Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aqrah and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Aqrah: $661 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Aqrah
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Aqrah Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Aqrah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$661

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $661 in Aqrah versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Aqrah $661
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,024 in Aqrah versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Aqrah $1,024
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,387 in Aqrah versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Aqrah $1,387
Sofia $3,387

Living in Aqrah costs roughly 58% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Aqrah is 51% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.10 IQD 6,200

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-75.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.49 IQD 32.5K

$67.7 BGN 118

-68.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.44 IQD 9,733

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-44.86%

Cappuccino

$2.45 IQD 3,699

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-28.15%

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

$0.39 IQD 584

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-83.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 IQD 302

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-88.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 IQD 4,955

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-17.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 IQD 3,945

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-42.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 IQD 1,493

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-48.97%

White Bread (500g)

$0.67 IQD 1,019

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-56.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 IQD 2,116

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-40.43%

Eggs

$1.59 IQD 2,404

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-65.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.79 IQD 5,721

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-66.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.51 IQD 5,303

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-59.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.74 IQD 17.7K

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-32.30%

Apples (1kg)

$0.93 IQD 1,407

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-56.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 IQD 1,496

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.90 IQD 1,367

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-50.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.68 IQD 1,034

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-84.07%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 IQD 884

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-44.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.59 IQD 888

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-33.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.57 IQD 867

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-52.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 IQD 764

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-38.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.63 IQD 2,467

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-62.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.32 IQD 17.1K

$7.42 BGN 12.91

52.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 IQD 2,360

$1.16 BGN 2.01

34.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 IQD 2,692

$1.90 BGN 3.30

-6.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 IQD 522

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-61.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 IQD 2,780

$1.67 BGN 2.90

10.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.36 IQD 2,052

$0.85 BGN 1.49

60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 IQD 8,460

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-66.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.55 IQD 825

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-68.39%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-44.15%

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

$16.7K IQD 25.2M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-33.32%

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

$88.5 IQD 133.7K

$158 BGN 275

-43.96%

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

$13.38 IQD 20.2K

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-37.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 IQD 44.5K

$15.12 BGN 26.30

94.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.36 IQD 56.5K

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-20.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$8.96 IQD 13.5K

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-10.40%

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

$148 IQD 223.1K

$815 BGN 1,419

-81.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,790 IQD 4.2M

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-80.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.04 IQD 31.8K

$87.1 BGN 152

-75.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.77 IQD 34.4K

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-40.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.3 IQD 88.1K

$106 BGN 184

-44.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.66 IQD 56.9K

$107 BGN 187

-64.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$208 IQD 314.1K

$769 BGN 1,338

-72.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$140 IQD 211.7K

$593 BGN 1,032

-76.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$376 IQD 567.7K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-75.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 IQD 466.5K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-70.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$874 IQD 1.3M

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-80.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$503 IQD 760.0K

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-83.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

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 Aqrah: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Aqrah

$156 23.6%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 84.9% $132

Accommodation & Living

Aqrah

$140 21.2%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 323% $453

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aqrah

$131 19.9%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 47.9% $63

Eating Out

Aqrah

$105 16%

Sofia

$254 16% 140% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Aqrah

$63 9.5%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 142% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Aqrah

$55 8.4%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 20.9% $12

Getting Around

Aqrah

$10 * 1.5%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 277% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $208 in Aqrah and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21 in Aqrah vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $156 vs $288 per month, with Aqrah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Aqrah

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

02:41 2:41 AM

01:41 1:41 AM

1 h behind Aqrah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

68,100

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 = 5.9 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,696 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Aqrah Sofia 1,870 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Aqrah
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

Aqrah vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aqrah wins on cost – living expenses run 58% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Aqrah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $991 in Aqrah 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: $208 in Aqrah versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 85% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $661 per month in Aqrah versus $1,585 in Sofia – Aqrah is about 58% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $661 in Aqrah versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $800 budget is realistic in Aqrah but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Aqrah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Aqrah and Sofia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.