living plus rent index of 13.4. Giza has the lowest everyday costs excluding rent (20.9), and Cairo follows. The three Egyptian cities make up the entire top three.
Why aren't Lagos and Tripoli on the list?
Numbeo's 2026 table doesn't include them. In 2025 Tripoli scored 13.7 with rent and Lagos 27.8, so Tripoli would have ranked near the top. Leaving a city out of Numbeo's table reflects data coverage, not a judgement on its cost.
Does a cheap city mean an affordable city for local people?
No. In all ten cities, the purchasing power index is below 50, meaning local wages buy far less than in New York. Marrakech (49.6), Tunis (37.8) and Algiers (36.3) are best for locals. Kampala (18.7) and Alexandria (19.0) are the weakest.
Why do other rankings put different cities first?
Mercer's 2025 ranking put Windhoek as Africa's cheapest place to live, with Tunis second. Mercer compares the cost of a typical expatriate's goods and services, while Numbeo uses crowdsourced local prices, so they weigh different baskets. Windhoek scores 27.5 on Numbeo's measure, outside the top 10.
Are the cheapest cities getting more expensive?
Several are. Inflation is 15.7% in Rwanda and 14.5% in Egypt, and it is 6.6% in Kenya, 5.4% in Tunisia and 4.1% in Uganda, which is above recent norms. Algeria's inflation was much lower in 2025, at 1.7% over the first nine months.
Data Sources
- Numbeo, "Africa: Cost of Living Index by City 2026" (January 2026 edition). Pulled September 30, 2026. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/region_rankings.jsp?title=2026®ion=002
- Numbeo, "Africa: Cost of Living Index by City 2025." https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/region_rankings.jsp?title=2025®ion=002
- AllAfrica, "Namibia Ranks 3rd in Southern Africa's Mid-Year Cost of Living Index" (Numbeo baseline and methodology). https://allafrica.com/stories/202507040527.html
Methodology
This ranking orders African cities by Numbeo's "Cost of Living Plus Rent Index" in its 2026 edition, published in January 2026. Numbeo is a crowdsourced database that compares prices for groceries, restaurants, transport, utilities and rent against New York City, set at 100. It is not an official statistics source, and entries depend on how many people contribute data for each city. The 2026 table covers 22 African cities, so many (including Lagos, Tripoli, Lusaka and Mombasa) cannot be ranked. Ranking by the everyday cost of living index excluding rent gives the same ten cities in a different order, led by Giza (20.9), Alexandria (21.6) and Cairo (23.2). Numbeo also publishes a mid-year 2026 edition that we could not retrieve, and a rolling "current" index, so figures may differ.
