Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,589 in Sofia.

Dhaka $426
Sofia $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $2,456 in Sofia.

Dhaka $735
Sofia $2,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $3,324 in Sofia.

Dhaka $1,043
Sofia $3,324

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 73% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Sofia is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳306

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-85.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,605

$66.9 BGN 117

-80.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-58.96%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$2.34 ৳287

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-31.58%

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

$0.30 ৳37.39

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-87.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-91.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 BGN 5.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.92

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-58.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-56.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.3

$2.21 BGN 3.88

-67.87%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-72.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-25.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-63.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-60.52%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$2.17 BGN 3.79

25.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳109

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-56.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$1.84 BGN 3.22

28.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.6

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-84.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.20

$1.03 BGN 1.80

-76.70%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.7

$0.93 BGN 1.62

-47.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.88

$1.20 BGN 2.11

-73.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.31

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-67.39%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳819

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 ৳396

$4.30 BGN 7.53

-24.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 BGN 12.83

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 BGN 3.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.87 BGN 1.52

-51.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,770

$28.14 BGN 49.24

-19.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$1.74 BGN 3.04

-31.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.60

$0.96 BGN 1.68

-58.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$15.54 BGN 27.19

-78.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-35.75%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

1.03%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

25.28%

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

$46.32 ৳5,692

$156 BGN 273

-70.30%

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

$4.33 ৳532

$21.21 BGN 37.11

-79.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$15.64 BGN 27.37

-32.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,012

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-64.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,983

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-41.82%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$10.02 BGN 17.53

-58.78%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$766 BGN 1,341

-88.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.5K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-79.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,025

$89.7 BGN 157

-81.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,580

$40.88 BGN 71.5

-48.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,175

$106 BGN 186

-52.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,480

$105 BGN 183

-65.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$796 BGN 1,393

-80.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,044

$607 BGN 1,063

-87.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.6K

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-72.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$1,060 BGN 1,855

-79.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.3K

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-62.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$3,250 BGN 5,688

-76.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-85.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

2.89

262.63%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 134% $165

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 725% $534

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Sofia

$256 16% 298% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Sofia

$193 12% 215% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 175% $98

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 39.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 171% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $796 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 599% 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: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $67.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $287 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

08:45 8:45 AM

05:45 5:45 AM

3 h behind Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 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 BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Sofia 6,410 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
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

Dhaka vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 273% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 599% lower in Sofia. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $152 in Dhaka versus $796 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $426 per month in Dhaka versus $1,589 in Sofia – a 273% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 25% less than in Sofia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,589 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Dhaka 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 Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 273% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.