Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chapala and Stara Zagora

For one person, living is cheaper in Stara Zagora: $908 a month against $1,067 in Chapala, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Chapala
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Chapala Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Stara Zagora
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Stara Zagora Living Index

Jump to prices

Chapala

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,067

/mo nomad

Stara Zagora

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$908

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chapala and in Stara Zagora

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chapala and in Stara Zagora actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,067 per month in Chapala vs $908 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Chapala $1,067
Stara Zagora $908

A couple spends around $1,595 per month in Chapala vs $1,415 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Chapala $1,595
Stara Zagora $1,415

A family of three spends $2,122 per month in Chapala vs $1,921 in Stara Zagora, rent included.

Chapala $2,122
Stara Zagora $1,921

Chapala costs about 18% more than Stara Zagora, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chapala and Stara Zagora are more affordable than the global median – Chapala 22% lower, Stara Zagora 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.52 MX$216

$10.38 BGN 18.16

10.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.67 MX$463

$51.7 BGN 90.5

-52.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.18 MX$135

$9.15 BGN 16.02

-21.53%

Cappuccino

$3.20 MX$60.1

$2.34 BGN 4.09

36.75%

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

$1.64 MX$30.79

$1.50 BGN 2.62

9.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.57

$0.87 BGN 1.52

37.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.10 MX$39.49

$2.21 BGN 3.87

-4.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 MX$59.1

$2.03 BGN 3.56

55.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 MX$27.39

$1.73 BGN 3.02

-15.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 MX$41.47

$0.86 BGN 1.51

156.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.08

$1.45 BGN 2.54

3.45%

Eggs

$2.32 MX$43.65

$2.36 BGN 4.12

-1.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.82 MX$147

$9.38 BGN 16.42

-16.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.35 MX$100

$6.39 BGN 11.18

-16.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 MX$148

$8.59 BGN 15.03

-8.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 MX$42.04

$1.25 BGN 2.19

79.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 MX$23.36

$1.70 BGN 2.98

-27.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 MX$27.30

$1.76 BGN 3.08

-17.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 MX$32.64

$1.93 BGN 3.38

-9.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 MX$28.58

$1.00 BGN 1.74

52.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MX$25.67

$0.72 BGN 1.26

90.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 MX$18.43

$0.55 BGN 0.97

78.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MX$15.57

$0.63 BGN 1.10

31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 MX$78.8

$3.64 BGN 6.38

15.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.02 MX$151

$5.25 BGN 9.18

52.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.38

$1.09 BGN 1.91

-24.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 MX$62.9

$1.73 BGN 3.03

93.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MX$13.48

$0.85 BGN 1.49

-15.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.45 BGN 35.79

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 MX$22.96

$1.29 BGN 2.26

-5.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.28 MX$61.6

$0.64 BGN 1.13

412.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.36 MX$307

$11.40 BGN 19.95

43.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MX$26.25

$1.57 BGN 2.75

-10.83%

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

$24.3K MX$455.6K

$29.7K BGN 52.0K

-18.36%

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

$23.7K MX$445.6K

$23.5K BGN 41.1K

1.10%

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

$48.73 MX$915

$91.4 BGN 160

-46.66%

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

$16.52 MX$310

$14.59 BGN 25.53

13.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.05 MX$452

$12.26 BGN 21.46

96.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.79 MX$447

$33.21 BGN 58.1

-28.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.06 BGN 36.86

Cinema Ticket

$2.95 MX$55.4

$8.89 BGN 15.55

-66.82%

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

$213 MX$3,991

$227 BGN 398

-6.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,826 MX$53.1K

$2,270 BGN 3,972

24.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.9 MX$1,031

$30.35 BGN 53.1

80.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.31 MX$719

$19.39 BGN 33.93

97.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.5 MX$947

$64.0 BGN 112

-21.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.79 MX$653

$51.9 BGN 90.8

-32.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$575 MX$10.8K

$330 BGN 577

74.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 MX$8,637

$279 BGN 489

64.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,014 MX$19.0K

$498 BGN 871

103.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 MX$14.4K

$399 BGN 699

92.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$692 MX$13.0K

$1,506 BGN 2,635

-54.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$698 MX$13.1K

$1,109 BGN 1,941

-37.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,067 BGN 1,867

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.2

2.99

274.58%

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

Last update for Chapala: October 24, 2026

Last update for Stara Zagora: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chapala

$460 43.1%

Stara Zagora

$279 30.8% 39.3% $181

Groceries & Markets

Chapala

$207 19.4%

Stara Zagora

$194 21.3% 6.4% $13

Eating Out

Chapala

$180 16.9%

Stara Zagora

$163 18% 9.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chapala

$89 8.4%

Stara Zagora

$118 13% 32.4% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Chapala

$80 7.5%

Stara Zagora

$75 8.2% 7.2% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Chapala

$30 2.8%

Stara Zagora

$51 5.6% 71.7% $21

Getting Around

Chapala

$21 * 1.9%

Stara Zagora

$28 3.1% 38.4% $7.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $575 in Chapala versus $330 in Stara Zagora. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Chapala versus $52 in Stara Zagora. Groceries tell a different story – $207 in Chapala vs $194 in Stara Zagora – so Stara Zagora wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Chapala

🇧🇬 Stara Zagora

🕒 Local time

11:33 11:33 AM

19:33 7:33 PM

8 h ahead of Chapala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,596

149,266

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.33 USD

100 MXN = 4.77 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18.77 MXN (100 MXN = 5.33 USD). 1 EUR = 20.96 MXN (100 MXN = 4.77 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chapala Stara Zagora 11,290 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Chapala
Stara Zagora

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

Chapala vs Stara Zagora: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chapala costs about 18% more than Stara Zagora, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,601 per month in Chapala and $1,362 in Stara Zagora. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Stara Zagora, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $330 there versus $575 in Chapala.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Chapala and $52 in Stara Zagora. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 7% more in Chapala, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,067 in Chapala and $908 in Stara Zagora, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Chapala has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $908 in Stara Zagora to $1,067 in Chapala. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.