Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbarara and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $477 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$477

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $477 per month in Mbarara vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

Mbarara $477
Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $755 per month in Mbarara vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

Mbarara $755
Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $1,032 per month in Mbarara vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

Mbarara $1,032
Sofia $3,387

Mbarara is about 70% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mbarara sits 65% below the global median, while Sofia is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.36 UGX 9,967

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-85.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.34 UGX 98.4K

$67.7 BGN 118

-65.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.09 UGX 29.9K

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-39.30%

Cappuccino

$2.45 UGX 10.3K

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-28.15%

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

$0.36 UGX 1,525

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-84.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 UGX 1,011

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-85.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.14 UGX 4,787

$3.99 BGN 6.94

-71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 UGX 7,485

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-60.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.49 UGX 2,064

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-74.74%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 UGX 3,411

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-47.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 UGX 4,978

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-49.79%

Eggs

$1.41 UGX 5,940

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-69.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.17 UGX 17.6K

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-63.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.29 UGX 18.1K

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-50.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.18 UGX 13.4K

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-81.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.95 UGX 8,217

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-9.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 UGX 5,755

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-31.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.26 UGX 5,328

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-31.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 UGX 5,001

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-72.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,063

$1.04 BGN 1.82

15.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 UGX 5,063

$0.89 BGN 1.54

34.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 UGX 3,139

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-37.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 UGX 2,067

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-40.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.32 UGX 9,803

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-47.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 UGX 30.3K

$7.42 BGN 12.91

-3.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 UGX 4,468

$1.16 BGN 2.01

-8.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 UGX 7,749

$1.90 BGN 3.30

-3.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 UGX 3,039

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-21.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 UGX 2,073

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-70.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 UGX 1,271

$0.85 BGN 1.49

-64.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.89 UGX 12.2K

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-82.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 UGX 5,647

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-22.99%

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

$7,152 UGX 30.2M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-76.11%

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

$6,894 UGX 29.1M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-72.44%

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

$66.6 UGX 280.8K

$158 BGN 275

-57.82%

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

$11.18 UGX 47.2K

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-47.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.93 UGX 138.9K

$15.12 BGN 26.30

117.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.74 UGX 74.8K

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-62.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$6.84 UGX 28.9K

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-31.60%

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

$265 UGX 1.1M

$815 BGN 1,419

-67.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K UGX 66.5M

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

7.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.89 UGX 54.4K

$87.1 BGN 152

-85.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.43 UGX 52.4K

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-67.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.15 UGX 127.2K

$106 BGN 184

-71.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.63 UGX 175.6K

$107 BGN 187

-61.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$83.3 UGX 351.3K

$769 BGN 1,338

-89.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.1 UGX 300.0K

$593 BGN 1,032

-88.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$220 UGX 928.3K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-85.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$162 UGX 684.1K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-84.71%

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)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

2.89

617.99%

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

Last update for Mbarara: October 31, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbarara

$134 28.1%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 115% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbarara

$111 23.2%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 75.5% $84

Eating Out

Mbarara

$81 17%

Sofia

$254 16% 212% $172

Accommodation & Living

Mbarara

$71 14.9%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 734% $522

Clothing & Footwear

Mbarara

$44 9.2%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 248% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Mbarara

$31 6.6%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 113% $35

Getting Around

Mbarara

$4.9 * 1%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 673% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $83 in Mbarara 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Mbarara versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $134 vs $288 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

01:21 1:21 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h behind Mbarara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

195,013

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.37 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.11 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 4,217 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.37 USD). 1 EUR = 4,734 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.11 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 UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbarara Sofia 4,870 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbarara
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

Mbarara vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 232%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $716 per month in Mbarara 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 Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $83 there versus $769 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $23 in Mbarara and $68 in Sofia. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 115% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $477, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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