Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barry and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,320 in Barry, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Barry
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Barry Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Barry

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,320 per month in Barry vs $1,594 in Sofia, rent included.

Barry $2,320
Sofia $1,594

A couple spends around $3,444 per month in Barry vs $2,478 in Sofia, rent included.

Barry $3,444
Sofia $2,478

A family of three spends $4,567 per month in Barry vs $3,361 in Sofia, rent included.

Barry $4,567
Sofia $3,361

Barry costs about 46% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Barry and Sofia sit above the global median – Barry by 72%, Sofia by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.80 £15.60

$16.87 BGN 29.35

23.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.1 £63.1

$65.8 BGN 115

27.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.78 £8.08

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-4.77%

Cappuccino

$4.48 £3.36

$3.43 BGN 5.98

30.61%

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

$2.61 £1.96

$2.41 BGN 4.19

8.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.85 BGN 3.22

6.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.59 £5.69

$3.70 BGN 6.44

105.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 £4.83

$4.58 BGN 7.97

40.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.30

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-14.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.56 BGN 2.72

10.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 £1.66

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-4.72%

Eggs

$4.39 £3.29

$4.36 BGN 7.59

0.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 £6.18

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-30.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 £7.00

$8.83 BGN 15.37

5.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.15 £9.86

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-24.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$2.15 BGN 3.74

23.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-22.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.93 BGN 3.37

56.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 £2.67

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-16.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.04 BGN 1.80

91.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.08

$0.85 BGN 1.48

70.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.15 BGN 2.00

-5.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 £1.25

$0.89 BGN 1.56

87.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.14 £17.36

$4.21 BGN 7.33

449.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.69 £8.02

$7.46 BGN 12.98

43.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$1.15 BGN 2.01

159.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 £2.69

$1.85 BGN 3.23

94.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.87 BGN 1.51

286.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.8

$28.53 BGN 49.65

240.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.73 £3.55

$1.68 BGN 2.93

181.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$0.94 BGN 1.63

76.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.26 £19.70

$15.35 BGN 26.70

71.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.69 BGN 2.94

23.08%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

30.21%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

57.99%

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

$315 £237

$156 BGN 272

102.05%

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

$22.89 £17.17

$21.56 BGN 37.52

6.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.15 £29.37

$15.24 BGN 26.51

156.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.99 £33.75

$46.08 BGN 80.2

-2.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.00 £4.50

$27.92 BGN 48.58

-78.51%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £8.00

$10.18 BGN 17.72

4.72%

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

$1,962 £1,472

$774 BGN 1,347

153.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K £18.5K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

92.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 £75.6

$89.9 BGN 157

12.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 £36.11

$41.29 BGN 71.8

16.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.1

$105 BGN 183

1.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.0 £73.6

$107 BGN 186

-8.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,203 £903

$783 BGN 1,362

53.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$971 £729

$597 BGN 1,038

62.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,134 £1,601

$1,516 BGN 2,638

40.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 £1,246

$1,030 BGN 1,792

61.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,991 £3,744

$4,350 BGN 7,568

14.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,857 £2,894

$3,177 BGN 5,528

21.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

2.89

68.51%

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

Last update for Barry: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barry

$971 41.9%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 38.6% $374

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barry

$377 16.3%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 48.9% $185

Eating Out

Barry

$322 13.9%

Sofia

$255 16% 20.8% $67

Groceries & Markets

Barry

$301 13%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 3.5% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Barry

$159 6.9%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 3% $4.8

Getting Around

Barry

$124 5.3%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 68.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Barry

$66 2.9%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 0.2% $0.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,203 in Barry versus $783 in Sofia. 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 $84.0 in Barry versus $66.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $290 – making Sofia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barry

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

20:49 8:49 PM

22:49 10:49 PM

2 h ahead of Barry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,673

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Barry Sofia 2,220 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Barry
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

Barry vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Barry is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,480 per month in Barry and $2,391 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Kindergarten costs $1,962 per month in Barry and $774 in Sofia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 4% more in Barry, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,594, than in Barry at $2,320. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barry it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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 Sofia. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barry makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.