Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lewisham and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $3,053 in Lewisham, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

150

Cost of Living Index in Lewisham
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Lewisham Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Lewisham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,053

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,053 per month in Lewisham vs $1,594 in Sofia, rent included.

Lewisham $3,053
Sofia $1,594

A couple spends around $4,886 per month in Lewisham vs $2,478 in Sofia, rent included.

Lewisham $4,886
Sofia $2,478

A family of three spends $6,719 per month in Lewisham vs $3,361 in Sofia, rent included.

Lewisham $6,719
Sofia $3,361

Lewisham costs about 92% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Lewisham and Sofia sit above the global median – Lewisham by 126%, Sofia by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.43 £17.58

$16.87 BGN 29.35

38.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$65.8 BGN 115

21.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 £7.81

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-8.13%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$3.43 BGN 5.98

41.40%

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

$2.04 £1.53

$2.41 BGN 4.19

-15.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-6.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 £4.91

$3.70 BGN 6.44

76.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.37

$4.58 BGN 7.97

27.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-16.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.56 BGN 2.72

19.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-11.59%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.27

$4.36 BGN 7.59

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.63 £4.97

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-43.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$8.83 BGN 15.37

-29.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.84 £8.89

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-32.19%

Apples (1kg)

$4.30 £3.23

$2.15 BGN 3.74

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-28.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.93 BGN 3.37

0.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.50

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-21.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.04 BGN 1.80

29.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 £1.40

$0.85 BGN 1.48

118.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 £0.57

$1.15 BGN 2.00

-34.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.12

$0.89 BGN 1.56

67.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.51

$4.21 BGN 7.33

454.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 £8.58

$7.46 BGN 12.98

53.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 £1.67

$1.15 BGN 2.01

93.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$1.85 BGN 3.23

-1.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 £2.29

$0.87 BGN 1.51

250.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$156 £117

$28.53 BGN 49.65

445.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 £4.85

$1.68 BGN 2.93

284.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.34 £22.76

$15.35 BGN 26.70

97.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.69 BGN 2.94

22.49%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

28.49%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

53.20%

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

$390 £292

$156 BGN 272

149.69%

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

$24.02 £18.02

$21.56 BGN 37.52

11.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.07 £31.56

$15.24 BGN 26.51

176.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.31 £33.24

$46.08 BGN 80.2

-3.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$16.82 £12.62

$10.18 BGN 17.72

65.23%

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

$804 £603

$774 BGN 1,347

3.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$80.6K £60.5K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

529.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$153 £115

$89.9 BGN 157

70.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 £49.26

$41.29 BGN 71.8

59.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 £102

$105 BGN 183

29.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 £94.6

$107 BGN 186

18.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,218 £1,664

$783 BGN 1,362

183.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$597 BGN 1,038

155.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,403 £4,053

$1,516 BGN 2,638

256.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,541 £2,656

$1,030 BGN 1,792

243.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,136 £2,353

$1,735 BGN 3,019

80.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

2.89

91.70%

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

Last update for Lewisham: 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

Lewisham

$1.5K 49.9%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 60.8% $927

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lewisham

$456 14.9%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 57.7% $263

Eating Out

Lewisham

$336 11%

Sofia

$255 16% 24.2% $82

Groceries & Markets

Lewisham

$268 8.8%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 8.2% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Lewisham

$217 7.1%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 28.7% $62

Getting Around

Lewisham

$174 * 5.7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 78% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Lewisham

$78 2.6%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 14.8% $12

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,218 in Lewisham versus $783 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 81% higher in Lewisham, 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 $80.0 in Lewisham versus $66.0 in Sofia. Groceries tell a different story – $268 in Lewisham vs $290 in Sofia – so Lewisham wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lewisham

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

16:30 4:30 PM

18:30 6:30 PM

2 h ahead of Lewisham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

96,224

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 19, 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 19, 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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Highest

Between locations

Lewisham Sofia 2,010 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Lewisham
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

Lewisham vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lewisham costs about 92% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,580 per month in Lewisham and $2,391 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.

Interestingly, groceries are about 8% cheaper in Lewisham – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80.0 in Lewisham and $66.0 in Sofia. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,594, than in Lewisham at $3,053. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lewisham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Sofia costs $1,594 versus $3,053 in Lewisham. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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, Lewisham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.