Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Plovdiv and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Plovdiv: $1,234 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Plovdiv
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Plovdiv Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Plovdiv

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,234

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,048

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Plovdiv and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Plovdiv and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,234 per month in Plovdiv vs $4,048 in London, rent included.

Plovdiv $1,234
London $4,048

A couple spends around $1,888 per month in Plovdiv vs $5,903 in London, rent included.

Plovdiv $1,888
London $5,903

A family of three spends $2,542 per month in Plovdiv vs $7,758 in London, rent included.

Plovdiv $2,542
London $7,758

Plovdiv is about 70% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Plovdiv sits 9% below the global median, while London is 199% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.92 BGN 17.26

$26.36 £19.59

-62.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.76 BGN 81.4

$109 £80.7

-56.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.53 BGN 16.58

$10.71 £7.96

-11.02%

Cappuccino

$2.88 BGN 5.02

$5.59 £4.15

-48.48%

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

$1.91 BGN 3.32

$3.00 £2.23

-36.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$2.22 £1.65

-30.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.64 BGN 4.59

$9.65 £7.17

-72.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.98

$8.26 £6.14

-44.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 BGN 3.20

$1.97 £1.46

-6.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 BGN 2.04

$2.09 £1.55

-44.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 BGN 3.93

$2.59 £1.93

-12.74%

Eggs

$3.57 BGN 6.21

$5.37 £3.99

-33.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.62 BGN 20.22

$13.12 £9.75

-11.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.73 BGN 15.18

$11.03 £8.20

-20.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.34 BGN 24.95

$17.73 £13.17

-19.12%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 BGN 2.88

$3.17 £2.36

-47.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 BGN 3.14

$1.38 £1.03

31.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 BGN 3.34

$2.82 £2.10

-31.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.70 BGN 4.69

$3.36 £2.50

-19.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 BGN 1.89

$1.70 £1.26

-35.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 BGN 1.77

$1.78 £1.32

-42.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 BGN 2.17

$1.49 £1.11

-16.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 BGN 1.36

$1.82 £1.35

-57.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.08 BGN 7.10

$23.85 £17.72

-82.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 BGN 10.74

$13.44 £9.98

-54.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 BGN 1.95

$3.11 £2.31

-63.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 BGN 3.37

$4.49 £3.34

-56.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 BGN 0.95

$4.13 £3.07

-86.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.00 BGN 50.5

$266 £198

-89.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 BGN 2.76

$5.98 £4.44

-73.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 BGN 1.43

$3.39 £2.52

-75.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.87 BGN 18.91

$56.6 £42.03

-80.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 BGN 3.05

$2.21 £1.64

-20.81%

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

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

$38.3K £28.4K

-20.24%

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

$24.8K BGN 43.2K

$41.0K £30.5K

-39.51%

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

$111 BGN 194

$372 £277

-70.11%

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

$18.88 BGN 32.85

$18.66 £13.87

1.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.50 BGN 26.96

$40.53 £30.12

-61.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.89 BGN 74.6

$56.0 £41.63

-23.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.20 BGN 35.15

$17.10 £12.71

18.13%

Cinema Ticket

$8.91 BGN 15.50

$17.95 £13.34

-50.36%

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

$590 BGN 1,026

$2,946 £2,189

-79.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K BGN 19.2K

$47.6K £35.4K

-76.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.4 BGN 117

$116 £86.4

-42.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.32 BGN 71.9

$56.9 £42.28

-27.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.2 BGN 169

$128 £95.1

-24.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 184

$154 £114

-31.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$550 BGN 957

$2,935 £2,182

-81.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$415 BGN 722

$2,258 £1,678

-81.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$862 BGN 1,501

$5,250 £3,901

-83.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$653 BGN 1,137

$3,859 £2,868

-83.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,270 BGN 3,950

$17.2K £12.8K

-86.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,562 BGN 2,718

$8,278 £6,152

-81.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,119 BGN 1,947

$5,621 £4,177

-80.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.1

4.78

-35.15%

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

Last update for Plovdiv: October 31, 2026

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Plovdiv

$415 33.6%

London

$2.3K 55.8% 444% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Plovdiv

$257 20.8%

London

$360 8.9% 40.3% $104

Eating Out

Plovdiv

$179 14.5%

London

$396 9.8% 121% $217

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Plovdiv

$146 11.8%

London

$432 10.7% 196% $286

Clothing & Footwear

Plovdiv

$140 11.4%

London

$205 5.1% 46.1% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Plovdiv

$61 4.9%

London

$92 2.3% 51.4% $31

Getting Around

Plovdiv

$37 3%

London

$305 7.6% 728% $269

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $550 in Plovdiv versus $2,935 in London. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in London are about 5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Plovdiv versus $109 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $257 vs $360 – making Plovdiv the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Plovdiv

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

01:49 1:49 AM

2 h behind Plovdiv

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

368,983

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 GBP = 1.35 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Plovdiv London 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Plovdiv
London

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

Plovdiv vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,234 in Plovdiv, $4,048 in London – Plovdiv comes out roughly 70% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,851 per month in Plovdiv and $6,072 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Plovdiv, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $550 there versus $2,935 in London.

Groceries cost about 40% more in London, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Plovdiv and $109 in London. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Plovdiv, where all-in costs run around $1,234, than in London at $4,048. In Plovdiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Plovdiv costs $1,234 versus $4,048 in London. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Plovdiv. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, London makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.