Cost of Living in Bulgaria - Updated Prices & Insights

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $677 (excluding rent), and $1,173 including rent.
Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $1,727 (excluding rent), and $2,426 including rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cost
Range
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.75 BGN 19.04
$7.05 BGN 11.42
$17.63 BGN 28.56
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$47.45 BGN 76.9
$29.66 BGN 48.04
$71.2 BGN 115
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.64 BGN 13.99
$7.48 BGN 12.12
$10.36 BGN 16.79
Cappuccino
$2.35 BGN 3.80
$1.21 BGN 1.96
$3.44 BGN 5.58
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.52 BGN 2.46
$1.09 BGN 1.77
$2.29 BGN 3.71
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.03 BGN 1.68
$0.58 BGN 0.93
$1.73 BGN 2.80
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.32 BGN 3.77
$1.16 BGN 1.88
$3.49 BGN 5.65
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.90 BGN 4.69
$2.02 BGN 3.28
$4.05 BGN 6.57
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cost
Range
Milk (1 liter)
$1.86 BGN 3.02
$1.45 BGN 2.35
$2.20 BGN 3.56
White Bread (500g)
$1.02 BGN 1.66
$0.65 BGN 1.05
$1.74 BGN 2.82
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.08 BGN 3.36
$1.15 BGN 1.86
$2.88 BGN 4.66
Eggs
$3.49 BGN 5.66
$2.15 BGN 3.48
$4.31 BGN 6.97
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.98 BGN 17.78
$6.99 BGN 11.32
$17.47 BGN 28.30
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.23 BGN 13.33
$4.86 BGN 7.87
$10.92 BGN 17.70
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.43 BGN 20.14
$7.21 BGN 11.69
$18.04 BGN 29.22
Apples (1kg)
$1.65 BGN 2.67
$1.08 BGN 1.75
$2.32 BGN 3.76
Banana (1kg)
$1.94 BGN 3.14
$1.25 BGN 2.03
$2.74 BGN 4.43
Oranges (1kg)
$1.85 BGN 3.00
$1.19 BGN 1.92
$2.97 BGN 4.81
Tomato (1kg)
$2.58 BGN 4.18
$1.48 BGN 2.40
$3.57 BGN 5.78
Potato (1kg)
$1.14 BGN 1.85
$0.61 BGN 0.98
$1.82 BGN 2.95
Onion (1kg)
$1.10 BGN 1.78
$0.60 BGN 0.97
$1.81 BGN 2.92
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.05 BGN 1.70
$0.57 BGN 0.93
$1.72 BGN 2.79
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.73 BGN 1.18
$0.52 BGN 0.84
$1.23 BGN 1.99
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.68 BGN 5.96
$3.47 BGN 5.63
$4.05 BGN 6.57
Wine (Bottle)
$7.09 BGN 11.48
$4.72 BGN 7.65
$11.80 BGN 19.12
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.05 BGN 1.70
$0.70 BGN 1.14
$1.45 BGN 2.36
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.80 BGN 2.91
$1.21 BGN 1.96
$2.42 BGN 3.93
🚌 Getting Around
Cost
Range
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.93 BGN 1.50
$0.58 BGN 0.94
$1.16 BGN 1.88
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$29.23 BGN 47.35
$17.79 BGN 28.81
$35.08 BGN 56.8
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.39 BGN 2.25
$1.07 BGN 1.73
$1.73 BGN 2.80
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.68 BGN 1.09
$0.53 BGN 0.86
$1.04 BGN 1.68
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$12.48 BGN 20.22
$9.51 BGN 15.41
$16.05 BGN 26.00
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.56 BGN 2.53
$1.50 BGN 2.44
$1.69 BGN 2.73
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$31.9K BGN 51.7K
$29.2K BGN 47.3K
$31.9K BGN 51.7K
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$27.7K BGN 44.9K
$24.5K BGN 39.6K
$33.8K BGN 54.7K
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cost
Range
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$123 BGN 199
$74.2 BGN 120
$204 BGN 330
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.63 BGN 28.57
$11.76 BGN 19.06
$23.53 BGN 38.11
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$14.44 BGN 23.40
$10.57 BGN 17.12
$23.49 BGN 38.05
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cost
Range
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$34.80 BGN 56.4
$20.35 BGN 32.97
$52.3 BGN 84.8
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.69 BGN 25.42
$8.72 BGN 14.12
$23.24 BGN 37.65
Cinema Ticket
$8.75 BGN 14.17
$5.83 BGN 9.45
$11.66 BGN 18.89
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cost
Range
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$537 BGN 871
$360 BGN 583
$779 BGN 1,263
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,602 BGN 12.3K
$4,123 BGN 6,679
$17.7K BGN 28.6K
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cost
Range
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.2 BGN 92.7
$29.14 BGN 47.20
$117 BGN 189
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.07 BGN 53.6
$17.43 BGN 28.24
$58.1 BGN 94.1
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$95.2 BGN 154
$59.0 BGN 95.7
$148 BGN 239
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$101 BGN 164
$50.3 BGN 81.4
$148 BGN 240
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cost
Range
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$497 BGN 805
$298 BGN 482
$834 BGN 1,351
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$374 BGN 606
$205 BGN 332
$586 BGN 950
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$888 BGN 1,439
$477 BGN 773
$1,492 BGN 2,416
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$637 BGN 1,031
$354 BGN 574
$1,063 BGN 1,722
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,355 BGN 3,815
$1,316 BGN 2,133
$4,787 BGN 7,755
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,569 BGN 2,542
$1,006 BGN 1,630
$2,962 BGN 4,798
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cost
Range
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,180 BGN 1,912
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.92
2.8
5.7

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update: March 3, 2026

By City in Bulgaria
Lowest
Highest
Rank
City
Population
Living Index
Solo costs (no rent) / month
Solo costs (with rent) / month
Family of 3 costs (no rent) / month
Family of 3 costs (with rent) / month
Mobile download speed (Mbps)
Internet download speed (Mbps)
1
54778
46 $669 $906 $1,396 $1,952
31.86
65.72
2
8000
50 $561 $1,007 $1,345 $2,077
56.44
87.3
3
75079
39 $437 $778 $1,076 $1,686
53.02
111.14
4
21241
42 $579 $860 $1,157 $1,767
192.96
44.47
5
189741
57 $660 $1,143 $1,617 $2,291
106.74
134.51
6
49061
38 $469 $761 $1,241 $1,574
31.1
68.48
7
89627
43 $598 $845 $1,478 $1,791
60.72
100
8
37081
48 $667 $946 $1,529 $2,029
135.42
111.65
9
7200
46 $669 $924 $1,665 $1,876
272.52
139.19
10
59611
41 $497 $805 $1,312 $1,788
308.21
56.61
11
40000
48 $580 $938 $1,437 $1,986
16.51
114.6
12
76587
43 $683 $866 $1,451 $1,943
132.45
104.75
13
49421
36 $532 $721 $1,379 $1,575
10.88
96.68
14
23919
40 $499 $789 $1,108 $1,706
52.05
43.27
15
49032
44 $568 $881 $1,175 $1,807
100.25
140.39
16
47640
41 $417 $830 $1,244 $1,665
57.97
130.8
17
37297
53 $588 $1,067 $1,888 $2,148
34.12
74.73
18
44502
42 $607 $817 $1,309 $1,801
42.73
72.14
19
76739
49 $557 $957 $1,584 $1,993
323.97
106.96
20
78342
44 $448 $872 $1,395 $1,699
55.83
159.86
21
111567
41 $597 $826 $1,500 $1,765
178.06
127.84
22
368983
55 $656 $1,090 $1,655 $2,335
46.16
129.67
23
13919
47 $672 $953 $1,637 $2,045
152.65
93.36
24
15878
45 $547 $898 $1,291 $1,771
45.03
59.83
25
35049
41 $543 $822 $1,147 $1,690
91.14
101
26
159798
47 $579 $917 $1,360 $1,966
54.04
146.6
27
25138
51 $696 $1,002 $1,728 $2,146
54.29
70.08
28
28058
49 $611 $979 $1,556 $2,044
1.96
83.29
29
85504
44 $620 $903 $1,398 $1,835
27.26
122.89
30
37923
45 $666 $888 $1,397 $1,826
87.21
160.31
31
95806
38 $606 $768 $1,507 $1,708
29.6
99.87
32
30507
38 $440 $751 $1,260 $1,648
282.87
57.44
33
1286383
70 $738 $1,414 $1,866 $2,896
380.58
185.49
34
149266
43 $528 $858 $1,344 $1,815
91.97
81.96
35
-
55 $557 $1,094 $1,594 $2,199
127.07
75.11
36
33000
48 $510 $945 $1,606 $2,028
7.95
106.15
37
39578
43 $495 $875 $1,452 $1,862
107.61
112.12
38
23422
46 $670 $932 $1,477 $1,965
314.94
72.99
39
8000
46 $645 $926 $1,347 $1,925
31.66
90.08
40
348058
61 $682 $1,232 $1,754 $2,542
199.7
158.38
41
71150
48 $606 $980 $1,539 $2,070
139.37
147.91
42
50977
41 $496 $821 $1,493 $1,802
155.38
77.49
43
60877
47 $527 $936 $1,475 $1,927
11.32
100.37
44
76599
42 $507 $835 $1,465 $1,778
141.07
79.05
Bulgaria Median Internet Speeds (Updated January 2026)

Mobile

Download
Mbps
Upload
Mbps
Latency
ms

Fixed Broadband

Download
Mbps
Upload
Mbps
Latency
ms
The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Cost of Living in Bulgaria - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bulgaria a good value for travelers, expats, and digital nomads, and how does it compare to other destinations?
Bulgaria tends to offer a strong value proposition for travelers, expats, and digital nomads. Rents are typically more affordable than in Western Europe, and you can find clean, well-connected neighborhoods outside peak tourist zones at reasonable prices. Food, transit, and services generally stay budget-friendly, with plenty of local options that let you stretch a monthly budget without sacrificing comfort. The Cost of Living in Bulgaria varies by city and neighborhood, but steady infrastructure development supports longer stays and steady wifi in many shared spaces. Seasonal tourism can push prices up briefly in coastal towns, while inland towns stay steadier. Tip: choose neighborhoods with good transit links and short commutes to save time and money.
What does daily life look like in Bulgaria in terms of housing search, food options, transport, and coworking?
Daily life centers on practical choices: search housing near reliable transit, test a few groceries from local markets, and mix work-friendly cafes with occasional coworking spaces. In Sofia, Varna, and Plovdiv you will find affordable transit passes and a growing scene for digital nomads, while smaller towns offer quieter routines and tighter budgets. Bulgaria living cost can shift with the season, especially along the coast when tourism peaks. Tip: look for longer leases to lock in steady monthly rates and negotiate utility inclusions to prevent surprises.
What budgeting framework and neighborhood fit tips help improve quality of life in Bulgaria, including seasonality and safety?
Quality of life in Bulgaria combines vibrant history, friendly neighborhoods, and slower tempos that suit you as a remote worker. Build a simple budgeting framework around housing, groceries, utilities, and local leisure. Expect modest but steady costs that rise with coastal seasons and tourism, so plan a monthly buffer for peak months. For neighborhood fit, look for walkable cores with easy transit access, parks, and nearby markets rather than purely tourist areas. Practical savings come from shared accommodation, cooking at home, and taking advantage of municipal events or free cultural offerings. Tip: create a monthly baseline, then add a seasonal adjustment and a small reserve for unexpected repairs or travel.

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