Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $2,625 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,625

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,625 per month in Edinburgh vs $1,589 in Sofia, rent included.

Edinburgh $2,625
Sofia $1,589

A couple spends around $3,915 per month in Edinburgh vs $2,456 in Sofia, rent included.

Edinburgh $3,915
Sofia $2,456

A family of three spends $5,205 per month in Edinburgh vs $3,324 in Sofia, rent included.

Edinburgh $5,205
Sofia $3,324

Edinburgh costs about 65% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Edinburgh and Sofia sit above the global median – Edinburgh by 96%, Sofia by 19%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.18 £18.28

$17.10 BGN 29.93

41.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £80.0

$66.9 BGN 117

58.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.90

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-11.21%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.96

$3.42 BGN 5.99

53.22%

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

$2.48 £1.88

$2.42 BGN 4.23

2.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.63

$1.86 BGN 3.26

16.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 £6.01

$3.33 BGN 5.83

138.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.09 £6.12

$4.53 BGN 7.92

78.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-11.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.77

$1.51 BGN 2.64

54.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 £1.76

$2.21 BGN 3.88

5.43%

Eggs

$5.17 £3.91

$4.40 BGN 7.69

17.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.33 £7.05

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-19.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.42 £7.12

$8.79 BGN 15.38

7.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 £11.92

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-7.07%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 £2.32

$2.17 BGN 3.79

41.01%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-3.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.84 BGN 3.22

81.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.61 £2.73

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-15.85%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.03 BGN 1.80

95.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.15

$0.93 BGN 1.62

63.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.96

$1.20 BGN 2.11

5.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$0.92 BGN 1.62

98.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.76

$4.30 BGN 7.53

446.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.35

$7.33 BGN 12.83

50.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.44

$1.18 BGN 2.06

173.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.43

$1.87 BGN 3.28

71.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 £2.34

$0.87 BGN 1.52

256.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.8 £72.4

$28.14 BGN 49.24

240.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 £3.95

$1.74 BGN 3.04

200.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 £1.43

$0.96 BGN 1.68

96.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.39 £21.46

$15.54 BGN 27.19

82.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.57

$1.79 BGN 3.14

15.64%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

26.27%

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

$39.7K £30.0K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

50.60%

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

$324 £245

$156 BGN 273

108.02%

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

$16.36 £12.37

$21.21 BGN 37.11

-22.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.61

$15.64 BGN 27.37

175.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 £33.96

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-3.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.12 £17.48

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-16.65%

Cinema Ticket

$14.35 £10.85

$10.02 BGN 17.53

43.21%

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

$1,783 £1,348

$766 BGN 1,341

132.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £19.0K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

96.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.8 £61.8

$89.7 BGN 157

-8.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.85 £37.68

$40.88 BGN 71.5

21.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £81.0

$106 BGN 186

1.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 £88.8

$105 BGN 183

12.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,227

$796 BGN 1,393

103.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 £892

$607 BGN 1,063

94.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,741 £2,072

$1,563 BGN 2,735

75.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,084 £1,576

$1,060 BGN 1,855

96.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,661 £5,035

$4,357 BGN 7,626

52.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,622 £3,493

$3,250 BGN 5,688

42.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,603 £2,724

$1,740 BGN 3,044

107.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

2.89

65.05%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.1%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 48.5% $573

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$384 14.7%

Sofia

$193 12% 49.8% $191

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$362 13.9%

Sofia

$256 16% 29.3% $106

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$332 12.7%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 13.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$160 6.1%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 4.2% $6.7

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$123 4.7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 68.9% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$74 2.8%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 9.3% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,623 in Edinburgh versus $796 in Sofia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 107% higher in Edinburgh, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $106 in Edinburgh versus $67.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $287 – making Sofia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

01:55 1:55 AM

03:55 3:55 AM

2 h ahead of Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Sofia 2,400 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

Edinburgh vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Edinburgh is pricier by about 65%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,937 per month in Edinburgh and $2,384 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sofia, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $106 in Edinburgh and $67.0 in Sofia. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,625 in Edinburgh and $1,589 in Sofia. That's a gap of about 65%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,589, than in Edinburgh at $2,625. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Edinburgh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Sofia – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Sofia. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Edinburgh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.