Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sfax and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sfax: $620 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Sfax
🇹🇳 Tunisia
$620
/mo nomad
Sofia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,589
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $620 per month in Sfax vs $1,589 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Sfax $620
  • Sofia $1,589

A couple spends around $975 per month in Sfax vs $2,456 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Sfax $975
  • Sofia $2,456

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Sfax vs $3,324 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Sfax $1,329
  • Sofia $3,324

Sfax is about 61% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sfax sits 54% below the global median, while Sofia is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.43 TND 10.24
$17.10 BGN 29.93
-79.94%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$19.82 TND 59.1
$66.9 BGN 117
-70.38%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.03 TND 15.02
$11.77 BGN 20.59
-57.26%
Cappuccino
$0.71 TND 2.10
$3.42 BGN 5.99
-79.24%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.58 TND 1.73
$2.42 BGN 4.23
-76.03%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.27 TND 0.81
$1.86 BGN 3.26
-85.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.56 TND 4.66
$3.33 BGN 5.83
-53.15%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.02 TND 6.03
$4.53 BGN 7.92
-55.41%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.50 TND 1.49
$1.92 BGN 3.36
-73.96%
White Bread (500g)
$0.24 TND 0.72
$1.51 BGN 2.64
-84.11%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.38 TND 4.12
$2.21 BGN 3.88
-37.56%
Eggs
$1.56 TND 4.64
$4.40 BGN 7.69
-64.55%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.32 TND 36.76
$11.56 BGN 20.22
6.57%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.76 TND 17.18
$8.79 BGN 15.38
-34.47%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.97 TND 41.70
$16.97 BGN 29.71
-17.68%
Apples (1kg)
$1.77 TND 5.29
$2.17 BGN 3.79
-18.43%
Banana (1kg)
$3.08 TND 9.18
$2.04 BGN 3.57
50.98%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.04 TND 3.11
$1.84 BGN 3.22
-43.48%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.68 TND 2.04
$4.29 BGN 7.51
-84.15%
Potato (1kg)
$0.81 TND 2.42
$1.03 BGN 1.80
-21.36%
Onion (1kg)
$0.77 TND 2.29
$0.93 BGN 1.62
-17.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.58 TND 1.72
$1.20 BGN 2.11
-51.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.35 TND 1.03
$0.92 BGN 1.62
-61.96%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.87 TND 11.53
$4.30 BGN 7.53
-10.00%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.51 TND 19.41
$7.33 BGN 12.83
-11.19%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.19 TND 3.56
$1.18 BGN 2.06
0.85%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.04 TND 3.10
$1.87 BGN 3.28
-44.39%
🚌 Getting Around
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.18 TND 0.55
$0.87 BGN 1.52
-79.31%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$9.98 TND 29.77
$28.14 BGN 49.24
-64.53%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.33 TND 1.00
$1.74 BGN 3.04
-81.03%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.34 TND 1.03
$0.96 BGN 1.68
-64.58%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.56 TND 22.56
$15.54 BGN 27.19
-51.35%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.83 TND 2.47
$1.79 BGN 3.14
-53.63%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$36.5K TND 109.0K
$30.0K BGN 52.5K
21.88%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.9K TND 104.2K
$26.4K BGN 46.1K
32.42%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$44.47 TND 133
$156 BGN 273
-71.49%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$9.43 TND 28.14
$21.21 BGN 37.11
-55.54%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$14.85 TND 44.31
$15.64 BGN 27.37
-5.05%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$27.37 TND 81.7
$46.76 BGN 81.8
-41.47%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$7.32 TND 21.85
$27.74 BGN 48.54
-73.61%
Cinema Ticket
$4.46 TND 13.30
$10.02 BGN 17.53
-55.49%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$98.6 TND 294
$766 BGN 1,341
-87.14%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,470 TND 7,370
$12.8K BGN 22.4K
-80.68%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$42.94 TND 128
$89.7 BGN 157
-52.12%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.43 TND 109
$40.88 BGN 71.5
-10.89%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$114 TND 340
$106 BGN 186
7.35%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$66.2 TND 198
$105 BGN 183
-36.73%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$194 TND 579
$796 BGN 1,393
-75.64%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$135 TND 404
$607 BGN 1,063
-77.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$340 TND 1,013
$1,563 BGN 2,735
-78.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$217 TND 649
$1,060 BGN 1,855
-79.49%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,020 TND 3,043
$4,357 BGN 7,626
-76.60%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$745 TND 2,224
$3,250 BGN 5,688
-77.08%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sfax
Sofia
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$327 TND 976
$1,740 BGN 3,044
-81.20%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.6
2.89
370.59%

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

Last update for Sfax: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Sfax
$193
Sofia
$287 48.7% $94
Accommodation & Living
Sfax
$135
Sofia
$607 348% $472
Clothing & Footwear
Sfax
$117
Sofia
$154 31.5% $37
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sfax
$69
Sofia
$193 181% $124
Eating Out
Sfax
$66
Sofia
$256 286% $190
Sport & Entertainment
Sfax
$36
Sofia
$67 84.1% $31
Getting Around
Sfax
$13
Sofia
$38 199% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $194 in Sfax versus $796 in Sofia. 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 432% higher in Sofia, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20.00 in Sfax versus $67.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $193 vs $287 – making Sfax the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇹🇳 Sfax
🇧🇬 Sofia
🕒 Local time
02:52 2:52 AM
04:52 4:52 AM
2 h ahead of Sfax
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
955,421
1,286,383 Capital
💱 Currency
Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.
Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to TND – Tunisian Dinar Converter

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.98 TND (1 TND = 0.335 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.299 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 = 0.509 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sfax Sofia 1,400 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Sfax
  • 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
Sfax vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Sfax and in Sofia compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $620 in Sfax, $1,589 in Sofia – roughly 156% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.
What salary covers living expenses in Sfax compared to Sofia?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $931 per month in Sfax and $2,384 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between Sfax and Sofia?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Sfax, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Sfax and Sofia?
Kindergarten costs $98.6 per month in Sfax and $766 in Sofia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Groceries cost about 49% more in Sofia, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sfax, where all-in costs run around $620, than in Sofia at $1,589. In Sfax it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between Sfax and Sofia?
It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $620 in Sfax to $1,589 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.
Is Sfax or Sofia safer for residents?
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.
How do I decide between Sfax and Sofia?
If budget matters most, go with Sfax. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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