Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,218 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome
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Sao Tome Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,218

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,218 in Sao Tome versus $1,589 in Sofia.

Sao Tome $1,218
Sofia $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,921 in Sao Tome versus $2,456 in Sofia.

Sao Tome $1,921
Sofia $2,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,624 in Sao Tome versus $3,324 in Sofia.

Sao Tome $2,624
Sofia $3,324

Living in Sao Tome costs roughly 23% less than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Tome is 9% below, Sofia is 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.91 STN 195

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-47.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.14 STN 965

$66.9 BGN 117

-34.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.85 STN 171

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-33.31%

Cappuccino

$2.25 STN 49.12

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-34.21%

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

$1.87 STN 40.78

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-22.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 STN 27.93

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-31.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.73 STN 37.88

$3.33 BGN 5.83

-48.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 STN 39.58

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-60.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 STN 34.32

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-18.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 STN 21.63

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-34.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 STN 45.02

$2.21 BGN 3.88

-6.79%

Eggs

$4.77 STN 104

$4.40 BGN 7.69

8.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.45 STN 425

$11.56 BGN 20.22

68.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.62 STN 429

$8.79 BGN 15.38

123.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.03 STN 525

$16.97 BGN 29.71

41.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 STN 84.2

$2.17 BGN 3.79

77.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 STN 38.80

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-12.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 STN 80.4

$1.84 BGN 3.22

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 STN 75.3

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-19.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.95 STN 64.4

$1.03 BGN 1.80

186.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 STN 51.3

$0.93 BGN 1.62

152.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 STN 11.90

$1.20 BGN 2.11

-55.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 STN 45.32

$0.92 BGN 1.62

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.21 STN 48.28

$4.30 BGN 7.53

-48.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.05 STN 176

$7.33 BGN 12.83

9.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 STN 32.99

$1.18 BGN 2.06

27.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 STN 35.78

$1.87 BGN 3.28

-12.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.39 STN 30.39

$0.87 BGN 1.52

59.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.14 BGN 49.24

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 STN 35.75

$1.74 BGN 3.04

-5.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 STN 56.0

$0.96 BGN 1.68

166.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.77 STN 301

$15.54 BGN 27.19

-11.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 STN 37.85

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-3.35%

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

$24.7K STN 539.4K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

-17.66%

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

$31.3K STN 683.8K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

18.70%

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

$233 STN 5,095

$156 BGN 273

49.52%

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

$31.29 STN 684

$21.21 BGN 37.11

47.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.0 STN 1,442

$15.64 BGN 27.37

321.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.83 STN 739

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-27.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.54 STN 558

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-7.93%

Cinema Ticket

$20.28 STN 443

$10.02 BGN 17.53

102.40%

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

$227 STN 4,961

$766 BGN 1,341

-70.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,207 STN 48.2K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-82.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 BGN 157

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$76.4 STN 1,669

$40.88 BGN 71.5

86.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 186

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.71 STN 409

$105 BGN 183

-82.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 STN 6,165

$796 BGN 1,393

-64.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 STN 4,325

$607 BGN 1,063

-67.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 STN 20.7K

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-39.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,646

$1,060 BGN 1,855

-58.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,812 STN 39.6K

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-58.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,126 STN 24.6K

$3,250 BGN 5,688

-65.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 STN 5,650

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-85.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

2.89

155.36%

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

Last update for Sao Tome: October 3, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome

$411 33.6%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 30.1% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome

$330 27%

Sofia

$193 12% 41.7% $138

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome

$198 16.2%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 207% $409

Eating Out

Sao Tome

$147 12%

Sofia

$256 16% 74.6% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome

$74 6.1%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 10.2% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome

$43 * 3.5%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 259% $111

Getting Around

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.6%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 90.8% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $282 in Sao Tome and $796 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 573% 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: $44.00 in Sao Tome vs $67.0 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $411 vs $287, with Sofia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

12:38 12:38 PM

15:38 3:38 PM

3 h ahead of Sao Tome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

53,300 Capital

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.48 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Tome Sofia 4,990 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Tome
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

Sao Tome vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Tome wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sao Tome the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 573% lower in Sofia. 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: $282 in Sao Tome versus $796 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $227 in Sao Tome versus $766 in Sofia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Tome – a meal for two runs $44.00 versus $67.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,218 in Sao Tome versus $1,589 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sao Tome but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Tome the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sao Tome delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,218 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sao Tome hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.