Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Ajka

For one person, living is cheaper in Ajka: $1,250 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Ajka
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Ajka Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Ajka

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Ajka

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 Ajka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,250 in Ajka.

Sofia $1,594
Ajka $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,798 in Ajka.

Sofia $2,478
Ajka $1,798

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $2,346 in Ajka.

Sofia $3,361
Ajka $2,346

Living in Sofia is roughly 28% more expensive than in Ajka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Ajka is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$9.21 Ft 2,974

83.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$22.56 Ft 7,287

191.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$7.71 Ft 2,491

46.82%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.09 Ft 351

214.68%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$1.13 Ft 365

113.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.57 Ft 185

224.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$1.26 Ft 408

193.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$1.14 Ft 367

301.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.17 Ft 378

72.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$1.36 Ft 439

14.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$2.42 Ft 783

-3.72%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$3.71 Ft 1,200

17.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$10.47 Ft 3,383

12.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$6.39 Ft 2,064

38.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$16.37 Ft 5,288

6.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.26 Ft 731

-4.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$2.16 Ft 697

-8.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$2.06 Ft 666

-6.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$3.36 Ft 1,084

26.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$1.03 Ft 334

0.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.10 Ft 354

-22.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.60 Ft 517

-28.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.55 Ft 177

61.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$8.01 Ft 2,588

-47.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$5.44 Ft 1,758

37.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.21 Ft 391

-4.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.06 Ft 666

-10.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$1.29 Ft 415

-32.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$24.41 Ft 7,886

16.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$3.03 Ft 977

-44.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$1.73 Ft 559

-45.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$18.19 Ft 5,878

-15.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.83 Ft 592

-7.65%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$29.4K Ft 9.5M

1.28%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$37.4K Ft 12.1M

-30.04%

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

$156 BGN 272

$129 Ft 41.7K

20.97%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$21.99 Ft 7,106

-1.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$20.10 Ft 6,494

-24.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$46.90 Ft 15.2K

-1.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$19.02 Ft 6,146

46.79%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$8.70 Ft 2,811

17.01%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$253 Ft 81.6K

206.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$6,842 Ft 2.2M

87.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$116 Ft 37.6K

-22.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$33.27 Ft 10.7K

24.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$92.3 Ft 29.8K

13.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$111 Ft 35.8K

-3.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$587 Ft 189.7K

33.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$439 Ft 141.8K

36.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$664 Ft 214.7K

128.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$603 Ft 194.9K

70.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$2,832 Ft 915.0K

53.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$2,573 Ft 831.4K

23.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

6.67

-56.67%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ajka: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Ajka

$439 35.1% 26.5% $158

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Ajka

$251 20.1% 13.6% $40

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Ajka

$125 10% 50.9% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Ajka

$171 13.7% 11.3% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Ajka

$159 12.7% 2.8% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Ajka

$64 5.1% 3.2% $2.2

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Ajka

$41 3.3% 7.4% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $587 in Ajka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $23.00 in Ajka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $251 per month, with Ajka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇭🇺 Ajka

🕒 Local time

22:21 10:21 PM

21:21 9:21 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

26,408

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HUF, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 323 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 363 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Ajka 670 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Ajka

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 Ajka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Ajka differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $1,250 including rent). Ajka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,391 in Sofia and $1,875 in Ajka 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 $587 in Ajka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ajka runs roughly 17% less than in Sofia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $253 in Ajka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,250 in Ajka versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ajka but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Ajka 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, Sofia and Ajka 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 Ajka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.