Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Bansko

For one person, living is cheaper in Bansko: $956 a month against $2,133 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Bansko
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Bansko Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Scarborough and in Bansko

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Scarborough vs $956 in Bansko, rent included.

Scarborough $2,133
Bansko $956

A couple spends around $3,068 per month in Scarborough vs $1,467 in Bansko, rent included.

Scarborough $3,068
Bansko $1,467

A family of three spends $4,002 per month in Scarborough vs $1,979 in Bansko, rent included.

Scarborough $4,002
Bansko $1,979

Scarborough costs about 123% more than Bansko, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Scarborough sits 58% above the global median, while Bansko is 29% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 £11.07

$8.66 BGN 15.06

70.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 £52.0

$44.94 BGN 78.2

54.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$8.78 BGN 15.28

33.03%

Cappuccino

$3.37 £2.53

$2.33 BGN 4.05

44.64%

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

$2.08 £1.56

$1.57 BGN 2.74

32.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 £0.74

$0.82 BGN 1.43

20.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.76 £3.57

$1.68 BGN 2.92

183.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.25

$1.98 BGN 3.45

119.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.91

$1.73 BGN 3.00

-29.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 £1.02

$0.80 BGN 1.40

68.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 £0.81

$1.44 BGN 2.51

-25.69%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$2.36 BGN 4.10

51.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.84

$9.39 BGN 16.34

-17.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 £5.46

$6.41 BGN 11.15

13.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 £10.57

$8.48 BGN 14.76

66.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$1.31 BGN 2.28

145.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.62 BGN 2.82

27.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.73 BGN 3.01

53.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.94 BGN 3.38

7.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$0.94 BGN 1.63

86.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.76 BGN 1.32

110.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$0.55 BGN 0.95

109.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$0.59 BGN 1.02

235.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £16.95

$3.25 BGN 5.66

595.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.06 £6.80

$5.20 BGN 9.05

74.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.67

$1.09 BGN 1.89

225.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$1.68 BGN 2.92

116.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$0.84 BGN 1.45

298.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 £65.3

$27.06 BGN 47.09

221.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.09

$1.34 BGN 2.34

306.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.65 BGN 1.14

676.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.92 £24.70

$10.06 BGN 17.51

227.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.48 BGN 2.57

31.08%

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

$35.7K £26.7K

$29.1K BGN 50.7K

22.35%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$20.9K BGN 36.4K

86.21%

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

$356 £267

$92.4 BGN 161

284.89%

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

$25.73 £19.30

$14.52 BGN 25.26

77.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 £25.02

$12.32 BGN 21.43

170.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 £48.70

$31.70 BGN 55.2

104.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.72 £9.54

$8.53 BGN 14.84

49.12%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 £7.93

$5.62 BGN 9.78

88.08%

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

$1,742 £1,307

$230 BGN 401

656.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.0K

$2,268 BGN 3,947

545.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.0

$30.10 BGN 52.4

121.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 £26.59

$19.62 BGN 34.13

80.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$45.86 BGN 79.8

130.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.6

$47.69 BGN 83.0

139.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$518 BGN 902

67.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 £632

$357 BGN 621

135.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 £1,152

$614 BGN 1,069

149.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 £999

$569 BGN 990

134.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,191 BGN 2,073

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$959 BGN 1,669

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 £686

$1,704 BGN 2,965

-46.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

2.99

84.95%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bansko: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$842 39.5%

Bansko

$357 37.3% 57.6% $485

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Bansko

$119 12.5% 71.3% $296

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 12.9%

Bansko

$192 20.1% 30.4% $84

Eating Out

Scarborough

$238 11.2%

Bansko

$145 15.2% 38.9% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$145 6.8%

Bansko

$64 6.7% 55.5% $80

Getting Around

Scarborough

$131 6.2%

Bansko

$35 3.7% 73.3% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$86 4%

Bansko

$43 4.5% 50.1% $43

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $867 in Scarborough versus $518 in Bansko. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 86% higher in Bansko, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Scarborough versus $45.00 in Bansko. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $192 – making Bansko the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇧🇬 Bansko

🕒 Local time

09:38 9:38 AM

11:38 11:38 AM

2 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

8,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Scarborough Bansko 2,230 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
Bansko

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

Scarborough vs Bansko: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,133 in Scarborough, $956 in Bansko – roughly 123% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,199 per month in Scarborough and $1,434 in Bansko. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bansko, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Scarborough and $45.00 in Bansko. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,133 in Scarborough and $956 in Bansko. That's a gap of about 123%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Bansko, where all-in costs run around $956, than in Scarborough at $2,133. In Bansko it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scarborough it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Bansko has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $956 in Bansko to $2,133 in Scarborough. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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