Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hastings and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,667 in Hastings, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Hastings
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Hastings Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Hastings

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,667

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,667 in Hastings versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Hastings $2,667
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,558 in Hastings versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Hastings $3,558
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,449 in Hastings versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Hastings $4,449
Sofia $3,361

Living in Hastings is roughly 67% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Hastings 98% above, Sofia 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.82 £18.62

$16.87 BGN 29.35

47.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 £60.3

$65.8 BGN 115

22.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.28 £8.46

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-0.35%

Cappuccino

$4.43 £3.33

$3.43 BGN 5.98

29.15%

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

$2.96 £2.22

$2.41 BGN 4.19

22.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-27.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$3.70 BGN 6.44

83.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.08

$4.58 BGN 7.97

48.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.72 £0.54

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-64.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.56 BGN 2.72

9.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.62 £1.96

$2.33 BGN 4.05

12.45%

Eggs

$3.19 £2.40

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-26.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.70 £7.28

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-17.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.68 £7.26

$8.83 BGN 15.37

9.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.27 £9.96

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-24.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.82 £2.12

$2.15 BGN 3.74

31.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-12.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.17

$1.93 BGN 3.37

49.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 £2.57

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-19.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.04 BGN 1.80

76.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$0.85 BGN 1.48

81.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.15 BGN 2.00

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 £1.32

$0.89 BGN 1.56

96.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.49 £13.12

$4.21 BGN 7.33

315.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.75 £5.07

$7.46 BGN 12.98

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$1.15 BGN 2.01

150.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 £2.54

$1.85 BGN 3.23

83.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.50 £2.63

$0.87 BGN 1.51

302.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.9 £71.9

$28.53 BGN 49.65

236.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.35 £3.26

$1.68 BGN 2.93

158.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 £0.82

$0.94 BGN 1.63

15.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.53 £23.65

$15.35 BGN 26.70

105.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.69 BGN 2.94

15.98%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

30.15%

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

$40.2K £30.1K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

53.74%

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

$324 £243

$156 BGN 272

107.43%

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

$19.77 £14.83

$21.56 BGN 37.52

-8.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.7 £40.27

$15.24 BGN 26.51

252.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.83 £33.63

$46.08 BGN 80.2

-2.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$15.81 £11.86

$10.18 BGN 17.72

55.30%

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

$1,572 £1,180

$774 BGN 1,347

103.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K £13.1K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

36.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 £78.0

$89.9 BGN 157

15.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.9 £38.92

$41.29 BGN 71.8

25.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.9

$105 BGN 183

-2.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 £100

$107 BGN 186

25.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,465 £1,099

$783 BGN 1,362

87.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,259 £945

$597 BGN 1,038

111.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,553

$1,516 BGN 2,638

36.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,464 £1,098

$1,030 BGN 1,792

42.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,994 £3,747

$4,350 BGN 7,568

14.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,809 £2,857

$3,177 BGN 5,528

19.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,279 £2,460

$1,735 BGN 3,019

88.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

2.89

71.63%

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

Last update for Hastings: October 11, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hastings

$1.3K 47.2%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 52.6% $663

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hastings

$397 14.9%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 51.4% $204

Eating Out

Hastings

$350 13.1%

Sofia

$255 16% 27.3% $95

Groceries & Markets

Hastings

$287 10.8%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 1.1% $3.3

Clothing & Footwear

Hastings

$176 6.6%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 12.5% $22

Getting Around

Hastings

$120 4.5%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 67.9% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Hastings

$76 2.9%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 13.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,465 in Hastings and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hastings pays 89% 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: $80.0 in Hastings vs $66.0 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $290, with Hastings cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Hastings

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

16:11 4:11 PM

18:11 6:11 PM

2 h ahead of Hastings

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

92,855

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Hastings Sofia 1,940 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Hastings
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

Hastings vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hastings and Sofia differ by about 67% in total monthly costs ($2,667 vs $1,594 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 89% higher in Hastings, 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: $1,465 in Hastings versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,667 per month in Hastings versus $1,594 in Sofia – a 67% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 236% less than in Hastings. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,667 in Hastings, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Hastings. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Hastings 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 67% less than in Hastings. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.