Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jubail and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Jubail: $1,090 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Jubail
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Jubail Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Jubail

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,090

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,090 in Jubail versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Jubail $1,090
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,711 in Jubail versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Jubail $1,711
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,332 in Jubail versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Jubail $2,332
Sofia $3,387

Living in Jubail costs roughly 31% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Jubail is 19% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.72 SAR 25.21

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-59.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.12 SAR 151

$67.7 BGN 118

-40.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.82 SAR 33.11

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-24.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 SAR 7.13

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SAR 8.24

Cappuccino

$3.91 SAR 14.66

$3.41 BGN 5.93

14.66%

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

$1.00 SAR 3.75

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-57.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.97

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-84.43%

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)

$1.51 SAR 5.66

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-22.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 SAR 5.42

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-7.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 5.99

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-31.91%

Eggs

$2.06 SAR 7.73

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-55.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.65 SAR 36.22

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-15.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.33 SAR 23.74

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-26.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.70 SAR 43.92

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-32.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 SAR 8.32

$2.15 BGN 3.73

3.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 SAR 6.70

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-10.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 SAR 5.65

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-17.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 SAR 6.22

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-61.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 SAR 4.66

$1.04 BGN 1.82

19.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 SAR 4.98

$0.89 BGN 1.54

49.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 SAR 6.31

$1.19 BGN 2.06

41.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 SAR 2.05

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-33.73%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.87 SAR 10.78

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 SAR 7.83

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 SAR 7.60

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 SAR 24.68

$4.40 BGN 7.66

49.55%

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)

$1.30 SAR 4.86

$0.92 BGN 1.60

41.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.00 SAR 90.1

$28.11 BGN 48.91

-14.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 SAR 10.07

$1.67 BGN 2.90

60.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 SAR 9.76

$0.85 BGN 1.49

205.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.49 SAR 54.4

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-12.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 SAR 2.25

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-65.52%

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

$25.9K SAR 97.2K

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-13.50%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.4K

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-16.46%

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

$79.2 SAR 297

$158 BGN 275

-49.82%

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

$27.13 SAR 102

$21.27 BGN 37.01

27.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.5 SAR 253

$15.12 BGN 26.30

346.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 SAR 379

$46.85 BGN 81.5

115.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.60 SAR 149

$27.82 BGN 48.41

42.34%

Cinema Ticket

$13.48 SAR 50.6

$10.00 BGN 17.39

34.80%

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

$182 SAR 683

$815 BGN 1,419

-77.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K SAR 61.0K

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

10.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.53 SAR 160

$87.1 BGN 152

-51.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.1 SAR 218

$38.28 BGN 66.6

51.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.2 SAR 305

$106 BGN 184

-23.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.9 SAR 330

$107 BGN 187

-18.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$433 SAR 1,627

$769 BGN 1,338

-43.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$294 SAR 1,103

$593 BGN 1,032

-50.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$654 SAR 2,455

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-57.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$529 SAR 1,987

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-50.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,714 SAR 10.2K

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-40.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,364 SAR 5,119

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-56.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,602 SAR 6,015

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-9.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.62

2.89

94.46%

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

Last update for Jubail: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jubail

$294 27%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 102% $299

Groceries & Markets

Jubail

$196 18%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 47.1% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jubail

$174 16%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 11.8% $20

Eating Out

Jubail

$132 12.1%

Sofia

$254 16% 92% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Jubail

$128 11.8%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 47.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Jubail

$121 11.1%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 25.3% $31

Getting Around

Jubail

$45 4.1%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 15.9% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $433 in Jubail and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 11% 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: $40 in Jubail vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $288 per month, with Jubail cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Jubail

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

02:41 2:41 AM

01:41 1:41 AM

1 h behind Jubail

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

337,778

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 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 SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Jubail Sofia 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Jubail
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

Jubail vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jubail wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Jubail the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 10% lower in Jubail. 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: $433 in Jubail versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,090 per month in Jubail versus $1,585 in Sofia – Jubail is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Jubail runs roughly 15% less than in Sofia. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Jubail is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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

Expats usually find Jubail gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.