Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Meknes and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Meknes: $683 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Meknes
Learn more

Meknes Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Meknes

🇲🇦 Morocco

$683

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $683 in Meknes versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Meknes $683
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,051 in Meknes versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Meknes $1,051
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,419 in Meknes versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Meknes $1,419
Sofia $3,361

Living in Meknes costs roughly 57% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Meknes is 49% below, Sofia is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.18 MAD 31.03

$16.87 BGN 29.35

-81.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.67 MAD 153

$65.8 BGN 115

-76.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.07 MAD 59.2

$11.32 BGN 19.69

-46.38%

Cappuccino

$1.21 MAD 11.84

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-64.72%

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

$0.90 MAD 8.77

$2.41 BGN 4.19

-62.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 MAD 4.32

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-76.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MAD 29.86

$3.70 BGN 6.44

-17.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 MAD 35.72

$4.58 BGN 7.97

-20.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.83 MAD 8.11

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-58.91%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 MAD 3.78

$1.56 BGN 2.72

-75.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 MAD 12.62

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-44.64%

Eggs

$1.85 MAD 18.03

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-57.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.05 MAD 108

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-6.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.32 MAD 51.9

$8.83 BGN 15.37

-39.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.21 MAD 89.8

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-47.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 MAD 11.74

$2.15 BGN 3.74

-44.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 MAD 12.91

$1.98 BGN 3.44

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.64 MAD 6.26

$1.93 BGN 3.37

-66.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.72 MAD 7.03

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-83.02%

Potato (1kg)

$0.54 MAD 5.25

$1.04 BGN 1.80

-48.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.55 MAD 5.40

$0.85 BGN 1.48

-35.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 MAD 4.75

$1.15 BGN 2.00

-57.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MAD 5.37

$0.89 BGN 1.56

-38.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.15 MAD 40.42

$4.21 BGN 7.33

-1.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 MAD 80.3

$7.46 BGN 12.98

10.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 MAD 23.23

$1.15 BGN 2.01

106.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 MAD 25.65

$1.85 BGN 3.23

42.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 MAD 3.90

$0.87 BGN 1.51

-54.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.76 MAD 154

$28.53 BGN 49.65

-44.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.69 MAD 6.75

$1.68 BGN 2.93

-58.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 MAD 2.91

$0.94 BGN 1.63

-68.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.50 MAD 43.90

$15.35 BGN 26.70

-70.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 MAD 13.87

$1.69 BGN 2.94

-15.98%

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

$31.2K MAD 304.3K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

4.75%

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

$30.9K MAD 301.3K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

18.25%

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

$31.22 MAD 304

$156 BGN 272

-80.00%

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

$9.45 MAD 92.2

$21.56 BGN 37.52

-56.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.10 MAD 332

$15.24 BGN 26.51

123.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.52 MAD 278

$46.08 BGN 80.2

-38.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.68 MAD 319

$27.92 BGN 48.58

17.05%

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 MAD 40.96

$10.18 BGN 17.72

-58.74%

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

$123 MAD 1,202

$774 BGN 1,347

-84.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,616 MAD 54.8K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

-56.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.7 MAD 591

$89.9 BGN 157

-32.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.86 MAD 437

$41.29 BGN 71.8

8.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 MAD 909

$105 BGN 183

-11.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.5 MAD 580

$107 BGN 186

-44.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 MAD 2,599

$783 BGN 1,362

-65.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 MAD 1,674

$597 BGN 1,038

-71.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$457 MAD 4,460

$1,516 BGN 2,638

-69.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$287 MAD 2,802

$1,030 BGN 1,792

-72.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$965 MAD 9,406

$4,350 BGN 7,568

-77.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$603 MAD 5,876

$3,177 BGN 5,528

-81.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$475 MAD 4,632

$1,735 BGN 3,019

-72.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

2.89

55.71%

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

Last update for Meknes: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Meknes

$177 26%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 63.9% $113

Accommodation & Living

Meknes

$172 25.2%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 248% $425

Clothing & Footwear

Meknes

$116 17%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 32.8% $38

Eating Out

Meknes

$86 12.6%

Sofia

$255 16% 195% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Meknes

$75 11%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 158% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Meknes

$37 5.4%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 79.9% $30

Getting Around

Meknes

$20 2.9%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 96.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $267 in Meknes and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 265% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $16.00 in Meknes vs $66.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $177 vs $290 per month, with Meknes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇦 Meknes

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

14:04 2:04 PM

16:04 4:04 PM

2 h ahead of Meknes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

520,428

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to MAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Meknes Sofia 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Meknes
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

Meknes vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Meknes wins on cost – living expenses run 134% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Meknes the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 265% lower in Sofia. 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: $267 in Meknes versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Meknes – a meal for two runs $16.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $683 per month in Meknes versus $1,594 in Sofia – a 134% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $683 in Meknes versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Meknes but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Meknes the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Meknes delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $683 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Meknes hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Meknes and Sofia are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Meknes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 134% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.