Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-hawamidiyah and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-hawamidiyah: $457 a month against $1,600 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Al-hawamidiyah
Learn more

Al-hawamidiyah Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Al-hawamidiyah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-hawamidiyah and in Sofia

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al-hawamidiyah and in Sofia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $457 per month in Al-hawamidiyah vs $1,600 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-hawamidiyah $457
Sofia $1,600

A couple spends around $751 per month in Al-hawamidiyah vs $2,490 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-hawamidiyah $751
Sofia $2,490

A family of three spends $1,045 per month in Al-hawamidiyah vs $3,380 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-hawamidiyah $1,045
Sofia $3,380

Al-hawamidiyah is about 71% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Al-hawamidiyah sits 66% below the global median, while Sofia is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.17 E£223

$16.96 BGN 29.51

-75.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.31 E£1,031

$68.3 BGN 119

-71.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.73 E£253

$11.62 BGN 20.21

-59.29%

Cappuccino

$1.30 E£69.7

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-62.10%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 E£17.30

$2.34 BGN 4.08

-86.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.68

$1.83 BGN 3.19

-93.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.35 E£72.3

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-60.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 E£150

$4.44 BGN 7.73

-36.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 E£43.23

$1.97 BGN 3.42

-58.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 E£36.16

$1.49 BGN 2.59

-54.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£32.04

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-74.25%

Eggs

$1.15 E£61.4

$4.41 BGN 7.68

-73.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.87 E£207

$11.54 BGN 20.08

-66.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 E£236

$8.88 BGN 15.44

-50.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 E£497

$17.51 BGN 30.46

-46.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 E£80.9

$2.15 BGN 3.74

-29.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 E£42.12

$2.07 BGN 3.60

-61.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£30.00

$1.93 BGN 3.37

-70.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.36 E£18.97

$4.25 BGN 7.39

-91.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£14.00

$1.03 BGN 1.79

-74.76%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.17

$0.88 BGN 1.54

-63.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.52

$1.19 BGN 2.07

-77.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.50

$0.89 BGN 1.55

-75.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.89 E£101

$4.23 BGN 7.35

-55.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 E£300

$7.87 BGN 13.69

-28.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 E£63.8

$1.18 BGN 2.06

0.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 E£119

$1.89 BGN 3.29

17.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 E£11.12

$0.93 BGN 1.62

-77.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.30 BGN 49.24

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 E£31.46

$1.68 BGN 2.93

-64.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.22 E£11.60

$0.96 BGN 1.68

-77.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 E£63.5

$15.36 BGN 26.73

-92.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£24.79

$1.77 BGN 3.09

-74.01%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.1K E£1.7M

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

5.28%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.9K E£1.4M

$25.1K BGN 43.6K

7.33%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$14.45 E£772

$157 BGN 273

-90.80%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.88 E£367

$21.12 BGN 36.74

-67.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.26 E£708

$15.32 BGN 26.65

-13.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.28 E£870

$46.39 BGN 80.7

-64.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.09 BGN 48.87

Cinema Ticket

$2.86 E£153

$10.04 BGN 17.46

-71.51%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$86.1 E£4,597

$775 BGN 1,348

-88.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,083 E£111.2K

$12.5K BGN 21.8K

-83.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.68 E£1,798

$88.1 BGN 153

-61.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.40 E£2,478

$41.39 BGN 72.0

12.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 E£6,838

$107 BGN 186

19.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.8 E£2,981

$106 BGN 185

-47.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$129 E£6,866

$770 BGN 1,340

-83.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.0 E£4,002

$602 BGN 1,048

-87.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$258 E£13.8K

$1,564 BGN 2,721

-83.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 E£7,740

$1,036 BGN 1,803

-86.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$758 E£40.5K

$4,567 BGN 7,946

-83.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$357 E£19.1K

$3,162 BGN 5,502

-88.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,742 BGN 3,031

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

2.89

638.06%

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

Last update for Al-hawamidiyah: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Al-hawamidiyah

$127 27.7%

Sofia

$291 18.2% 130% $164

Clothing & Footwear

Al-hawamidiyah

$119 26%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 29.7% $35

Eating Out

Al-hawamidiyah

$77 16.9%

Sofia

$254 15.9% 229% $177

Accommodation & Living

Al-hawamidiyah

$75 16.4%

Sofia

$602 37.6% 704% $527

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-hawamidiyah

$35 7.6%

Sofia

$194 12.1% 459% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Al-hawamidiyah

$22 4.8%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 202% $44

Getting Around

Al-hawamidiyah

$2.5 * 0.6%

Sofia

$39 2.4% 1435% $36

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $129 in Al-hawamidiyah versus $770 in Sofia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19.00 in Al-hawamidiyah versus $68.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $127 vs $291 – making Al-hawamidiyah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Al-hawamidiyah

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

11:50 11:50 AM

10:50 10:50 AM

1 h behind Al-hawamidiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

155,055

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al-hawamidiyah Sofia 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Al-hawamidiyah
Sofia

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al-hawamidiyah vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 250% more than Al-hawamidiyah, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $685 per month in Al-hawamidiyah and $2,400 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al-hawamidiyah, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19.00 in Al-hawamidiyah and $68.0 in Sofia. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 130% more in Sofia, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al-hawamidiyah, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Sofia at $1,600. In Al-hawamidiyah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Al-hawamidiyah costs $457 versus $1,600 in Sofia. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Al-hawamidiyah. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.