Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dukhan and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,585 a month against $1,697 in Dukhan, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dukhan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Dukhan
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Dukhan Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Dukhan

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,697

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,697 in Dukhan versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Dukhan $1,697
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,355 in Dukhan versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Dukhan $2,355
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,013 in Dukhan versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Dukhan $3,013
Sofia $3,387

Living in Dukhan is roughly 7% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dukhan 26% above, Sofia 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.87 QAR 39.57

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-34.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 QAR 257

$67.7 BGN 118

4.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.06 QAR 29.35

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-30.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.40 QAR 45.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.72 QAR 49.93

Cappuccino

$6.17 QAR 22.45

$3.41 BGN 5.93

80.94%

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

$0.97 QAR 3.51

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-58.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 QAR 1.68

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-72.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 QAR 7.90

$1.94 BGN 3.38

11.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 QAR 5.02

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-10.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 QAR 6.53

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-23.83%

Eggs

$3.47 QAR 12.62

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-24.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.35 QAR 41.32

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-1.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.00 QAR 29.11

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-7.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.79 QAR 42.93

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-32.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 QAR 8.18

$2.15 BGN 3.73

4.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 QAR 6.39

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-11.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 QAR 5.96

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-10.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 QAR 4.59

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-70.49%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 QAR 3.45

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-8.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 QAR 3.64

$0.89 BGN 1.54

12.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 QAR 4.99

$1.19 BGN 2.06

15.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 QAR 1.93

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-36.14%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.59 QAR 34.92

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 QAR 7.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 QAR 8.27

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.44 QAR 23.45

$4.40 BGN 7.66

46.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.90 QAR 6.92

$1.67 BGN 2.90

13.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 QAR 6.88

$0.85 BGN 1.49

122.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.88 QAR 50.5

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-16.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.55 QAR 2.01

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-68.39%

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

$24.0K QAR 87.5K

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-19.70%

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

$21.4K QAR 77.8K

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-14.51%

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

$92.2 QAR 336

$158 BGN 275

-41.59%

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

$35.23 QAR 128

$21.27 BGN 37.01

65.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.3 QAR 325

$15.12 BGN 26.30

490.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$12.13 QAR 44.16

$10.00 BGN 17.39

21.30%

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

$717 QAR 2,609

$815 BGN 1,419

-12.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K QAR 59.2K

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

11.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.1 QAR 230

$87.1 BGN 152

-27.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.95 QAR 182

$38.28 BGN 66.6

30.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$100 QAR 365

$106 BGN 184

-5.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 QAR 315

$107 BGN 187

-19.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,339 QAR 4,872

$769 BGN 1,338

74.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$902 QAR 3,282

$593 BGN 1,032

52.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,672 QAR 6,085

$1,530 BGN 2,662

9.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 QAR 4,047

$1,061 BGN 1,846

4.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,130 QAR 15.0K

$1,780 BGN 3,098

132.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

2.89

104.84%

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

Last update for Dukhan: November 3, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dukhan

$902 53.1%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 34.2% $309

Groceries & Markets

Dukhan

$217 12.8%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 32.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dukhan

$217 12.8%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 10.4% $23

Eating Out

Dukhan

$191 11.3%

Sofia

$254 16% 32.9% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Dukhan

$135 8%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 12.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Dukhan

$24 * 1.4%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 176% $43

Getting Around

Dukhan

$11 * 0.7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 232% $26

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 $1,339 in Dukhan and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dukhan pays about 2.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Dukhan vs $68 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $217 vs $288, with Dukhan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇶🇦 Dukhan

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h behind Dukhan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,000

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.245 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇶🇦 Qatari Riyal (ر.ق)

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 QAR (1 QAR = 0.245 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to QAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dukhan Sofia 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dukhan
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

Dukhan vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,697 in Dukhan and $1,585 in Sofia, so Sofia is about 7% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Dukhan is about 2.3 times higher, 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: $1,339 in Dukhan versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Dukhan pay roughly 24% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,697 per month in Dukhan versus $1,585 in Sofia – Sofia is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Sofia gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Dukhan and Sofia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Sofia wins on affordability, Dukhan on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.