Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Aktau

For one person, living is cheaper in Aktau: $798 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Aktau
Learn more

Aktau Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Aktau

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$798

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Aktau

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $798 in Aktau, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Aktau $798

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,321 in Aktau, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Aktau $1,321

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,844 in Aktau, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Aktau $1,844

Sofia costs about 99% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Aktau is 41% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$11.26 ₸5,075

47.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$43.53 ₸19.6K

55.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$10.11 ₸4,556

15.53%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.56 ₸1,154

33.20%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.75 ₸339

214.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.45 ₸205

271.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.29 ₸582

209.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$1.53 ₸692

196.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.45 ₸655

33.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.57 ₸256

171.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.82 ₸822

29.12%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.73 ₸780

165.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$9.77 ₸4,406

17.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.21 ₸1,900

105.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$8.55 ₸3,855

102.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.51 ₸681

42.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$2.23 ₸1,004

-11.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.40 ₸1,083

-23.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$2.86 ₸1,290

49.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.66 ₸297

57.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.52 ₸236

71.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.46 ₸660

-18.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.95 ₸430

-12.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.60 ₸1,170

69.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$9.49 ₸4,279

-21.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$0.76 ₸341

52.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$0.90 ₸407

111.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.16 ₸72.1

475.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.13 ₸508

47.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.64 ₸289

32.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.67 ₸300

159.70%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$31.2K ₸14.1M

-19.90%

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

$158 BGN 275

$46.54 ₸21.0K

239.19%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$8.14 ₸3,668

161.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$10.99 ₸4,956

37.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$36.51 ₸16.5K

28.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$3.12 ₸1,407

220.51%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$146 ₸65.7K

459.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$2,643 ₸1.2M

454.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$67.5 ₸30.4K

29.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$39.11 ₸17.6K

-2.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$71.7 ₸32.3K

47.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$88.0 ₸39.7K

21.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$325 ₸146.6K

136.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$199 ₸89.8K

197.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$547 ₸246.5K

179.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$393 ₸177.2K

169.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$810 ₸365.3K

458.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$645 ₸290.8K

382.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$569 ₸256.4K

212.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-79.36%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Aktau: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Aktau

$199 25% 66.4% $394

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Aktau

$200 25.1% 30.4% $88

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Aktau

$165 20.7% 34.8% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Aktau

$66 8.2% 66.2% $129

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Aktau

$120 15% 21.3% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Aktau

$43 5.4% 36.1% $24

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Aktau

$5 * 0.6% 86.8% $33

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $769 in Sofia versus $325 in Aktau. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 3.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $44 in Aktau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $200 – making Aktau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇰🇿 Aktau

🕒 Local time

06:35 6:35 AM

09:35 9:35 AM

3 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

273,830

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 451 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.98 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Aktau 2,250 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Aktau

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 Aktau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 99% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,197 in Aktau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aktau, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $325 there versus $769 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $44 in Aktau. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 44% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Families tend to lean toward Aktau – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Aktau. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.