NavoyNostos

Cairo vs El Gouna

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights El Gouna edges it, 51 to 47, winning 5 of the 9 factors. Cairo is stronger on nothing outright; El Gouna on climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 7.5 of 47 points (scores 68/100)Safety: 5.2 of 47 points (scores 47/100)Healthcare: 6.6 of 47 points (scores 60/100)Internet: 4.7 of 47 points (scores 42/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 47 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 7.0 of 47 points (scores 63/100)Climate: 5.6 of 47 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 1.5 of 47 points (scores 14/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 47 points (scores 49/100)47
Cairo
out of 100

Millennia of history in an overwhelming metropolis

Full Cairo profile →Where to stay in Cairo →
Cost of living: 8.2 of 51 points (scores 74/100)Safety: 5.2 of 51 points (scores 47/100)Healthcare: 6.6 of 51 points (scores 60/100)Internet: 4.9 of 51 points (scores 44/100)Visa ease: 3.8 of 51 points (scores 34/100)Getting there & around: 7.1 of 51 points (scores 64/100)Climate: 7.4 of 51 points (scores 67/100)Air quality: 2.3 of 51 points (scores 21/100)Quality of life: 5.4 of 51 points (scores 49/100)51
El Gouna
out of 100

Private planned Red Sea town north of Hurghada with lagoons, kitesurfing and coworking

Full El Gouna profile →Where to stay in El Gouna →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Cost of living6874 ✓
Safety4747
Healthcare6060
Internet4244 ✓
Visa ease3434
Getting there & around6364 ✓
Climate5067 ✓
Air quality1421 ✓
Quality of life4949

Cost

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$820$700 ✓
Central one-bedroom rent$311no data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Homicides per 100k4.24.2
Political stability (0–100)5050
UHC service coverage (0–100)7171
Life expectancy69.1 yrs69.1 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Download10.6 Mbps12.1 Mbps ✓
Upload1.6 Mbps1.6 Mbps

Visa

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, EU passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival
Entry, UK passportvisa on arrivalvisa on arrival

Getting there and around

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Non-stop airport destinations123 ✓82
Walkability (1–5, editorial)23 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)33

Climate and air

MetricCairoEl Gouna
Comfortable months per year68 ✓
Annual mean PM2.543.9 µg/m³40.7 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Cairo or El Gouna?
El Gouna is cheaper: about $700 per month versus $820 for one person.
Is Cairo or El Gouna safer?
Cairo scores higher on safety (47 vs 47), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Cairo or El Gouna?
El Gouna: a measured median of 12.1 Mbps versus 10.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.10.7. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.