Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kicevo and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Kicevo: $888 a month against $1,600 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Kicevo
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Kicevo Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Kicevo

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$888

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $888 in Kicevo versus $1,600 in Sofia.

Kicevo $888
Sofia $1,600

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,308 in Kicevo versus $2,490 in Sofia.

Kicevo $1,308
Sofia $2,490

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,727 in Kicevo versus $3,380 in Sofia.

Kicevo $1,727
Sofia $3,380

Living in Kicevo costs roughly 44% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kicevo is 34% below, Sofia is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.93 MKD 214

$16.96 BGN 29.51

-76.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.45 MKD 1,006

$68.3 BGN 119

-72.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.45 MKD 243

$11.62 BGN 20.21

-61.70%

Cappuccino

$1.13 MKD 61.6

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-67.06%

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

$1.34 MKD 73.1

$2.34 BGN 4.08

-42.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 MKD 40.78

$1.83 BGN 3.19

-59.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 MKD 127

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-31.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 MKD 122

$4.44 BGN 7.73

-49.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 MKD 69.6

$1.97 BGN 3.42

-35.03%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 MKD 28.25

$1.49 BGN 2.59

-65.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 MKD 96.7

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-24.03%

Eggs

$2.37 MKD 129

$4.41 BGN 7.68

-46.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.37 MKD 402

$11.54 BGN 20.08

-36.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 MKD 413

$8.88 BGN 15.44

-14.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.61 MKD 797

$17.51 BGN 30.46

-16.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.43 MKD 78.1

$2.15 BGN 3.74

-33.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 MKD 75.1

$2.07 BGN 3.60

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 MKD 72.1

$1.93 BGN 3.37

-31.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.88 MKD 103

$4.25 BGN 7.39

-55.76%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 MKD 46.08

$1.03 BGN 1.79

-18.45%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 MKD 45.58

$0.88 BGN 1.54

-4.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 MKD 34.62

$1.19 BGN 2.07

-47.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 MKD 19.09

$0.89 BGN 1.55

-60.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.84 MKD 155

$4.23 BGN 7.35

-32.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.28 MKD 288

$7.87 BGN 13.69

-32.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 MKD 55.9

$1.18 BGN 2.06

-13.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.44 MKD 78.4

$1.89 BGN 3.29

-23.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MKD 41.55

$0.93 BGN 1.62

-18.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.27 MKD 1,269

$28.30 BGN 49.24

-17.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.07 MKD 58.4

$1.68 BGN 2.93

-36.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 MKD 33.66

$0.96 BGN 1.68

-35.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.66 MKD 418

$15.36 BGN 26.73

-50.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MKD 76.1

$1.77 BGN 3.09

-21.47%

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

$35.6K MKD 1.9M

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

16.62%

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

$27.6K MKD 1.5M

$25.1K BGN 43.6K

10.04%

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

$158 MKD 8,619

$157 BGN 273

0.59%

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

$17.88 MKD 975

$21.12 BGN 36.74

-15.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.13 MKD 1,043

$15.32 BGN 26.65

24.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.61 MKD 1,179

$46.39 BGN 80.7

-53.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.24 MKD 941

$28.09 BGN 48.87

-38.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.12 MKD 388

$10.04 BGN 17.46

-29.08%

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

$348 MKD 19.0K

$775 BGN 1,348

-55.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,689 MKD 310.3K

$12.5K BGN 21.8K

-54.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 MKD 4,636

$88.1 BGN 153

-3.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.90 MKD 2,013

$41.39 BGN 72.0

-10.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 MKD 5,516

$107 BGN 186

-5.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 MKD 6,185

$106 BGN 185

6.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$276 MKD 15.0K

$770 BGN 1,340

-64.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 MKD 10.6K

$602 BGN 1,048

-67.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$507 MKD 27.6K

$1,564 BGN 2,721

-67.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$303 MKD 16.5K

$1,036 BGN 1,803

-70.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,496 MKD 81.6K

$4,567 BGN 7,946

-67.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,151 MKD 62.8K

$3,162 BGN 5,502

-63.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$567 MKD 30.9K

$1,742 BGN 3,031

-67.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

2.89

46.37%

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

Last update for Kicevo: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kicevo

$198 22.3%

Sofia

$291 18.2% 47% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kicevo

$195 22%

Sofia

$194 12.1% 0.8% $1.5

Accommodation & Living

Kicevo

$195 22%

Sofia

$602 37.6% 209% $407

Clothing & Footwear

Kicevo

$151 17%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 1.8% $2.7

Eating Out

Kicevo

$83 9.3%

Sofia

$254 15.9% 207% $172

Sport & Entertainment

Kicevo

$36 4%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 85.4% $31

Getting Around

Kicevo

$30 3.4%

Sofia

$39 2.4% 26.5% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $276 in Kicevo and $770 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 207% 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: $18.00 in Kicevo vs $68.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $291 per month, with Kicevo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Kicevo

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

16:14 4:14 PM

17:14 5:14 PM

1 h ahead of Kicevo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,000

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

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Kicevo Sofia 240 km

From you

Kicevo
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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

Kicevo vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kicevo and Sofia differ by about 80% in total monthly costs ($888 vs $1,600 including rent). Kicevo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 207% 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: $276 in Kicevo versus $770 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $888 per month in Kicevo versus $1,600 in Sofia – a 80% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kicevo runs roughly 22% less than in Sofia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $888 in Kicevo versus $1,600 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kicevo but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Kicevo 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, Kicevo 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 Kicevo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.