Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $522 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$522

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $522 in Machakos versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Machakos $522
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $806 in Machakos versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Machakos $806
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,091 in Machakos versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Machakos $1,091
Sofia $3,387

Living in Machakos costs roughly 67% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Machakos is 61% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.14 KES 408

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-81.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.49 KES 2,530

$67.7 BGN 118

-71.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.52 KES 847

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-44.18%

Cappuccino

$1.95 KES 253

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-42.82%

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

$0.70 KES 90.3

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-70.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 KES 69.2

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-68.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 KES 268

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-48.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 KES 356

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-39.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.40 KES 51.7

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-79.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.45 KES 57.8

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-70.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-65.96%

Eggs

$1.42 KES 185

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-69.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.98 KES 1,425

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-4.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.48 KES 841

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-25.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.72 KES 613

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-72.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 KES 203

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-26.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 KES 105

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-59.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.39 KES 51.0

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-78.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.37 KES 47.86

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-91.33%

Potato (1kg)

$0.78 KES 102

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 KES 96.3

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-16.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 96.9

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-36.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 KES 47.51

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-55.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 KES 465

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-18.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.74 KES 1,524

$7.42 BGN 12.91

58.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 KES 251

$1.16 BGN 2.01

66.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 351

$1.90 BGN 3.30

42.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 KES 96.5

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-55.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 KES 104

$0.85 BGN 1.49

-5.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 KES 373

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-82.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 KES 195

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-13.79%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-36.17%

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

$21.4K KES 2.8M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-14.31%

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

$56.7 KES 7,366

$158 BGN 275

-64.06%

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

$7.73 KES 1,004

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-63.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.47 KES 1,489

$15.12 BGN 26.30

-24.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.34 KES 4,977

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-18.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$7.78 KES 1,010

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-22.20%

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

$46.01 KES 5,973

$815 BGN 1,419

-94.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K KES 1.5M

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-18.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.44 KES 1,485

$87.1 BGN 152

-86.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.26 KES 3,929

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-20.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.8 KES 8,929

$106 BGN 184

-34.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.58 KES 5,009

$107 BGN 187

-64.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.6 KES 12.2K

$769 BGN 1,338

-87.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$68.4 KES 8,880

$593 BGN 1,032

-88.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$153 KES 19.9K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-89.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 KES 14.9K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-89.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$382 KES 49.6K

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-78.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

2.89

409.00%

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

Last update for Machakos: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$163 31.2%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 76.9% $125

Eating Out

Machakos

$89 17%

Sofia

$254 16% 186% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$76 14.6%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 156% $118

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$68 13.1%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 767% $525

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$67 12.9%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 127% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$54 10.3%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 24% $13

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 696% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $94 in Machakos and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 4.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $19 in Machakos vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $163 vs $288 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 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 KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Machakos Sofia 5,110 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

Machakos vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 67% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 79% lower in Machakos. 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: $94 in Machakos versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $522 per month in Machakos versus $1,585 in Sofia – Machakos is about 67% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $522 in Machakos versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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, Machakos and Sofia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Machakos wins on affordability, Sofia on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.