Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Netherlands and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $2,659 in the Netherlands, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

130

Cost of Living Index in the Netherlands
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Netherlands Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,659

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: The Netherlands is 36.4% more expensive than Sofia without rent, and 67.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: The Netherlands is 28.2% more expensive than Sofia without rent, and 56.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.46 €20.04

$17.10 BGN 29.93

31.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.9 €80.2

$66.9 BGN 117

34.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.89 €12.39

$11.77 BGN 20.59

18.01%

Cappuccino

$4.16 €3.71

$3.42 BGN 5.99

21.64%

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

$3.69 €3.30

$2.42 BGN 4.23

52.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 €2.81

$1.86 BGN 3.26

69.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.62 €5.91

$3.33 BGN 5.83

98.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 €4.89

$4.53 BGN 7.92

20.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-30.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.51 BGN 2.64

49.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.21 BGN 3.88

24.89%

Eggs

$4.93 €4.40

$4.40 BGN 7.69

12.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 €12.42

$11.56 BGN 20.22

20.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.32 €12.78

$8.79 BGN 15.38

62.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.09 €15.25

$16.97 BGN 29.71

0.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.17 BGN 3.79

21.20%

Banana (1kg)

$2.48 €2.22

$2.04 BGN 3.57

21.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.84 BGN 3.22

12.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 €3.79

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-1.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.03 BGN 1.80

81.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$0.93 BGN 1.62

102.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.20 BGN 2.11

5.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-2.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.89 €12.40

$4.30 BGN 7.53

223.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.79 €6.06

$7.33 BGN 12.83

-7.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.18 BGN 2.06

28.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 €2.33

$1.87 BGN 3.28

39.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.88 €3.46

$0.87 BGN 1.52

345.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 €84.8

$28.14 BGN 49.24

237.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.53 €4.04

$1.74 BGN 3.04

160.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.04 €2.71

$0.96 BGN 1.68

216.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.23 €29.66

$15.54 BGN 27.19

113.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.50 €2.23

$1.79 BGN 3.14

39.66%

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

$40.8K €36.4K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

36.16%

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

$39.2K €35.0K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

48.64%

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

$261 €233

$156 BGN 273

67.54%

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

$22.50 €20.08

$21.21 BGN 37.11

6.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.3 €45.76

$15.64 BGN 27.37

227.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.47 €37.90

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-9.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.73 €22.96

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-7.25%

Cinema Ticket

$15.43 €13.77

$10.02 BGN 17.53

53.99%

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

$2,256 €2,014

$766 BGN 1,341

194.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,006 €8,037

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-29.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.9 €85.6

$89.7 BGN 157

6.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.51 €37.93

$40.88 BGN 71.5

3.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.1

$106 BGN 186

-0.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$105 BGN 183

27.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,625 €1,450

$796 BGN 1,393

104.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 €1,174

$607 BGN 1,063

116.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 €2,293

$1,563 BGN 2,735

64.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,022 €1,804

$1,060 BGN 1,855

90.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,529 €5,826

$4,357 BGN 7,626

49.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,871 €4,347

$3,250 BGN 5,688

49.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,761 €3,356

$1,740 BGN 3,044

116.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.86

2.89

33.56%

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

Last update for the Netherlands: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Netherlands

$1.3K 48.6%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 53.8% $709

Eating Out

Netherlands

$343 12.7%

Sofia

$256 16% 25.3% $87

Groceries & Markets

Netherlands

$340 12.6%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 15.6% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Netherlands

$335 12.4%

Sofia

$193 12% 42.5% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Netherlands

$170 6.3%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 9.5% $16

Getting Around

Netherlands

$130 4.8%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 70.7% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Netherlands

$73 2.7%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 8.9% $6.5

Good to know

🇳🇱 Netherlands

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

08:13 8:13 AM

09:13 9:13 AM

1 h ahead of the Netherlands

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,100,715

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Netherlands Sofia 1,740 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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