Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bansko and Bentota

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $774 a month against $956 in Bansko, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Bansko
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Bansko Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
Learn more

Bentota Living Index

Jump to prices

Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$956

/mo nomad

Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bansko and in Bentota

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bansko and in Bentota actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $956 per month in Bansko vs $774 in Bentota, rent included.

Bansko $956
Bentota $774

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Bansko vs $896 in Bentota, rent included.

Bansko $1,467
Bentota $896

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Bansko vs $1,018 in Bentota, rent included.

Bansko $1,979
Bentota $1,018

Bansko costs about 24% more than Bentota, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bansko and Bentota are more affordable than the global median – Bansko 29% lower, Bentota 43% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.66 BGN 15.06

$4.29 LKR 1,421

101.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.94 BGN 78.2

$11.97 LKR 3,965

275.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.78 BGN 15.28

$7.73 LKR 2,560

13.58%

Cappuccino

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$2.46 LKR 815

-5.28%

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

$1.57 BGN 2.74

$0.68 LKR 225

130.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 BGN 1.43

$0.25 LKR 82.2

228.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 BGN 2.92

$2.24 LKR 742

-25.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$3.07 LKR 1,016

-35.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 BGN 3.00

$1.62 LKR 535

6.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 BGN 1.40

$0.53 LKR 176

50.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 BGN 2.51

$0.74 LKR 244

94.59%

Eggs

$2.36 BGN 4.10

$1.56 LKR 518

51.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.39 BGN 16.34

$14.03 LKR 4,648

-33.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.41 BGN 11.15

$3.32 LKR 1,099

93.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.48 BGN 14.76

$4.62 LKR 1,529

83.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.31 BGN 2.28

$6.81 LKR 2,257

-80.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 BGN 2.82

$0.73 LKR 241

121.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 BGN 3.01

$4.59 LKR 1,519

-62.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.90 LKR 297

115.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$1.00 LKR 331

-6.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 BGN 1.32

$0.79 LKR 263

-3.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 BGN 0.95

$0.94 LKR 312

-41.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 BGN 1.02

$0.43 LKR 143

37.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 BGN 5.66

$10.13 LKR 3,356

-67.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.20 BGN 9.05

$13.36 LKR 4,424

-61.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 BGN 1.89

$1.95 LKR 645

-44.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 BGN 2.92

$2.91 LKR 963

-42.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 BGN 1.45

$0.18 LKR 61.0

366.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.06 BGN 47.09

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 BGN 2.34

$0.40 LKR 133

235.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.14

$0.31 LKR 103

109.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.06 BGN 17.51

$0.87 LKR 289

1056.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 BGN 2.57

$1.39 LKR 461

6.47%

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

$29.1K BGN 50.7K

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

-21.58%

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

$20.9K BGN 36.4K

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-47.86%

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

$92.4 BGN 161

$54.0 LKR 17.9K

71.04%

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

$14.52 BGN 25.26

$2.23 LKR 739

551.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.32 BGN 21.43

$9.03 LKR 2,990

36.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.70 BGN 55.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.53 BGN 14.84

Cinema Ticket

$5.62 BGN 9.78

$4.28 LKR 1,417

31.31%

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

$230 BGN 401

$38.08 LKR 12.6K

505.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,268 BGN 3,947

$1,230 LKR 407.3K

84.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.10 BGN 52.4

$17.80 LKR 5,897

69.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.62 BGN 34.13

$16.82 LKR 5,573

16.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.86 BGN 79.8

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

-42.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.69 BGN 83.0

$42.09 LKR 13.9K

13.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 BGN 902

$541 LKR 179.2K

-4.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 BGN 621

$298 LKR 98.7K

19.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 BGN 1,069

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$569 BGN 990

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,191 BGN 2,073

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$959 BGN 1,669

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,704 BGN 2,965

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

12.69

-76.44%

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

Last update for Bansko: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bentota: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bansko

$357 37.3%

Bentota

$298 38.5% 16.5% $59

Groceries & Markets

Bansko

$192 20.1%

Bentota

$220 28.5% 14.8% $28

Eating Out

Bansko

$145 15.2%

Bentota

$108 14% 25.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bansko

$119 12.5%

Bentota

$65 8.4% 45.2% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Bansko

$64 6.7%

Bentota

$71 9.1% 9.6% $6.2

Sport & Entertainment

Bansko

$43 4.5%

Bentota

$8.6 * 1.1% 80.1% $34

Getting Around

Bansko

$35 3.7%

Bentota

$2.7 * 0.4% 92.3% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $518 in Bansko versus $541 in Bentota. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Bansko versus $12.00 in Bentota. Groceries tell a different story – $192 in Bansko vs $220 in Bentota – so Bansko wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Bansko

🇱🇰 Bentota

🕒 Local time

08:47 8:47 AM

11:17 11:17 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bansko

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

37,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

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).

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).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bansko Bentota 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bansko
Bentota

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

Bansko vs Bentota: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $956 in Bansko, $774 in Bentota – roughly 24% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,434 per month in Bansko and $1,160 in Bentota. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bentota, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $956 in Bansko and $774 in Bentota. That's a gap of about 24%.

Kindergarten costs $230 per month in Bansko and $38.08 in Bentota. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Bentota, where all-in costs run around $774, than in Bansko at $956. In Bentota it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bansko it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Bansko has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $774 in Bentota to $956 in Bansko. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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