Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Varna

For one person, living is cheaper in Varna: $1,399 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $31,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

London, United Kingdom
Varna, Bulgaria
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,048
/mo nomad
Varna
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,399
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Varna

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in London and in Varna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,048 per month in London vs $1,399 in Varna, rent included.

  • London $4,048
  • Varna $1,399

A couple spends around $5,903 per month in London vs $2,196 in Varna, rent included.

  • London $5,903
  • Varna $2,196

A family of three spends $7,758 per month in London vs $2,994 in Varna, rent included.

  • London $7,758
  • Varna $2,994

London costs about 189% more than Varna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both London and Varna sit above the global median – London by 199%, Varna by 3%.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
London
Varna
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$26.36 £19.59
$11.82 BGN 20.56
123.01%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$109 £80.7
$58.3 BGN 101
86.19%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.71 £7.96
$10.34 BGN 17.98
3.58%
Cappuccino
$5.59 £4.15
$3.08 BGN 5.36
81.49%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.00 £2.23
$1.94 BGN 3.38
54.64%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.22 £1.65
$1.63 BGN 2.83
36.20%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.65 £7.17
$2.91 BGN 5.06
231.62%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$8.26 £6.14
$3.62 BGN 6.29
128.18%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
London
Varna
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.97 £1.46
$1.86 BGN 3.23
5.91%
White Bread (500g)
$2.09 £1.55
$1.21 BGN 2.10
72.73%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.59 £1.93
$2.53 BGN 4.40
2.37%
Eggs
$5.37 £3.99
$3.65 BGN 6.36
47.12%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.12 £9.75
$11.10 BGN 19.31
18.20%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.03 £8.20
$8.86 BGN 15.42
24.49%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.73 £13.17
$15.08 BGN 26.24
17.57%
Apples (1kg)
$3.17 £2.36
$2.03 BGN 3.53
56.16%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 £1.03
$2.06 BGN 3.58
-33.01%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.82 £2.10
$2.12 BGN 3.68
33.02%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.36 £2.50
$2.89 BGN 5.03
16.26%
Potato (1kg)
$1.70 £1.26
$1.23 BGN 2.14
38.21%
Onion (1kg)
$1.78 £1.32
$1.18 BGN 2.06
50.85%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.49 £1.11
$1.11 BGN 1.94
34.23%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 £1.35
$0.82 BGN 1.43
121.95%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.85 £17.72
$3.94 BGN 6.85
505.33%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.44 £9.98
$8.17 BGN 14.21
64.50%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.11 £2.31
$1.19 BGN 2.06
161.34%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.49 £3.34
$1.86 BGN 3.24
141.40%
🚌 Getting Around
London
Varna
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$4.13 £3.07
$1.14 BGN 1.99
262.28%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$266 £198
$28.50 BGN 49.60
833.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.98 £4.44
$1.82 BGN 3.16
228.57%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.39 £2.52
$0.91 BGN 1.58
272.53%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$56.6 £42.03
$13.63 BGN 23.71
314.89%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.21 £1.64
$1.69 BGN 2.95
30.77%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.3K £28.4K
$29.5K BGN 51.3K
29.69%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$41.0K £30.5K
$24.2K BGN 42.1K
69.43%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
Varna
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$372 £277
$172 BGN 300
116.31%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.66 £13.87
$20.87 BGN 36.32
-10.59%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.53 £30.12
$15.26 BGN 26.56
165.60%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
London
Varna
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$56.0 £41.63
$51.4 BGN 89.5
8.92%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.10 £12.71
$19.70 BGN 34.28
-13.20%
Cinema Ticket
$17.95 £13.34
$9.74 BGN 16.95
84.29%
🧸 Childcare & Education
London
Varna
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,946 £2,189
$493 BGN 858
497.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$47.6K £35.4K
$7,939 BGN 13.8K
499.85%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
London
Varna
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$116 £86.4
$65.7 BGN 114
76.82%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$56.9 £42.28
$32.70 BGN 56.9
74.01%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$128 £95.1
$102 BGN 177
25.50%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$154 £114
$100 BGN 175
53.22%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
London
Varna
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,935 £2,182
$641 BGN 1,116
357.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,258 £1,678
$476 BGN 828
374.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$5,250 £3,901
$1,326 BGN 2,308
295.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,859 £2,868
$896 BGN 1,559
330.62%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$17.2K £12.8K
$2,993 BGN 5,208
474.18%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$8,278 £6,152
$2,086 BGN 3,630
296.82%
💵 Salaries & Financials
London
Varna
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$5,621 £4,177
$1,240 BGN 2,157
353.38%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.78
2.83
68.90%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for Varna: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
London
$2.3K
Varna
$476 78.9% $1.8K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
$432
Varna
$208 51.7% $223
Eating Out
London
$396
Varna
$199 49.8% $197
Groceries & Markets
London
$360
Varna
$270 25% $90
Getting Around
London
$305
Varna
$39 87.1% $266
Clothing & Footwear
London
$205
Varna
$135 33.9% $69
Sport & Entertainment
London
$92
Varna
$71 22.9% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,935 in London versus $641 in Varna. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London versus $58 in Varna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $270 – making Varna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇬🇧 London
🇧🇬 Varna
🕒 Local time
12:52 12:52 PM
14:52 2:52 PM
2 h ahead of London
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
8,908,083 Capital
348,058
💱 Currency
Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.
Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.835 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 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).

On the map
Between locations
  • London Varna 2,290 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • London
  • Varna

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
London vs Varna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in London and in Varna compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $4,048 in London, $1,399 in Varna – Varna comes out roughly 65% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.
What salary covers living expenses in London compared to Varna?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,072 per month in London and $2,098 in Varna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between London and Varna?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Varna, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $641 there versus $2,935 in London.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Groceries cost about 33% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in London and $58 in Varna. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Varna, where all-in costs run around $1,399, than in London at $4,048. In Varna it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between London and Varna?
It depends on your priorities. Varna has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,399 in Varna to $4,048 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
How do I decide between London and Varna?
If budget matters most, go with Varna. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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