Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phuket and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,278 a month against $1,609 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

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Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,609

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,609 in Sofia.

Phuket $1,278
Sofia $1,609

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,216 in Phuket versus $2,495 in Sofia.

Phuket $2,216
Sofia $2,495

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,154 in Phuket versus $3,381 in Sofia.

Phuket $3,154
Sofia $3,381

Living in Phuket costs roughly 21% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phuket is 6% below, Sofia is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.47 ฿151

$16.88 BGN 29.53

-73.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.41 ฿1,093

$66.5 BGN 116

-51.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.81 ฿297

$11.59 BGN 20.29

-23.99%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ฿95.4

$3.52 BGN 6.17

-19.60%

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

$0.87 ฿29.41

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-64.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.65

$1.77 BGN 3.09

-72.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.56 ฿86.3

$3.68 BGN 6.44

-30.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 ฿124

$4.38 BGN 7.66

-15.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 ฿55.9

$1.96 BGN 3.42

-15.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 ฿49.31

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-3.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.5

$2.20 BGN 3.85

-31.82%

Eggs

$2.09 ฿70.5

$4.40 BGN 7.71

-52.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.07 ฿643

$11.76 BGN 20.59

62.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ฿111

$8.68 BGN 15.19

-61.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.91 ฿368

$17.37 BGN 30.40

-37.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 ฿98.9

$2.13 BGN 3.73

37.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 ฿57.0

$2.05 BGN 3.59

-17.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 ฿75.8

$1.93 BGN 3.38

16.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 ฿70.0

$4.17 BGN 7.30

-50.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 ฿51.0

$1.08 BGN 1.89

39.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ฿46.52

$0.91 BGN 1.59

51.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.07 ฿35.96

$1.18 BGN 2.07

-9.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ฿17.51

$0.84 BGN 1.47

-38.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.20 ฿142

$4.18 BGN 7.32

0.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.79 ฿634

$7.68 BGN 13.43

144.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 ฿61.5

$1.17 BGN 2.05

55.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 ฿95.8

$1.80 BGN 3.16

57.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.45 ฿48.98

$0.87 BGN 1.52

66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,912

$29.06 BGN 50.9

94.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.02 ฿102

$1.68 BGN 2.94

79.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ฿34.33

$0.87 BGN 1.53

17.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 ฿125

$15.76 BGN 27.58

-76.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 ฿49.76

$1.73 BGN 3.02

-15.03%

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

$26.8K ฿903.4K

$29.7K BGN 51.9K

-9.74%

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

$26.7K ฿900.5K

$25.6K BGN 44.8K

4.33%

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

$96.4 ฿3,251

$161 BGN 282

-40.11%

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

$11.26 ฿380

$21.08 BGN 36.89

-46.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.85 ฿568

$15.19 BGN 26.58

10.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.2 ฿2,268

$48.34 BGN 84.6

39.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.73 ฿362

$27.47 BGN 48.07

-60.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 ฿253

$10.16 BGN 17.78

-26.18%

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

$476 ฿16.1K

$785 BGN 1,374

-39.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K ฿380.0K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

-11.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.4 ฿2,104

$89.8 BGN 157

-30.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.41 ฿958

$41.29 BGN 72.3

-31.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.3 ฿3,181

$108 BGN 188

-12.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.8 ฿2,895

$109 BGN 191

-21.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$716 ฿24.2K

$789 BGN 1,381

-9.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 ฿16.6K

$604 BGN 1,057

-18.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 ฿65.0K

$1,517 BGN 2,654

27.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 ฿48.3K

$1,037 BGN 1,814

37.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,175 ฿140.9K

$4,407 BGN 7,712

-5.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 ฿102.7K

$3,137 BGN 5,490

-2.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$502 ฿16.9K

$1,736 BGN 3,038

-71.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.89

92.73%

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

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phuket

$491 38.4%

Sofia

$604 37.5% 23% $113

Groceries & Markets

Phuket

$266 20.8%

Sofia

$288 17.9% 8.2% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phuket

$124 9.7%

Sofia

$197 12.3% 58.4% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sofia

$157 9.7% 28.4% $35

Eating Out

Phuket

$122 9.5%

Sofia

$256 15.9% 110% $134

Sport & Entertainment

Phuket

$82 6.4%

Sofia

$69 4.3% 16.5% $14

Getting Around

Phuket

$71 5.5%

Sofia

$39 2.4% 45.4% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $716 in Phuket and $789 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 3.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $32 in Phuket vs $66 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $266 vs $288 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Phuket

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

23:29 11:29 PM

18:29 6:29 PM

5 h behind Phuket

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,308

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 33.74 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.67 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Phuket Sofia 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Phuket
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

Phuket vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 21% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Phuket. 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: $716 in Phuket versus $789 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $476 in Phuket versus $785 in Sofia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,278 in Phuket versus $1,609 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phuket and Sofia are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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