Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Learn more

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,920

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $1,589 in Sofia.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $1,920
Sofia $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,849 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $2,456 in Sofia.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,849
Sofia $2,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,777 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $3,324 in Sofia.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,777
Sofia $3,324

Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is roughly 21% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 43% above, Sofia 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.06 €17.90

$17.10 BGN 29.93

17.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 €55.2

$66.9 BGN 117

-7.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 €10.18

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-3.14%

Cappuccino

$2.00 €1.78

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-41.52%

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

$1.90 €1.69

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-21.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-30.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.87 €2.56

$3.33 BGN 5.83

-13.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.95

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-27.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-28.65%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 €2.21

$1.51 BGN 2.64

63.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 €1.42

$2.21 BGN 3.88

-28.05%

Eggs

$4.19 €3.74

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-4.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.69 €17.57

$11.56 BGN 20.22

70.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 €8.84

$8.79 BGN 15.38

12.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.92 €15.99

$16.97 BGN 29.71

5.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$2.17 BGN 3.79

28.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 €2.15

$2.04 BGN 3.57

18.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.84 BGN 3.22

21.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.24

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-41.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.03 BGN 1.80

106.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.93 BGN 1.62

111.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.20 BGN 2.11

40.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 €0.81

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-1.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.71 €5.09

$4.30 BGN 7.53

32.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 €6.85

$7.33 BGN 12.83

4.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$1.18 BGN 2.06

42.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.87 BGN 3.28

-6.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$0.87 BGN 1.52

58.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.25 €37.70

$28.14 BGN 49.24

50.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 €3.67

$1.74 BGN 3.04

136.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 €1.54

$0.96 BGN 1.68

80.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.93 €15.11

$15.54 BGN 27.19

8.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-2.79%

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

$34.8K €31.0K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

15.95%

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

$29.4K €26.3K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

11.66%

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

$127 €113

$156 BGN 273

-18.67%

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

$23.02 €20.54

$21.21 BGN 37.11

8.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.10 €31.32

$15.64 BGN 27.37

124.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.67

$46.76 BGN 81.8

16.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 €10.28

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-58.47%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €9.01

$10.02 BGN 17.53

0.70%

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

$405 €362

$766 BGN 1,341

-47.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,015 €4,476

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-60.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.3 €84.1

$89.7 BGN 157

5.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.88 €37.37

$40.88 BGN 71.5

2.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 €82.0

$106 BGN 186

-13.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €99.3

$105 BGN 183

6.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 €1,016

$796 BGN 1,393

42.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$882 €787

$607 BGN 1,063

45.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,705 €1,522

$1,563 BGN 2,735

9.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 €1,120

$1,060 BGN 1,855

18.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,834 €3,421

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-12.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,170 €1,936

$3,250 BGN 5,688

-33.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,864 €1,663

$1,740 BGN 3,044

7.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

2.89

23.18%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 3, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$882 45.6%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 31.1% $275

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$329 17%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 12.7% $42

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$252 13%

Sofia

$256 16% 1.4% $3.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$185 9.6%

Sofia

$193 12% 4.2% $7.8

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$153 7.9%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 0.6% $0.9

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$75 3.9%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 10.6% $7.9

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$61 3.1%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 36.9% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,138 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $796 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife pays 7% 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: $62.0 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $67.0 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $329 vs $287, with Sofia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

12:33 12:33 PM

14:33 2:33 PM

2 h ahead of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

209,395

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 = 0.51 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Sofia 3,870 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 21% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 7% higher in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,138 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $796 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Sofia – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $62.0 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,920 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $1,589 in Sofia – a 21% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,589 in Sofia versus $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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 Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.