Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qazvin and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Qazvin: $647 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Qazvin
Learn more

Qazvin Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Qazvin

🇮🇷 Iran

$647

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $647 in Qazvin versus $1,585 in Sofia.

Qazvin $647
Sofia $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Qazvin versus $2,486 in Sofia.

Qazvin $927
Sofia $2,486

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,208 in Qazvin versus $3,387 in Sofia.

Qazvin $1,208
Sofia $3,387

Living in Qazvin costs roughly 59% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Qazvin is 52% below, Sofia is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.49 $3.49

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-78.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.79 $15.79

$67.7 BGN 118

-76.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.58 $3.58

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-69.35%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.68 $0.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 $1.51

Cappuccino

$1.33 $1.33

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-61.00%

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

$0.39 $0.39

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-83.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 $1.73

$1.67 BGN 2.91

3.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$0.52 $0.52

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-73.20%

White Bread (500g)

$0.31 $0.31

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-80.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.65 $2.65

$2.35 BGN 4.09

12.77%

Eggs

$0.94 $0.94

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-79.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.45 $4.45

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-61.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.01 $2.01

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-76.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 $7.44

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-57.09%

Apples (1kg)

$0.52 $0.52

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-75.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 $0.97

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-51.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.67 $0.67

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-63.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 $0.52

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-87.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.49 $0.49

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-52.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.51 $0.51

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-42.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 $0.49

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-58.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 $0.29

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-65.06%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.83 $0.83

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 $0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 $2.07

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 $2.43

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-44.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 $0.14

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-84.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.62 $9.62

$28.11 BGN 48.91

-65.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.22 $0.22

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-86.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 $0.31

$0.85 BGN 1.49

-63.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 $1.97

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-88.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-94.25%

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

$42.7K $42.7K

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

42.72%

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

$45.4K $45.4K

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

81.45%

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

$13.25 $13.25

$158 BGN 275

-91.61%

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

$1.53 $1.53

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-92.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$3.83 $3.83

$15.12 BGN 26.30

-74.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.32 $12.32

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-73.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.96 $9.96

$27.82 BGN 48.41

-64.20%

Cinema Ticket

$0.98 $0.98

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-90.20%

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

$30.30 $30.30

$815 BGN 1,419

-96.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$755 $755

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-94.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.05 $27.05

$87.1 BGN 152

-68.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.49 $27.49

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-28.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 $99.0

$106 BGN 184

-6.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.7 $50.7

$107 BGN 187

-52.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$502 $502

$769 BGN 1,338

-34.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 $357

$593 BGN 1,032

-39.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 $712

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-53.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$500 $500

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-52.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,159 $1,159

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-74.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$536 $536

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-82.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$316 $316

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-82.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

522.84%

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

Last update for Qazvin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Qazvin

$357 55.2%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 66.1% $236

Clothing & Footwear

Qazvin

$92 14.2%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 65.6% $60

Groceries & Markets

Qazvin

$90 13.9%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 220% $198

Eating Out

Qazvin

$63 9.7%

Sofia

$254 16% 302% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qazvin

$19 2.9%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 944% $176

Sport & Entertainment

Qazvin

$14 2.2%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 368% $53

Getting Around

Qazvin

$12 1.9%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 215% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $502 in Qazvin and $769 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 5.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $16 in Qazvin vs $68 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $90 vs $288 per month, with Qazvin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Qazvin

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

01:51 1:51 AM

00:21 12:21 AM

1 h 30 min behind Qazvin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

402,748

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

USD USD

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.891 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.891 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).

BGN to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Qazvin Sofia 2,390 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Qazvin
Sofia

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Qazvin vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $647 in Qazvin and $1,585 in Sofia, so Qazvin is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Qazvin. 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: $502 in Qazvin versus $769 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 220% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Qazvin – a meal for two runs $16 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $647 in Qazvin versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Qazvin but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Qazvin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

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

Expats usually find Qazvin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.