Many developer offers put two prices in front of you: one for cash and a higher one for installments, or two plans of different lengths. On plan length, businessman Naguib Sawiris said in September 2025, according to Egypt Independent, that developers had stretched installment plans to up to 12 years, and he argued that long plans raise the total price considerably. The question that matters to you is which offer is actually cheaper. Answering it takes two steps.
The formula
Step 1: total paid
This tells you how many pounds you will pay, but not when. A pound you pay eight years from now is not the same as a pound you pay today, because money that stays with you can be invested or can save you from borrowing.
Step 2: present value and the implied yearly cost
Turn every future payment into what it is worth today, using a yearly rate r that you choose, such as the return your money could earn elsewhere.
When the installments are equal, this shortens to:
The implied yearly cost of an installment plan is the value of r that makes the plan's present value exactly equal to the cash price. In Excel or Google Sheets:
This assumes the down payment is paid at signing and the first installment falls one full period later.
Illustrative example with hypothetical numbers: cash vs installments
A unit costs EGP 3,000,000 in cash, or EGP 4,000,000 on installments: a 10% down payment (400,000), and the remaining 3,600,000 over 8 years in quarterly installments, which is 32 payments of EGP 112,500.
| Measure | Cash | Installments |
|---|---|---|
| Total paid | 3,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Present value at 10% a year | 3,000,000 | about 2,888,956 |
| Present value at 20% a year | 3,000,000 | about 2,251,310 |
On total paid, the installment plan looks EGP 1,000,000 (about 33%) more expensive. At 10% a year, though, its present value is below the cash price. The implied yearly cost here is about 8.7%. If the rate you use is above 8.7%, the installment plan is cheaper in today's money; if it is below, cash is cheaper.
Which rate should you use? That is your call, and it depends on what your money could really earn or what borrowing would cost you. As a general reference for the cost of money in Egypt, the Central Bank of Egypt kept its overnight deposit rate at 19% in July 2026, according to Business Today Egypt. Check the current rate on the Central Bank of Egypt website, and keep in mind that the return you personally get may differ.
Variation: a short plan vs a long plan
The same unit on two plans, both with quarterly installments:
- Plan A: price 4,000,000, 20% down (800,000), the rest over 5 years, 20 installments of 160,000.
- Plan B: price 4,400,000, 10% down (440,000), the rest over 8 years, 32 installments of 123,750.
| Measure | Plan A | Plan B |
|---|---|---|
| Total paid (0% rate) | 4,000,000 | 4,400,000 |
| Present value at 10% a year | about 3,315,276 | about 3,177,852 |
| Present value at 20% a year | about 2,852,092 | about 2,476,441 |
Plan B costs EGP 400,000 more in total, yet it is cheaper in today's money at 10% or 20%. In this example the two plans break even at about 6.6% a year: below that the short plan wins, above it the long plan does. Plan A also needs EGP 360,000 more upfront, which can settle the matter for a buyer without that cash.
Common mistakes
- Comparing the installment alone. A smaller installment can hide a longer plan and a bigger total.
- Comparing total paid alone, which makes every long plan look more expensive whatever its terms.
- Dividing the price difference by the number of years and calling it "yearly interest". A 33% difference over 8 years is not about 4% a year, because the balance falls with every installment.
- Including the maintenance deposit and other charges in one plan but not the other.
- Forgetting that a long plan is a longer commitment. A legal study reported by Masrawy in September 2026 noted that new launches in the same project with lower down payments and longer plans can make resale harder for early buyers.
What to ask the developer before trusting the comparison
- Is the cash price paid in full at signing, or in payments over a few months? If the latter, treat it as a short plan and work out its present value.
- Is the maintenance deposit the same under both plans, and which price is it based on?
- Does the long plan include a delivery payment or extra annual payments?
- When is the first installment due? A three-month delay changes the present value.
- Is the discount on offer before or after the down payment? The down payment and installments guide shows why it matters.
Frequently asked questions
Is cash always cheaper?
In total pounds, yes, if the installment price is higher than the cash price, as in the example. In today's money it depends on your rate: if it is above the installment plan's implied yearly cost, the installment plan is cheaper in present value.
What does implied yearly cost mean, in plain terms?
It is the interest rate hidden in the gap between the cash price and the installment price. If you borrowed the cash price minus the down payment and repaid it with the developer's installments, this is the yearly rate you would be paying.
Do I need special software?
No. A spreadsheet with the RATE function is enough. Enter the number of installments, the installment amount and the cash price minus the down payment, then convert the result to a yearly rate with the formula above.
Does CalcRealty compare two plans side by side?
No. Run each plan separately in the payment plan calculator, save each calculation, note the total and the schedule, then do the present-value step in a spreadsheet.
What if the installments are not equal?
Discount each payment on its own with the present-value formula and add them up, or use the NPV function in a spreadsheet and add the down payment. The idea is the same: each payment is discounted by how far away it is.
Run the numbers
Run each plan through the payment plan calculator in the CalcRealty app to get the down payment, the installments and a full schedule with the date, amount and percentage of every payment. Save both calculations or export them as PDFs, then compare them with the formula above. Get CalcRealty on Google Play.
Before you compare, read the guide to the total cost of owning a unit, and the guide to the area you are considering, such as Sheikh Zayed and 6th of October or the North Coast.
Results are planning estimates; the developer contract sets the final amounts.