Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bulgaria

Name: Bulgaria
Address: BG

For one person, living is cheaper in Bulgaria: $1,158 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Bulgaria
Learn more

Bulgaria Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,158

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 14.6% more expensive than Bulgaria without rent, and 35.3% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 4.3% more expensive than Bulgaria without rent, and 36.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$11.46 BGN 20.06

2.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$45.27 BGN 79.2

2.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$10.46 BGN 18.30

-43.02%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.50 BGN 4.37

-1.20%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.63 BGN 2.85

-18.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.24 BGN 2.18

-16.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.26 BGN 3.96

33.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.44 BGN 6.02

6.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-25.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.11 BGN 1.95

7.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.29 BGN 4.01

-7.86%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.57 BGN 6.25

-15.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$10.41 BGN 18.21

-13.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$7.75 BGN 13.56

-14.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$13.23 BGN 23.15

-29.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.70 BGN 2.98

7.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$2.01 BGN 3.51

-5.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.90 BGN 3.32

-7.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.72 BGN 4.77

-23.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.11 BGN 1.94

39.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.06 BGN 1.86

40.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.06 BGN 1.86

22.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.75 BGN 1.31

54.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.94 BGN 6.89

-5.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$6.93 BGN 12.12

-12.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.07 BGN 1.87

29.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.69 BGN 2.96

30.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.89 BGN 1.55

69.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$28.55 BGN 49.96

113.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.47 BGN 2.57

-57.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.72 BGN 1.25

112.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$12.22 BGN 21.39

-60.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.61 BGN 2.83

-1.86%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$30.6K BGN 53.5K

16.07%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$24.9K BGN 43.6K

27.51%

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

$116 R 1,920

$127 BGN 222

-8.19%

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

$28.37 R 468

$18.66 BGN 32.66

52.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$13.78 BGN 24.12

195.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$34.58 BGN 60.5

41.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$18.25 BGN 31.94

-39.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.40 BGN 14.70

5.12%

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

$261 R 4,314

$551 BGN 964

-52.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$9,645 BGN 16.9K

-30.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$57.9 BGN 101

-4.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$33.45 BGN 58.5

-3.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$88.8 BGN 155

32.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$88.5 BGN 155

20.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$470 BGN 823

115.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$363 BGN 634

97.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$807 BGN 1,413

123.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$581 BGN 1,017

128.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,326 BGN 4,071

0.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,611 BGN 2,819

-6.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$1,160 BGN 2,030

41.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

3.12

251.60%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bulgaria: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Bulgaria

$363 31.3% 49.3% $353

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Bulgaria

$246 21.2% 10.6% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Bulgaria

$159 13.7% 14.1% $26

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Bulgaria

$183 15.8% 5.3% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Bulgaria

$121 10.4% 13.9% $20

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Bulgaria

$37 3.2% 50.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Bulgaria

$51 4.4% 22.7% $15

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

🕒 Local time

07:35 7:35 AM

08:35 8:35 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

6,795,803

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Bulgaria 8,540 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bulgaria

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

Cape Town vs other spots: cost of living compared

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