Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Albania and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Albania: $1,190 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Albania
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Albania Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,190

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Albania is 14% cheaper than Sofia without rent, and 25.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Albania is 19.4% cheaper than Sofia without rent, and 23.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.85 ALL 802

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-42.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.07 ALL 3,504

$66.9 BGN 117

-35.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.66 ALL 704

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-26.42%

Cappuccino

$2.09 ALL 170

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-38.89%

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

$2.11 ALL 171

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-12.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.95 ALL 77.1

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-48.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.79 ALL 227

$3.33 BGN 5.83

-16.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 ALL 291

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-21.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ALL 177

$1.92 BGN 3.36

13.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 ALL 86.7

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-29.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 ALL 189

$2.21 BGN 3.88

4.98%

Eggs

$3.61 ALL 294

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-17.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.31 ALL 1,002

$11.56 BGN 20.22

6.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.67 ALL 706

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-1.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.27 ALL 1,242

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-10.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.62 ALL 132

$2.17 BGN 3.79

-25.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 ALL 192

$2.04 BGN 3.57

15.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 ALL 141

$1.84 BGN 3.22

-5.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.71 ALL 139

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-60.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 ALL 82.5

$1.03 BGN 1.80

-1.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 ALL 94.4

$0.93 BGN 1.62

24.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 ALL 101

$1.20 BGN 2.11

3.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ALL 62.9

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-16.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.69 ALL 381

$4.30 BGN 7.53

9.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 ALL 810

$7.33 BGN 12.83

35.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 ALL 126

$1.18 BGN 2.06

31.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ALL 167

$1.87 BGN 3.28

9.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ALL 41.20

$0.87 BGN 1.52

-41.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.23 ALL 1,565

$28.14 BGN 49.24

-31.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 ALL 294

$1.74 BGN 3.04

108.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.58 ALL 291

$0.96 BGN 1.68

272.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.23 ALL 1,484

$15.54 BGN 27.19

17.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 ALL 184

$1.79 BGN 3.14

26.26%

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

$34.3K ALL 2.8M

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

14.34%

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

$31.5K ALL 2.6M

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

19.39%

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

$92.0 ALL 7,485

$156 BGN 273

-41.01%

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

$18.44 ALL 1,500

$21.21 BGN 37.11

-13.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.82 ALL 1,531

$15.64 BGN 27.37

20.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.88 ALL 4,058

$46.76 BGN 81.8

6.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.17 ALL 1,885

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-16.47%

Cinema Ticket

$9.43 ALL 767

$10.02 BGN 17.53

-5.89%

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

$275 ALL 22.4K

$766 BGN 1,341

-64.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,342 ALL 516.0K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-50.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.3 ALL 5,069

$89.7 BGN 157

-30.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.50 ALL 3,783

$40.88 BGN 71.5

13.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 ALL 8,991

$106 BGN 186

4.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ALL 9,756

$105 BGN 183

14.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$547 ALL 44.5K

$796 BGN 1,393

-31.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ALL 29.3K

$607 BGN 1,063

-40.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$948 ALL 77.1K

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-39.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$601 ALL 48.9K

$1,060 BGN 1,855

-43.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,774 ALL 225.7K

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-36.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,654 ALL 134.6K

$3,250 BGN 5,688

-49.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$731 ALL 59.5K

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-57.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

2.89

84.08%

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

Last update for Albania: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Albania

$360 30.3%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 68.9% $248

Groceries & Markets

Albania

$271 22.8%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 5.9% $16

Eating Out

Albania

$163 13.7%

Sofia

$256 16% 56.9% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Albania

$153 12.9%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 0.6% $0.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Albania

$129 10.9%

Sofia

$193 12% 49.2% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Albania

$69 5.8%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 2.8% $1.9

Getting Around

Albania

$43 3.6%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 10.8% $4.6

Good to know

🇦🇱 Albania

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

10:13 10:13 AM

11:13 11:13 AM

1 h ahead of Albania

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,811,655

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 81.36 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 91.25 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

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Albania Sofia 330 km

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

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Sofia

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