Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $543 in Badulla versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Badulla $543
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $877 in Badulla versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Badulla $877
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,211 in Badulla versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Badulla $1,211
Sofia $3,361

Living in Badulla costs roughly 66% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Badulla is 60% below, Sofia is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 LKR 1,287

$16.87 BGN 29.35

-77.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.05 LKR 8,298

$65.8 BGN 115

-61.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.37 LKR 2,442

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-34.89%

Cappuccino

$2.55 LKR 844

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-25.66%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$2.41 BGN 4.19

-70.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.5

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-85.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 735

$3.70 BGN 6.44

-40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,015

$4.58 BGN 7.97

-32.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 LKR 514

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-23.27%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 174

$1.56 BGN 2.72

-66.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 LKR 199

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-74.25%

Eggs

$1.66 LKR 551

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-61.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.97 LKR 4,627

$11.76 BGN 20.47

18.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.56 LKR 1,178

$8.83 BGN 15.37

-59.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.62 LKR 2,522

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-56.36%

Apples (1kg)

$6.65 LKR 2,202

$2.15 BGN 3.74

209.30%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 LKR 288

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-56.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.35 LKR 1,440

$1.93 BGN 3.37

125.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 439

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-68.63%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 LKR 329

$1.04 BGN 1.80

-4.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$0.85 BGN 1.48

-9.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 LKR 287

$1.15 BGN 2.00

-24.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.89 BGN 1.56

-49.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.13 LKR 3,354

$4.21 BGN 7.33

140.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 LKR 4,221

$7.46 BGN 12.98

70.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 628

$1.15 BGN 2.01

65.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 971

$1.85 BGN 3.23

58.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 125

$1.68 BGN 2.93

-77.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$0.94 BGN 1.63

-60.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 LKR 293

$15.35 BGN 26.70

-94.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 456

$1.69 BGN 2.94

-18.34%

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

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

22.54%

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

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

55.80%

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

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

$156 BGN 272

-62.94%

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

$4.31 LKR 1,429

$21.56 BGN 37.52

-80.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.13 LKR 6,998

$15.24 BGN 26.51

38.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 LKR 1,488

$10.18 BGN 17.72

-55.89%

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

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

$774 BGN 1,347

-95.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

-90.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.44 LKR 6,108

$89.9 BGN 157

-79.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.32 LKR 5,405

$41.29 BGN 71.8

-60.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

$105 BGN 183

-23.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

$107 BGN 186

-61.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

$783 BGN 1,362

-90.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

$597 BGN 1,038

-92.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

$1,030 BGN 1,792

-91.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

$4,350 BGN 7,568

4.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$742 LKR 245.8K

$3,177 BGN 5,528

-76.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$224 LKR 74.3K

$1,735 BGN 3,019

-87.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

2.89

339.10%

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

Last update for Badulla: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Badulla

$229 42.2%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 26.8% $61

Eating Out

Badulla

$105 19.3%

Sofia

$255 16% 143% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Badulla

$83 15.3%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 132% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Badulla

$70 12.9%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 120% $84

Accommodation & Living

Badulla

$44 8.2%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 1243% $552

Sport & Entertainment

Badulla

$9 * 1.7%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 640% $57

Getting Around

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 1613% $36

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 $76.1 in Badulla and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 673% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $25.00 in Badulla vs $66.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $290 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Badulla

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

16:05 4:05 PM

13:35 1:35 PM

2 h 30 min behind Badulla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Badulla Sofia 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Badulla
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

Badulla vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 193% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 673% 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: $76.1 in Badulla versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $38.34 in Badulla versus $774 in Sofia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $543 in Badulla versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Badulla is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Badulla 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 Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 193% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.