Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Athens and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $1,806 in Athens, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Athens
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Athens Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Athens

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,806

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,806 in Athens versus $1,589 in Sofia.

Athens $1,806
Sofia $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,731 in Athens versus $2,456 in Sofia.

Athens $2,731
Sofia $2,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,656 in Athens versus $3,324 in Sofia.

Athens $3,656
Sofia $3,324

Living in Athens is roughly 14% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Athens 35% above, Sofia 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.66 €14.87

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-2.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.2 €59.1

$66.9 BGN 117

-1.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 €9.87

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-6.03%

Cappuccino

$4.14 €3.69

$3.42 BGN 5.99

21.05%

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

$2.80 €2.50

$2.42 BGN 4.23

15.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-69.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.64 €5.03

$3.33 BGN 5.83

69.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.46 €4.87

$4.53 BGN 7.92

20.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.92 BGN 3.36

2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-6.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.83 €2.53

$2.21 BGN 3.88

28.05%

Eggs

$5.04 €4.50

$4.40 BGN 7.69

14.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.35 €13.70

$11.56 BGN 20.22

32.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 €9.23

$8.79 BGN 15.38

17.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.97 €16.93

$16.97 BGN 29.71

11.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$2.17 BGN 3.79

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-6.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.84 BGN 3.22

-25.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 €1.96

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-48.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.03 BGN 1.80

6.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 €1.00

$0.93 BGN 1.62

21.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 €0.99

$1.20 BGN 2.11

-8.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-9.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €4.99

$4.30 BGN 7.53

30.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.19 €9.09

$7.33 BGN 12.83

39.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.18 BGN 2.06

84.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.19

$1.87 BGN 3.28

31.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.87 BGN 1.52

58.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.87 €27.55

$28.14 BGN 49.24

9.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.37 €3.90

$1.74 BGN 3.04

151.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.96 BGN 1.68

8.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.11 €15.27

$15.54 BGN 27.19

10.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.07

$1.79 BGN 3.14

29.05%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

-6.67%

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

$28.0K €25.0K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

6.25%

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

$210 €187

$156 BGN 273

34.49%

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

$26.70 €23.83

$21.21 BGN 37.11

25.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.13 €26.89

$15.64 BGN 27.37

92.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.6 €48.72

$46.76 BGN 81.8

16.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.03 €23.23

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-6.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.62

$10.02 BGN 17.53

7.58%

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

$575 €513

$766 BGN 1,341

-24.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.7K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

2.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.2 €83.1

$89.7 BGN 157

3.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.68 €36.30

$40.88 BGN 71.5

-0.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 €92.9

$106 BGN 186

-1.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 €115

$105 BGN 183

22.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 €674

$796 BGN 1,393

-5.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 €582

$607 BGN 1,063

7.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,294 €1,154

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-17.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 €1,038

$1,060 BGN 1,855

9.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 €3,577

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-8.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,452 €3,081

$3,250 BGN 5,688

6.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,243 €1,110

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-28.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.48

2.89

55.02%

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

Last update for Athens: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Athens

$652 36.5%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 6.9% $45

Groceries & Markets

Athens

$315 17.6%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 8.7% $27

Eating Out

Athens

$269 15%

Sofia

$256 16% 4.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Athens

$267 14.9%

Sofia

$193 12% 27.7% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Athens

$165 9.2%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 6.8% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Athens

$76 4.3%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 12.3% $9.4

Getting Around

Athens

$46 2.6%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 16.9% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Athens and $796 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 40% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Athens vs $67.0 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $315 vs $287, with Sofia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Athens

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

Same time as Athens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,090,508 Capital

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Athens Sofia 530 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Athens
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

Athens vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia wins on cost – living expenses run 14% lower than in Athens. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sofia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Sofia. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Athens versus $796 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Sofia – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $66.0 in Athens. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,806 per month in Athens versus $1,589 in Sofia – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,589 in Sofia versus $1,806 in Athens, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Athens. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sofia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,589 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sofia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Athens and Sofia are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Athens. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.