Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between An Najaf and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in An Najaf: $569 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$569

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $569 per month in An Najaf vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

An Najaf $569
Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $855 per month in An Najaf vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

An Najaf $855
Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $1,142 per month in An Najaf vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

An Najaf $1,142
Sofia $3,387

An Najaf is about 64% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

An Najaf sits 58% below the global median, while Sofia is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.87 IQD 5,854

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-76.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.11 IQD 30.4K

$67.7 BGN 118

-70.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.32 IQD 6,530

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-63.01%

Cappuccino

$2.29 IQD 3,457

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-32.84%

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

$0.38 IQD 577

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-83.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 301

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-88.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.20 IQD 4,840

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-19.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 IQD 3,077

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-54.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.92 IQD 1,390

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-52.58%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 IQD 1,027

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-56.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 IQD 2,070

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-41.70%

Eggs

$1.61 IQD 2,439

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-65.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.24 IQD 4,897

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-71.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.42 IQD 5,169

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-60.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.28 IQD 14.0K

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-46.48%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 IQD 1,461

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-54.88%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 IQD 1,350

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-55.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 IQD 1,421

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-48.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 IQD 968

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-85.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.59 IQD 890

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-43.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 IQD 910

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-32.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 IQD 814

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-54.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 IQD 682

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-45.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.52 IQD 2,303

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-65.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.69 IQD 17.7K

$7.42 BGN 12.91

57.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 IQD 2,972

$1.16 BGN 2.01

69.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 IQD 2,818

$1.90 BGN 3.30

-1.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 IQD 486

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-65.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.30 IQD 1,964

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-22.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 IQD 2,028

$0.85 BGN 1.49

57.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 IQD 8,389

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-66.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 IQD 623

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-76.44%

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

$11.8K IQD 17.8M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-60.63%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-33.15%

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

$35.53 IQD 53.7K

$158 BGN 275

-77.49%

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

$14.71 IQD 22.2K

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-30.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.60 IQD 50.8K

$15.12 BGN 26.30

122.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-45.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$8.49 IQD 12.8K

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-15.10%

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

$142 IQD 215.0K

$815 BGN 1,419

-82.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$787 IQD 1.2M

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-94.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.09 IQD 22.8K

$87.1 BGN 152

-82.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.86 IQD 36.0K

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-37.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.2 IQD 91.0K

$106 BGN 184

-43.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.05 IQD 62.0K

$107 BGN 187

-61.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$231 IQD 348.9K

$769 BGN 1,338

-69.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$129 IQD 195.3K

$593 BGN 1,032

-78.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 467.2K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-79.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 IQD 286.6K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-82.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,118 IQD 1.7M

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-75.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$448 IQD 677.4K

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-85.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$655 IQD 989.7K

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-63.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

2.89

42.56%

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

Last update for An Najaf: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

An Najaf

$147 25.9%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 95.4% $141

Accommodation & Living

An Najaf

$129 22.7%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 359% $464

Eating Out

An Najaf

$94 16.5%

Sofia

$254 16% 170% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

An Najaf

$84 14.7%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 132% $110

Clothing & Footwear

An Najaf

$63 11.1%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 141% $89

Sport & Entertainment

An Najaf

$43 7.5%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 57.3% $24

Getting Around

An Najaf

$9.3 * 1.6%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 306% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $231 in An Najaf versus $769 in Sofia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 2.7 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20 in An Najaf versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $147 vs $288 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

22:48 10:48 PM

21:48 9:48 PM

1 h behind An Najaf

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,221,248

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.92 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.514 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,689 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.92 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 IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

An Najaf Sofia 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

An Najaf
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

An Najaf vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 179% more than An Najaf, 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 $854 per month in An Najaf and $2,378 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in An Najaf, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $231 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $569 in An Najaf and $1,585 in Sofia. That makes An Najaf about 64% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $142 per month in An Najaf and $815 in Sofia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in An Najaf, where all-in costs run around $569, than in Sofia at $1,585. In An Najaf it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward An Najaf – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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