Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kostroma and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Kostroma: $1,332 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Kostroma
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Kostroma Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Kostroma

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,332

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,332 per month in Kostroma vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

Kostroma $1,332
Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $2,092 per month in Kostroma vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

Kostroma $2,092
Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $2,851 per month in Kostroma vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

Kostroma $2,851
Sofia $3,387

Kostroma is about 16% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.21 ₽996

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-26.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.8 ₽5,036

$67.7 BGN 118

-8.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.53 ₽614

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-35.53%

Cappuccino

$3.88 ₽316

$3.41 BGN 5.93

13.78%

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

$1.65 ₽135

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-30.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 ₽69.1

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-49.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 ₽155

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-52.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.96 ₽404

$4.53 BGN 7.88

9.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ₽102

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-35.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 ₽85.1

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-32.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 ₽141

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-26.38%

Eggs

$1.95 ₽159

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-57.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.37 ₽1,172

$11.47 BGN 19.96

25.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 ₽562

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-20.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.76 ₽1,203

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-14.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 ₽169

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-3.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 ₽152

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-5.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.00 ₽163

$1.83 BGN 3.18

9.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.80 ₽310

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-11.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 ₽72.9

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-14.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 ₽56.0

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-22.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 ₽134

$1.19 BGN 2.06

38.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 ₽79.4

$0.83 BGN 1.45

16.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 ₽292

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-18.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.22 ₽997

$7.42 BGN 12.91

64.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 ₽100

$1.16 BGN 2.01

6.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 ₽216

$1.90 BGN 3.30

39.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 ₽49.16

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-34.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.32 ₽2,473

$28.11 BGN 48.91

7.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 ₽295

$1.67 BGN 2.90

116.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ₽28.15

$0.85 BGN 1.49

-58.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.10 ₽497

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-63.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 ₽69.2

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-51.15%

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

$43.7K ₽3.6M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

46.03%

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

$40.0K ₽3.3M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

59.83%

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

$182 ₽14.9K

$158 BGN 275

15.36%

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

$8.47 ₽691

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-60.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.65 ₽787

$15.12 BGN 26.30

-36.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.59 ₽3,392

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-11.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.96 ₽1,955

$27.82 BGN 48.41

-13.87%

Cinema Ticket

$9.49 ₽774

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-5.10%

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

$356 ₽29.0K

$815 BGN 1,419

-56.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,304 ₽514.1K

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-56.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 ₽8,633

$87.1 BGN 152

21.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$67.8 ₽5,528

$38.28 BGN 66.6

77.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$143 ₽11.7K

$106 BGN 184

35.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$176 ₽14.3K

$107 BGN 187

64.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$434 ₽35.4K

$769 BGN 1,338

-43.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$349 ₽28.5K

$593 BGN 1,032

-41.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$900 ₽73.4K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-41.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 ₽49.5K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-42.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,294 ₽187.1K

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-49.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,550 ₽126.4K

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-50.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$776 ₽63.3K

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-56.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.36

2.89

569.90%

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

Last update for Kostroma: 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

Kostroma

$349 26.2%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 69.8% $244

Groceries & Markets

Kostroma

$266 20%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 8.1% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Kostroma

$222 16.6%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 31.3% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kostroma

$200 15%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 3% $6

Eating Out

Kostroma

$196 14.7%

Sofia

$254 16% 29.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Kostroma

$61 4.6%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 10.4% $6.3

Getting Around

Kostroma

$38 2.9%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 0.9% $0.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $434 in Kostroma versus $769 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 in Sofia are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Kostroma versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $266 vs $288 – making Kostroma the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Kostroma

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

08:31 8:31 AM

07:31 7:31 AM

1 h behind Kostroma

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

277,393

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.23 USD

100 RUB = 1.09 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 81.56 RUB (100 RUB = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 91.56 RUB (100 RUB = 1.09 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kostroma Sofia 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Kostroma
Sofia

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Kostroma vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 19% more than Kostroma, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,998 per month in Kostroma and $2,378 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kostroma, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $434 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Groceries cost about 8% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62 in Kostroma and $68 in Sofia. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,332 in Kostroma and $1,585 in Sofia. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

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