Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sliema and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $2,371 in Sliema, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Sliema
Learn more

Sliema Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

Sliema

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,371

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,371 in Sliema versus $1,589 in Sofia.

Sliema $2,371
Sofia $1,589

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,762 in Sliema versus $2,456 in Sofia.

Sliema $3,762
Sofia $2,456

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,154 in Sliema versus $3,324 in Sofia.

Sliema $5,154
Sofia $3,324

Living in Sliema is roughly 49% more expensive than in Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sliema 77% above, Sofia 19% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 €17.75

$17.10 BGN 29.93

16.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.2 €76.9

$66.9 BGN 117

28.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.32 €11.89

$11.77 BGN 20.59

13.17%

Cappuccino

$2.80 €2.49

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-18.13%

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

$3.08 €2.75

$2.42 BGN 4.23

27.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.86 BGN 3.26

18.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.41 €3.94

$3.33 BGN 5.83

32.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.18 €4.63

$4.53 BGN 7.92

14.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 €1.21

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-29.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-13.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.23 €3.78

$2.21 BGN 3.88

91.40%

Eggs

$4.13 €3.69

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-6.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 €7.34

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-28.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 €9.24

$8.79 BGN 15.38

17.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.61 €16.61

$16.97 BGN 29.71

9.66%

Apples (1kg)

$4.30 €3.84

$2.17 BGN 3.79

98.16%

Banana (1kg)

$2.74 €2.45

$2.04 BGN 3.57

34.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.70 €3.30

$1.84 BGN 3.22

101.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 €2.98

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-22.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.03 BGN 1.80

137.86%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 €1.83

$0.93 BGN 1.62

120.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.20 BGN 2.11

95.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 €1.20

$0.92 BGN 1.62

46.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.93 €6.18

$4.30 BGN 7.53

61.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.15 €7.28

$7.33 BGN 12.83

11.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.18 BGN 2.06

48.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 €2.19

$1.87 BGN 3.28

31.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 €1.98

$0.87 BGN 1.52

155.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 €119

$28.14 BGN 49.24

374.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.53 €4.94

$1.74 BGN 3.04

217.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 €2.03

$0.96 BGN 1.68

136.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.34 €24.40

$15.54 BGN 27.19

75.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-18.44%

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

$37.8K €33.8K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

26.22%

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

$38.7K €34.6K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

46.84%

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

$102 €91.4

$156 BGN 273

-34.32%

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

$25.23 €22.52

$21.21 BGN 37.11

18.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.57 €38.89

$15.64 BGN 27.37

178.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$76.4 €68.1

$46.76 BGN 81.8

63.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.19 €14.45

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-41.64%

Cinema Ticket

$10.19 €9.09

$10.02 BGN 17.53

1.70%

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

$371 €331

$766 BGN 1,341

-51.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K €9,768

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-14.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 €77.9

$89.7 BGN 157

-2.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.28 €36.84

$40.88 BGN 71.5

0.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 €87.7

$106 BGN 186

-7.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 €70.0

$105 BGN 183

-25.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,750 €1,562

$796 BGN 1,393

119.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,204 €1,074

$607 BGN 1,063

98.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,967 €2,648

$1,563 BGN 2,735

89.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,383 €2,127

$1,060 BGN 1,855

124.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,389 €4,809

$4,357 BGN 7,626

23.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,516 €3,138

$3,250 BGN 5,688

8.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,794 €1,601

$1,740 BGN 3,044

3.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

2.89

0.35%

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

Last update for Sliema: October 6, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sliema

$1.2K 50.5%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 49.6% $597

Groceries & Markets

Sliema

$329 13.8%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 12.6% $41

Eating Out

Sliema

$286 12%

Sofia

$256 16% 10.5% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sliema

$171 7.2%

Sofia

$193 12% 12.6% $22

Getting Around

Sliema

$159 6.7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 76% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Sliema

$137 5.8%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 11.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Sliema

$97 4.1%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 31% $30

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,750 in Sliema and $796 in Sofia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sliema pays 3% 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: $86.0 in Sliema vs $67.0 in Sofia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $329 vs $287 per month, with Sofia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Sliema

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

13:03 1:03 PM

1 h ahead of Sliema

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,854

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

Sliema Sofia 1,070 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sliema
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

Sliema vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sliema and Sofia differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($2,371 vs $1,589 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Sliema, 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: $1,750 in Sliema versus $796 in Sofia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Sliema. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Sofia – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $86.0 in Sliema. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,589 in Sofia versus $2,371 in Sliema, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Sliema. 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, Sliema 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 49% less than in Sliema. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.