Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bodrum and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Bodrum: $1,176 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Bodrum, Turkey
Sofia, Bulgaria
Bodrum
🇹🇷 Turkey
$1,176
/mo nomad
Sofia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,585
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,176 in Bodrum versus $1,585 in Sofia.

  • Bodrum $1,176
  • Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,288 in Bodrum versus $2,486 in Sofia.

  • Bodrum $2,288
  • Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,399 in Bodrum versus $3,387 in Sofia.

  • Bodrum $3,399
  • Sofia $3,387

Living in Bodrum costs roughly 26% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bodrum is 13% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.82 ₺491
$16.57 BGN 28.84
-40.74%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$60.1 ₺3,007
$67.7 BGN 118
-11.21%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.49 ₺425
$11.68 BGN 20.33
-27.31%
Cappuccino
$3.61 ₺180
$3.41 BGN 5.93
5.87%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.48 ₺74.3
$2.36 BGN 4.11
-37.29%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.76 ₺38.05
$1.67 BGN 2.91
-54.49%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.08 ₺204
$3.99 BGN 6.94
2.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.63 ₺232
$4.53 BGN 7.88
2.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.95 ₺47.49
$1.94 BGN 3.38
-51.03%
White Bread (500g)
$1.03 ₺51.3
$1.55 BGN 2.70
-33.55%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.41 ₺120
$2.35 BGN 4.09
2.55%
Eggs
$1.97 ₺98.6
$4.60 BGN 8.00
-57.17%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.87 ₺594
$11.47 BGN 19.96
3.49%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.37 ₺169
$8.65 BGN 15.04
-61.04%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$21.09 ₺1,055
$17.34 BGN 30.17
21.63%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 ₺77.4
$2.15 BGN 3.73
-27.91%
Banana (1kg)
$1.81 ₺90.4
$1.98 BGN 3.45
-8.59%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.91 ₺45.71
$1.83 BGN 3.18
-50.27%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.14 ₺57.2
$4.27 BGN 7.43
-73.30%
Potato (1kg)
$0.51 ₺25.55
$1.04 BGN 1.82
-50.96%
Onion (1kg)
$0.44 ₺21.95
$0.89 BGN 1.54
-50.56%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.74 ₺37.22
$1.19 BGN 2.06
-37.82%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.75 ₺37.31
$0.83 BGN 1.45
-9.64%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.23 ₺112
$4.40 BGN 7.66
-49.32%
Wine (Bottle)
$15.08 ₺754
$7.42 BGN 12.91
103.23%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.83 ₺91.4
$1.16 BGN 2.01
57.76%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.76 ₺88.3
$1.90 BGN 3.30
-7.37%
🚌 Getting Around
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.08 ₺54.0
$0.92 BGN 1.60
17.39%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$28.11 BGN 48.91
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.03 ₺152
$1.67 BGN 2.90
81.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.98 ₺49.14
$0.85 BGN 1.49
15.29%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
-
$16.59 BGN 28.87
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.28 ₺64.3
$1.74 BGN 3.03
-26.44%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$40.9K ₺2.0M
$29.9K BGN 52.1K
36.50%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$39.6K ₺2.0M
$25.0K BGN 43.5K
58.21%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$41.73 ₺2,089
$158 BGN 275
-73.57%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.17 ₺509
$21.27 BGN 37.01
-52.19%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$10.72 ₺537
$15.12 BGN 26.30
-29.10%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$76.1 ₺3,809
$46.85 BGN 81.5
62.45%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$27.82 BGN 48.41
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.86 ₺344
$10.00 BGN 17.39
-31.40%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$405 ₺20.3K
$815 BGN 1,419
-50.29%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,660 ₺433.4K
$14.6K BGN 25.5K
-40.87%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$102 ₺5,105
$87.1 BGN 152
17.13%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$56.7 ₺2,838
$38.28 BGN 66.6
48.15%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$154 ₺7,688
$106 BGN 184
45.47%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$119 ₺5,977
$107 BGN 187
11.44%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$600 ₺30.0K
$769 BGN 1,338
-21.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$393 ₺19.7K
$593 BGN 1,032
-33.73%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,326 ₺66.3K
$1,530 BGN 2,662
-13.33%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,475 ₺73.8K
$1,061 BGN 1,846
39.06%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,897 ₺145.0K
$4,526 BGN 7,875
-35.98%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,430 ₺121.6K
$3,109 BGN 5,410
-21.85%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bodrum
Sofia
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,041 ₺52.1K
$1,780 BGN 3,098
-41.53%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
38.25
2.89
1223.53%

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

Last update for Bodrum: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Bodrum
$393
Sofia
$593 50.9% $200
Groceries & Markets
Bodrum
$238
Sofia
$288 20.9% $50
Clothing & Footwear
Bodrum
$194
Sofia
$152 21.7% $42
Eating Out
Bodrum
$186
Sofia
$254 36.4% $68
Sport & Entertainment
Bodrum
$90
Sofia
$67 25.6% $23
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bodrum
$63
Sofia
$194 210% $132
Getting Around
Bodrum
$12 *
Sofia
$38 208% $25

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 $600 in Bodrum and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 71% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $60 in Bodrum vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $238 vs $288 per month, with Bodrum cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇷 Bodrum
🇧🇬 Sofia
🕒 Local time
21:09 9:09 PM
20:09 8:09 PM
1 h behind Bodrum
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
187,284
1,286,383 Capital
💱 Currency
Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.
Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.23 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bodrum Sofia 720 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Bodrum
  • 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
Bodrum vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Bodrum or Sofia?
Bodrum wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bodrum the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Bodrum or in Sofia?
On paper, salaries run 42% lower in Bodrum. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Bodrum compared to Sofia?
Rent for a central apartment: $600 in Bodrum versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Bodrum or in Sofia?
Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Bodrum compared to Sofia?
All in, you’ll spend $1,176 per month in Bodrum versus $1,585 in Sofia – Bodrum is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Bodrum or in Sofia?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bodrum is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Bodrum or Sofia?
Both work as nomad bases, but Bodrum delivers better value at $1,176 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bodrum hard to pass up.
How safe is Bodrum compared to Sofia?
Safety-wise, Bodrum and Sofia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.
Should I move to Bodrum or to Sofia?
It comes down to priorities – Bodrum wins on affordability, Sofia on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.

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