Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,133 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,133

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,133 in Scarborough versus $1,594 in Sofia.

Scarborough $2,133
Sofia $1,594

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,068 in Scarborough versus $2,478 in Sofia.

Scarborough $3,068
Sofia $2,478

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,002 in Scarborough versus $3,361 in Sofia.

Scarborough $4,002
Sofia $3,361

Living in Scarborough is roughly 34% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Scarborough 58% above, Sofia 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.76 £11.07

$16.87 BGN 29.35

-12.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.4 £52.0

$65.8 BGN 115

5.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$11.32 BGN 19.69

3.18%

Cappuccino

$3.37 £2.53

$3.43 BGN 5.98

-1.75%

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

$2.08 £1.56

$2.41 BGN 4.19

-13.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 £0.74

$1.85 BGN 3.22

-46.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.76 £3.57

$3.70 BGN 6.44

28.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.25

$4.58 BGN 7.97

-5.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.91

$2.02 BGN 3.51

-39.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 £1.02

$1.56 BGN 2.72

-13.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 £0.81

$2.33 BGN 4.05

-54.08%

Eggs

$3.57 £2.68

$4.36 BGN 7.59

-18.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.78 £5.84

$11.76 BGN 20.47

-33.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.28 £5.46

$8.83 BGN 15.37

-17.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.08 £10.57

$17.46 BGN 30.38

-19.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.41

$2.15 BGN 3.74

49.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.98 BGN 3.44

4.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.93 BGN 3.37

37.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.56

$4.24 BGN 7.37

-50.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.04 BGN 1.80

68.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$0.85 BGN 1.48

88.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.86

$1.15 BGN 2.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 £1.48

$0.89 BGN 1.56

122.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £16.95

$4.21 BGN 7.33

436.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.06 £6.80

$7.46 BGN 12.98

21.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.55 £2.67

$1.15 BGN 2.01

208.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 £2.73

$1.85 BGN 3.23

96.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.35 £2.51

$0.87 BGN 1.51

285.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 £65.3

$28.53 BGN 49.65

204.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.09

$1.68 BGN 2.93

224.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.94 BGN 1.63

437.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.92 £24.70

$15.35 BGN 26.70

114.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.69 BGN 2.94

14.79%

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

$35.7K £26.7K

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

19.65%

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

$39.0K £29.2K

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

49.06%

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

$356 £267

$156 BGN 272

127.93%

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

$25.73 £19.30

$21.56 BGN 37.52

19.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 £25.02

$15.24 BGN 26.51

118.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 £48.70

$46.08 BGN 80.2

40.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.72 £9.54

$27.92 BGN 48.58

-54.44%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 £7.93

$10.18 BGN 17.72

3.83%

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

$1,742 £1,307

$774 BGN 1,347

124.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.0K

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

14.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.0

$89.9 BGN 157

-25.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 £26.59

$41.29 BGN 71.8

-14.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.2

$105 BGN 183

0.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.6

$107 BGN 186

6.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$783 BGN 1,362

10.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$842 £632

$597 BGN 1,038

41.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,535 £1,152

$1,516 BGN 2,638

1.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,332 £999

$1,030 BGN 1,792

29.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$914 £686

$1,735 BGN 3,019

-47.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

2.89

91.35%

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

Last update for Scarborough: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Scarborough

$842 39.5%

Sofia

$597 37.4% 29.1% $245

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Sofia

$193 12.1% 53.5% $222

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 12.9%

Sofia

$290 18.2% 5.4% $15

Eating Out

Scarborough

$238 11.2%

Sofia

$255 16% 6.9% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$145 6.8%

Sofia

$154 9.7% 6.6% $9.6

Getting Around

Scarborough

$131 6.2%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 70.7% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$86 4%

Sofia

$66 4.2% 22.8% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $867 in Scarborough and $783 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 90% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $69.0 in Scarborough vs $66.0 in Sofia. Groceries flip the comparison at $276 vs $290, with Scarborough cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

10:12 10:12 AM

12:12 12:12 PM

2 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

1,286,383 Capital

💱 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

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Between locations

Scarborough Sofia 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

Scarborough vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Scarborough and Sofia differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($2,133 vs $1,594 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 90% 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: $867 in Scarborough versus $783 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 205% less than in Scarborough. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,742 in Scarborough versus $774 in Sofia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,133 in Scarborough, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Scarborough. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia 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, Scarborough 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 34% less than in Scarborough. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.