Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-qardahah and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-qardahah: $642 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

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

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Al-qardahah

🇸🇾 Syria

$642

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $642 per month in Al-qardahah vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-qardahah $642
Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $1,016 per month in Al-qardahah vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-qardahah $1,016
Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $1,390 per month in Al-qardahah vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

Al-qardahah $1,390
Sofia $3,387

Al-qardahah is about 59% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Al-qardahah sits 52% below the global median, while Sofia is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 SYP 1,222

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-39.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.56 SYP 5,171

$67.7 BGN 118

-37.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 SYP 837

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-41.01%

Cappuccino

$3.64 SYP 442

$3.41 BGN 5.93

6.74%

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

$2.23 SYP 272

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-5.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 SYP 105

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-48.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 SYP 236

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-51.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.90 SYP 474

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-13.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 SYP 128

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-45.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.45 SYP 54.3

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-70.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 SYP 196

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-31.49%

Eggs

$1.57 SYP 191

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-65.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.98 SYP 484

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-65.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.56 SYP 676

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-35.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.71 SYP 1,666

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-20.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.03 SYP 126

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-52.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 SYP 168

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-30.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 SYP 138

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-37.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 SYP 130

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-74.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 SYP 95.6

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-24.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 SYP 91.9

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-14.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 SYP 53.5

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-63.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 SYP 80.1

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-20.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 SYP 329

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-38.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.94 SYP 600

$7.42 BGN 12.91

-33.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 SYP 140

$1.16 BGN 2.01

-0.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 SYP 342

$1.90 BGN 3.30

47.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.99 SYP 120

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-40.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.49 SYP 181

$0.85 BGN 1.49

75.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.80 SYP 948

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-52.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$3.63 SYP 441

$1.74 BGN 3.03

108.62%

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

$15.0K SYP 1.8M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-49.85%

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

$19.3K SYP 2.4M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-22.68%

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

$142 SYP 17.2K

$158 BGN 275

-10.12%

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

$9.67 SYP 1,175

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-54.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.85 SYP 5,571

$15.12 BGN 26.30

203.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$5.56 SYP 675

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-44.40%

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

$66.9 SYP 8,129

$815 BGN 1,419

-91.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,770 SYP 215.1K

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-87.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$28.37 SYP 3,448

$87.1 BGN 152

-67.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.44 SYP 4,793

$38.28 BGN 66.6

3.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.0 SYP 7,407

$106 BGN 184

-42.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.8 SYP 7,021

$107 BGN 187

-46.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.25

2.89

393.08%

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

Last update for Al-qardahah: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-qardahah

$197 30.7%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 1.6% $3.2

Eating Out

Al-qardahah

$175 27.2%

Sofia

$254 16% 45.2% $79

Groceries & Markets

Al-qardahah

$167 26%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 72.6% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Al-qardahah

$84 13.1%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 81.3% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Al-qardahah

$11 * 1.7%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 502% $56

Getting Around

Al-qardahah

$8.4 * 1.3%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 348% $29

Accommodation & Living

Al-qardahah

- * 0%

Sofia

$593 37.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Al-qardahah versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $167 vs $288 – making Al-qardahah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇾 Al-qardahah

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

14:39 2:39 PM

13:39 1:39 PM

1 h behind Al-qardahah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Syrian Pound SYP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.33 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to SYP – Syrian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇾 Syrian Pound (£)

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.33 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to SYP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al-qardahah Sofia 1,360 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

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

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 147%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $963 per month in Al-qardahah and $2,378 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Al-qardahah and $68 in Sofia. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 73% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al-qardahah, where all-in costs run around $642, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Al-qardahah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $642 in Al-qardahah to $1,585 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.