Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Ait Melloul

For one person, living is cheaper in Ait Melloul: $667 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Ait Melloul
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Ait Melloul Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Ait Melloul

🇲🇦 Morocco

$667

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Ait Melloul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $667 in Ait Melloul.

Sofia $1,594
Ait Melloul $667

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,027 in Ait Melloul.

Sofia $2,478
Ait Melloul $1,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $1,386 in Ait Melloul.

Sofia $3,361
Ait Melloul $1,386

Living in Sofia is roughly 139% more expensive than in Ait Melloul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Ait Melloul is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.61 MAD 35.15

367.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$24.96 MAD 243

163.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$6.16 MAD 60.1

83.77%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$2.11 MAD 20.53

62.56%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.82 MAD 7.95

193.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.57 MAD 5.56

224.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$5.10 MAD 49.73

-27.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$4.41 MAD 42.96

3.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$0.80 MAD 7.81

152.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.54 MAD 5.26

188.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.51 MAD 14.77

54.30%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.62 MAD 15.81

169.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$7.83 MAD 76.3

50.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$5.45 MAD 53.2

62.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$11.79 MAD 115

48.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.25 MAD 12.23

72.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.18 MAD 11.48

67.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$0.84 MAD 8.17

129.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.79 MAD 7.75

436.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.71 MAD 6.93

46.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.76 MAD 7.41

11.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.25 MAD 2.44

360.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.56 MAD 5.46

58.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$4.12 MAD 40.14

2.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$7.55 MAD 73.6

-1.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$2.33 MAD 22.70

-50.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$3.24 MAD 31.61

-42.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.57 MAD 5.58

52.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$20.98 MAD 205

35.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.65 MAD 6.34

158.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.60 MAD 5.85

56.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$7.13 MAD 69.5

115.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.45 MAD 14.16

16.55%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$33.8K MAD 329.3K

-11.77%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$30.3K MAD 295.1K

-13.66%

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

$156 BGN 272

$24.40 MAD 238

539.67%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$9.02 MAD 87.9

139.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$29.62 MAD 289

-48.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$23.05 MAD 225

99.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$17.96 MAD 175

55.46%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$5.02 MAD 48.95

102.79%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$69.7 MAD 679

1010.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,859 MAD 18.1K

588.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$31.11 MAD 303

189.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$43.52 MAD 424

-5.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$59.0 MAD 575

78.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$47.72 MAD 465

123.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$283 MAD 2,758

176.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$173 MAD 1,687

244.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$436 MAD 4,253

247.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$252 MAD 2,458

308.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$1,366 MAD 13.3K

218.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$767 MAD 7,478

314.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

4.5

-35.78%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ait Melloul: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Ait Melloul

$173 25.9% 71% $424

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Ait Melloul

$177 26.6% 39% $113

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Ait Melloul

$112 16.9% 55.9% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Ait Melloul

$63 9.4% 67.3% $130

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Ait Melloul

$82 12.2% 47.1% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Ait Melloul

$33 5% 50.2% $33

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Ait Melloul

$27 4% 29.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $283 in Ait Melloul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $25.00 in Ait Melloul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $177 per month, with Ait Melloul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇲🇦 Ait Melloul

🕒 Local time

11:45 11:45 AM

09:45 9:45 AM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

171,847

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Ait Melloul 3,210 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Ait Melloul

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

Sofia vs Ait Melloul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ait Melloul is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 139% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,391 in Sofia and $1,001 in Ait Melloul to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $283 in Ait Melloul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $69.7 in Ait Melloul. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 64% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $667 in Ait Melloul versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ait Melloul but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Ait Melloul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ait Melloul is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Ait Melloul 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 Ait Melloul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.