Cost of living in Bulgaria
Are you moving to Bulgaria? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Bulgaria of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
| Food | ||
|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | 12 лв | |
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (Big Mac Meal or similar) | 9 лв | |
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | 4.95 лв | |
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | 2.04 лв | |
| 12 eggs, large | 4.01 лв | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | 2.74 лв | |
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | 6 лв | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | 2.15 лв | |
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | 1.09 лв | |
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | 1.17 лв | |
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | 11 лв | |
| 2 liters of Coca-Cola | 2.27 лв | |
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | 0.88 лв | |
| Housing | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in EXPENSIVE area | 942 лв | |
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 Sqft) furnished accommodation in NORMAL area | 634 лв | |
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | 154 лв | |
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in EXPENSIVE area | 613 лв | |
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 Sqft) furnished studio in NORMAL area | 413 лв | |
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 Sqft) studio | 102 лв | |
| Internet 8 Mbps (1 month) | 15 лв | |
| 40” flat screen TV | 687 лв | |
| Microwave 800/900 Watt (Bosch, Panasonic, LG, Sharp, or equivalent brands) | 162 лв | |
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | 14 лв | |
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | 11 лв | |
| Clothes | ||
| 1 pair of jeans (Levis 501 or similar) | 92 лв | |
| 1 summer dress in a High Street Store (Zara, H&M or similar retailers) | 58 лв | |
| 1 pair of sport shoes (Nike, Adidas, or equivalent brands) | 157 лв | |
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | 153 лв | |
| Transportation | ||
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 150 CV (or equivalent), with no extras, new | 37,967 лв | |
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | 2.17 лв | |
| Monthly ticket public transport | 48 лв | |
| Personal Care | ||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (Tylenol, Frenadol, Coldrex, or equivalent brands) | 9 лв | |
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | 20 лв | |
| Short visit to private Doctor (15 minutes) | 38 лв | |
| 1 box of 32 tampons (Tampax, OB, ...) | 6 лв | |
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | 5.46 лв | |
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | 5.45 лв | |
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | 2.48 лв | |
| Tube of toothpaste | 3.19 лв | |
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | 13 лв | |
| Entertainment | ||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | 34 лв | |
| 2 tickets to the movies | 22 лв | |
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | 54 лв | |
| Dinner for two at an Italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | 67 лв | |
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | 9 лв | |
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | 3.49 лв | |
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | 2.91 лв | |
| iPad Wi-Fi 128GB | 962 лв | |
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | 0.35 лв | |
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | 58 лв | |
| 1 package of Marlboro cigarettes | 5.64 лв | |
Map of Cost of Living in Bulgaria
This map shows only the top cities in Bulgaria. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan.
The color of each marker corresponds with the Cost of Living in the city. Red markers show more expensive cities, green ones show cheaper cities.
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in Bulgaria
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sofia | 81 |
| 2nd | Vratsa | 80 |
| 3rd | Varna | 76 |
| 4th | Plovdiv | 71 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to Bulgaria? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in Bulgaria of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Sofia is 52% cheaper than in The Hague
- Cost of living in Varna is 51% cheaper than in Norwich
- Cost of living in Sofia is 44% cheaper than in Manchester
- Cost of living in Sofia is 12% cheaper than in Budapest
- Cost of living in Sofia is 16% cheaper than in Moscow
- Cost of living in Sofia is 26% more expensive than in Kiev
- Cost of living in Sofia is 44% cheaper than in St. Louis, Missouri
- Cost of living in Plovdiv is 42% cheaper than in Greenville, South Carolina
- Cost of living in Burgas is 35% cheaper than in Logroño
- Cost of living in Stara Zagora is 57% cheaper than in Luxembourg
- Cost of living in Burgas is 50% cheaper than in Florence
- Cost of living in Sofia is 33% cheaper than in Greenville, South Carolina
- Cost of living in Sofia is 23% more expensive than in Istanbul
- Cost of living in Sofia is about the same as in Bucharest
- Cost of living in Sofia is 23% cheaper than in Douala
- Cost of living in Sofia is 57% cheaper than in Tokyo
- Cost of living in Sofia is 64% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Burgas is 6% cheaper than in Timisoara
- Cost of living in Sofia is 43% cheaper than in Leeds
- Cost of living in Sofia is 46% cheaper than in Berlin
Compare other countries
Recent Prices Added
- Monthly rent - 85 m2 furnished accommodation in expensive area in Sofia costs 800 лв (about 21 hours ago)
- 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) in Sofia costs 0.40 лв (5 days ago)
- Internet connection 300 mbps, 1 month in Sofia costs 20 лв (5 days ago)
- Furnished accommodation in normal area, monthly rent - 85 m2 in Sofia costs 500 лв (5 days ago)
- Monthly rent - 85 m2 furnished accommodation in expensive area in Sofia costs 800 лв (5 days ago)
- 1 kg of rice in Sofia costs 2.80 лв (5 days ago)
- 1 kg of bread in Sofia costs 0.38 лв (5 days ago)
- 2 liters of coca-cola in Sofia costs 2.00 лв (5 days ago)
- 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality in Sofia costs 8 лв (5 days ago)
- 500 ml domestic beer in the supermarket in Sofia costs 1.50 лв (5 days ago)