Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Budapest and Sofia

For one person, living costs are similar in Budapest and in Sofia: $1,621 and $1,589 a month, rent and utilities included.

79

Cost of Living Index in Budapest
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Budapest Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,621

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,621 per month in Budapest vs $1,589 in Sofia, rent included.

Budapest $1,621
Sofia $1,589

A couple spends around $2,555 per month in Budapest vs $2,456 in Sofia, rent included.

Budapest $2,555
Sofia $2,456

A family of three spends $3,489 per month in Budapest vs $3,324 in Sofia, rent included.

Budapest $3,489
Sofia $3,324

Budapest costs about 2% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Budapest and Sofia sit above the global median – Budapest by 21%, Sofia by 19%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.99 Ft 4,555

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-18.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.3 Ft 19.7K

$66.9 BGN 117

-9.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 Ft 3,244

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-15.38%

Cappuccino

$3.38 Ft 1,102

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-1.17%

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

$2.13 Ft 693

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-11.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 Ft 609

$1.86 BGN 3.26

0.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.75 Ft 1,222

$3.33 BGN 5.83

12.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 Ft 1,163

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-21.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Ft 369

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-41.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.84 Ft 600

$1.51 BGN 2.64

21.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 Ft 777

$2.21 BGN 3.88

8.14%

Eggs

$3.83 Ft 1,246

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-12.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.33 Ft 3,689

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-1.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.74 Ft 2,194

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-23.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.69 Ft 4,784

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-13.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 Ft 598

$2.17 BGN 3.79

-15.21%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 Ft 654

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-1.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 Ft 767

$1.84 BGN 3.22

28.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.77 Ft 1,227

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-12.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.96 Ft 314

$1.03 BGN 1.80

-6.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 Ft 335

$0.93 BGN 1.62

10.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 Ft 509

$1.20 BGN 2.11

30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 Ft 216

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-28.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 Ft 2,594

$4.30 BGN 7.53

85.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 Ft 1,956

$7.33 BGN 12.83

-18.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 Ft 422

$1.18 BGN 2.06

10.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 Ft 677

$1.87 BGN 3.28

11.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 Ft 490

$0.87 BGN 1.52

72.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.61 Ft 8,991

$28.14 BGN 49.24

-1.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.30 Ft 1,075

$1.74 BGN 3.04

89.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 Ft 424

$0.96 BGN 1.68

35.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.78 Ft 6,442

$15.54 BGN 27.19

27.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.81 Ft 591

$1.79 BGN 3.14

1.12%

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

$29.3K Ft 9.6M

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

-2.19%

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

$34.1K Ft 11.1M

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

29.36%

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

$170 Ft 55.3K

$156 BGN 273

8.96%

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

$23.98 Ft 7,809

$21.21 BGN 37.11

13.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.42 Ft 7,628

$15.64 BGN 27.37

49.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.2 Ft 21.6K

$46.76 BGN 81.8

41.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 Ft 6,245

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-30.86%

Cinema Ticket

$9.52 Ft 3,101

$10.02 BGN 17.53

-4.99%

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

$537 Ft 174.8K

$766 BGN 1,341

-29.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K Ft 5.4M

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

29.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 Ft 33.0K

$89.7 BGN 157

12.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.99 Ft 14.0K

$40.88 BGN 71.5

5.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 Ft 36.7K

$106 BGN 186

6.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 Ft 38.7K

$105 BGN 183

13.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 Ft 262.2K

$796 BGN 1,393

1.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$629 Ft 204.9K

$607 BGN 1,063

3.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,549 Ft 504.6K

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-0.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,167 Ft 380.1K

$1,060 BGN 1,855

10.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,618 Ft 1.8M

$4,357 BGN 7,626

28.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,968 Ft 1.3M

$3,250 BGN 5,688

22.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,626 Ft 529.5K

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-6.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.43

2.89

122.49%

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

Last update for Budapest: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Budapest

$629 38.7%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 3.5% $22

Groceries & Markets

Budapest

$258 15.8%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 11.5% $30

Eating Out

Budapest

$224 13.8%

Sofia

$256 16% 14.2% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Budapest

$217 13.4%

Sofia

$193 12% 11.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Budapest

$169 10.4%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 9.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Budapest

$85 5.2%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 21.7% $18

Getting Around

Budapest

$43 2.7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 12.1% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $805 in Budapest versus $796 in Sofia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 7% higher in Sofia, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Budapest versus $67.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $287 – making Budapest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Budapest

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

03:03 3:03 AM

04:03 4:03 AM

1 h ahead of Budapest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,686,222 Capital

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 326 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.07 USD). 1 EUR = 365 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.74 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Budapest Sofia 630 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Budapest
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

Budapest vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Budapest is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,432 per month in Budapest and $2,384 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.

Public transport costs about 2% less in Sofia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $537 per month in Budapest and $766 in Sofia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,589, than in Budapest at $1,621. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Budapest 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, Budapest makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.