Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cascais and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,157 in Cascais, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Cascais
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Cascais Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Cascais

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,157

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,157 in Cascais versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Cascais $2,157
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,481 in Cascais versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Cascais $3,481
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,805 in Cascais versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Cascais $4,805
Sofia $3,361

Living in Cascais is roughly 35% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cascais 60% above, Sofia 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.31 €13.62

$16.87 BGN 29.35

-9.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.46 €39.55

$65.8 BGN 115

-32.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.26 €8.24

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-18.20%

Cappuccino

$2.59 €2.30

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-24.49%

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

$2.04 €1.81

$2.41 BGN 4.19

-15.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.85 BGN 3.22

18.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.30 €2.93

$3.70 BGN 6.44

-10.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.67 €5.05

$4.58 BGN 7.97

23.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-35.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €1.99

$1.56 BGN 2.72

42.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-30.47%

Eggs

$3.44 €3.06

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-21.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.70 €9.51

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-9.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.86 €6.10

$8.83 BGN 15.37

-22.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.19 €13.51

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-13.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.45

$2.15 BGN 3.74

27.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-26.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.93 BGN 3.37

26.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-49.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.04 BGN 1.80

54.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$0.85 BGN 1.48

177.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 €1.45

$1.15 BGN 2.00

41.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.95

$0.89 BGN 1.56

20.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.71 €5.08

$4.21 BGN 7.33

35.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.58 €6.74

$7.46 BGN 12.98

1.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.15 BGN 2.01

7.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 €3.90

$1.85 BGN 3.23

137.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.47 €2.20

$0.87 BGN 1.51

183.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.24 €39.35

$28.53 BGN 49.65

55.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.68 BGN 2.93

35.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.69 BGN 2.94

24.85%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

13.31%

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

$38.0K €33.8K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

45.48%

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

$133 €119

$156 BGN 272

-14.60%

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

$24.80 €22.06

$21.56 BGN 37.52

15.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.0 €49.83

$15.24 BGN 26.51

267.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.8 €59.4

$46.08 BGN 80.2

44.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.32 €10.06

$27.92 BGN 48.58

-59.46%

Cinema Ticket

$7.07 €6.29

$10.18 BGN 17.72

-30.55%

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

$719 €639

$774 BGN 1,347

-7.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.4K €16.3K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

43.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.9 €70.2

$89.9 BGN 157

-12.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.31 €34.08

$41.29 BGN 71.8

-7.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.0

$105 BGN 183

-0.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$107 BGN 186

24.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,763 €1,568

$783 BGN 1,362

125.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,150 €1,023

$597 BGN 1,038

92.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,833 €3,409

$1,516 BGN 2,638

152.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,606 €2,318

$1,030 BGN 1,792

153.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,815 €6,062

$4,350 BGN 7,568

56.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,833 €4,299

$3,177 BGN 5,528

52.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,264 €2,014

$1,735 BGN 3,019

30.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

2.89

26.99%

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

Last update for Cascais: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cascais

$1.1K 53.3%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 48.1% $553

Groceries & Markets

Cascais

$270 12.5%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 7.7% $21

Eating Out

Cascais

$226 10.5%

Sofia

$255 16% 12.7% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cascais

$214 9.9%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 9.9% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Cascais

$160 7.4%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 3.4% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Cascais

$81 3.8%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 17.9% $14

Getting Around

Cascais

$56 * 2.6%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 32% $18

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 $1,763 in Cascais and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cascais pays 30% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $44.00 in Cascais vs $66.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $290 per month, with Cascais cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Cascais

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

12:30 12:30 PM

14:30 2:30 PM

2 h ahead of Cascais

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

214,158

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

Lowest

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Between locations

Cascais Sofia 2,780 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Cascais
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

Cascais vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, leisure, and utilities. The 35% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 30% higher in Cascais, 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: $1,763 in Cascais versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cascais pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Sofia – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $44.00 in Cascais. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,157 in Cascais, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Cascais. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sofia is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cascais, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cascais 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 Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Cascais. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.