Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-hawiyah and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-hawiyah: $1,121 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Al-hawiyah
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Al-hawiyah Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Al-hawiyah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,121

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-hawiyah 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-hawiyah and in Sofia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,121 in Al-hawiyah versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Al-hawiyah $1,121
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Al-hawiyah versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Al-hawiyah $1,611
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,100 in Al-hawiyah versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Al-hawiyah $2,100
Sofia $3,387

Living in Al-hawiyah costs roughly 29% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al-hawiyah is 17% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 SAR 16.52

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-73.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.04 SAR 97.7

$67.7 BGN 118

-61.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 SAR 26.54

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-39.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.49 SAR 5.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.85

Cappuccino

$2.61 SAR 9.81

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-23.46%

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

$0.68 SAR 2.54

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-71.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 SAR 0.86

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-86.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 SAR 7.05

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-3.09%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 SAR 3.48

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.15 SAR 8.07

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-8.51%

Eggs

$2.69 SAR 10.11

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-41.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.95 SAR 22.34

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-48.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.65 SAR 43.72

$8.65 BGN 15.04

34.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 SAR 48.07

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-26.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 SAR 7.72

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-4.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.08

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-18.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 SAR 6.82

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-0.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 SAR 5.59

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-65.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.87

$1.04 BGN 1.82

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 SAR 5.40

$0.89 BGN 1.54

61.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 SAR 4.07

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-9.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 SAR 2.74

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-12.05%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.68 SAR 10.05

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 SAR 7.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 SAR 29.23

$4.40 BGN 7.66

77.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 SAR 4.11

$0.92 BGN 1.60

19.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.15 SAR 139

$28.11 BGN 48.91

32.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.69 SAR 6.33

$1.67 BGN 2.90

1.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.67 SAR 10.03

$0.85 BGN 1.49

214.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.24 SAR 53.5

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-14.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.41

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-63.22%

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

$26.2K SAR 98.3K

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-12.56%

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

$21.3K SAR 79.9K

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-14.86%

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

$65.5 SAR 246

$158 BGN 275

-58.54%

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

$34.01 SAR 128

$21.27 BGN 37.01

59.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$61.7 SAR 231

$15.12 BGN 26.30

307.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.1 SAR 267

$46.85 BGN 81.5

51.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$14.91 SAR 56.0

$10.00 BGN 17.39

49.10%

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

$483 SAR 1,813

$815 BGN 1,419

-40.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,279 SAR 19.8K

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-63.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.32 SAR 50.0

$87.1 BGN 152

-84.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.5 SAR 208

$38.28 BGN 66.6

44.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$39.73 SAR 149

$106 BGN 184

-62.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.5 SAR 197

$107 BGN 187

-51.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$635 SAR 2,383

$769 BGN 1,338

-17.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$422 SAR 1,585

$593 BGN 1,032

-28.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 SAR 3,092

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-46.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 SAR 2,192

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-44.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 SAR 7,245

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-57.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,066 SAR 4,000

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-65.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

2.89

81.66%

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

Last update for Al-hawiyah: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al-hawiyah

$422 37.7%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 40.5% $171

Groceries & Markets

Al-hawiyah

$217 19.3%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 32.9% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-hawiyah

$161 14.4%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 20.6% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Al-hawiyah

$101 9%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 33.8% $34

Eating Out

Al-hawiyah

$91 8.2%

Sofia

$254 16% 178% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Al-hawiyah

$72 6.5%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 110% $80

Getting Around

Al-hawiyah

$57 5.1%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 33.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $635 in Al-hawiyah and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $26 in Al-hawiyah vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $288 per month, with Al-hawiyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al-hawiyah

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

22:21 10:21 PM

21:21 9:21 PM

1 h behind Al-hawiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

148,151

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.514 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.19 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.94 BGN (1 BGN = 0.514 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Al-hawiyah Sofia 2,850 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,121 in Al-hawiyah and $1,585 in Sofia, so Al-hawiyah is about 29% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,682 in Al-hawiyah and $2,378 in Sofia to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $635 in Al-hawiyah versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Al-hawiyah – a meal for two runs $26 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,121 per month in Al-hawiyah versus $1,585 in Sofia – Al-hawiyah is about 29% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Al-hawiyah gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.