Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Biella and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Biella: $1,453 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sofia outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

71

Cost of Living Index in Biella
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Biella Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Biella

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,453

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,453 in Biella versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Biella $1,453
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,249 in Biella versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Biella $2,249
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,046 in Biella versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Biella $3,046
Sofia $3,361

Living in Biella costs roughly 9% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Biella 8% above, Sofia 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.91 €15.04

$16.87 BGN 29.35

0.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.0 €59.6

$65.8 BGN 115

1.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.80 €9.61

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-4.59%

Cappuccino

$1.77 €1.57

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-48.40%

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

$2.92 €2.60

$2.41 BGN 4.19

21.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 €1.16

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-29.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.11 €4.54

$3.70 BGN 6.44

38.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 €3.99

$4.58 BGN 7.97

-2.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.10

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-38.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 €1.94

$1.56 BGN 2.72

40.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$2.33 BGN 4.05

24.46%

Eggs

$3.75 €3.34

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-13.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.50 €12.90

$11.76 BGN 20.47

23.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.11 €8.11

$8.83 BGN 15.37

3.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.04 €18.72

$17.46 BGN 30.38

20.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 €2.77

$2.15 BGN 3.74

44.65%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.98 BGN 3.44

7.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.93 BGN 3.37

3.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.65 €4.14

$4.24 BGN 7.37

9.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.04 BGN 1.80

79.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.85 BGN 1.48

108.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.15 BGN 2.00

33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 €0.30

$0.89 BGN 1.56

-61.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.63 €5.90

$4.21 BGN 7.33

57.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 €5.84

$7.46 BGN 12.98

-11.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.15 BGN 2.01

73.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 €2.36

$1.85 BGN 3.23

43.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.01 €1.79

$0.87 BGN 1.51

131.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.10 €33.89

$28.53 BGN 49.65

33.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$14.72 €13.10

$1.68 BGN 2.93

776.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.70 €1.51

$0.94 BGN 1.63

80.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.90 €25.70

$15.35 BGN 26.70

88.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 €1.82

$1.69 BGN 2.94

21.30%

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

$35.7K €31.7K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

19.65%

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

$35.0K €31.2K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

34.00%

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

$192 €171

$156 BGN 272

23.31%

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

$7.90 €7.03

$21.56 BGN 37.52

-63.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.83 €23.87

$15.24 BGN 26.51

76.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.3 €59.0

$46.08 BGN 80.2

43.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.49 €21.78

$27.92 BGN 48.58

-12.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.75 €7.78

$10.18 BGN 17.72

-14.05%

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

$688 €612

$774 BGN 1,347

-11.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K €9,087

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

-20.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.9 €77.3

$89.9 BGN 157

-3.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.89 €39.93

$41.29 BGN 71.8

8.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.3 €75.9

$105 BGN 183

-18.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €98.4

$107 BGN 186

3.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$421 €375

$783 BGN 1,362

-46.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$365 €325

$597 BGN 1,038

-38.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$687 €611

$1,516 BGN 2,638

-54.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$568 €505

$1,030 BGN 1,792

-44.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,589 €1,414

$4,350 BGN 7,568

-63.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$871 €775

$3,177 BGN 5,528

-72.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,889 €1,680

$1,735 BGN 3,019

8.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.65

2.89

26.30%

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

Last update for Biella: 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

Biella

$365 25.1%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 63.6% $232

Groceries & Markets

Biella

$320 22%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 9.3% $30

Eating Out

Biella

$240 16.5%

Sofia

$255 16% 6% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Biella

$227 15.6%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 15.1% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Biella

$147 10.2%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 4.7% $6.9

Sport & Entertainment

Biella

$84 5.8%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 20.7% $17

Getting Around

Biella

$69 4.8%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 44.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $421 in Biella and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Biella pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Biella vs $66.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $320 vs $290 per month, with Sofia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Biella

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

15:16 3:16 PM

16:16 4:16 PM

1 h ahead of Biella

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,740

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Biella Sofia 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Biella
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

Biella vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Biella and Sofia differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,453 vs $1,594 including rent). Biella is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% higher in Biella, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $421 in Biella versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $688 in Biella versus $774 in Sofia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Sofia pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,453 in Biella versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Biella but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Biella 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, Biella 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 Biella gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.