Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Al-'amarah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-’amarah: $654 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Al-'amarah
Learn more

Al-'amarah Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Al-'amarah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$654

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Al-'amarah

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 Al-'amarah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $654 in Al-’amarah, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Al-'amarah $654

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,021 in Al-’amarah, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Al-'amarah $1,021

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,388 in Al-’amarah, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Al-'amarah $1,388

Sofia costs about 142% more than Al-’amarah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Al-’amarah is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.01 IQD 6,059

313.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$21.19 IQD 32.0K

219.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$6.28 IQD 9,494

85.99%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.47 IQD 3,735

38.06%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.35 IQD 531

574.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.22 IQD 332

659.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.33 IQD 5,038

19.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.57 IQD 3,891

76.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.98 IQD 1,485

97.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.73 IQD 1,110

112.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.39 IQD 2,106

69.06%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.61 IQD 2,428

185.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$3.92 IQD 5,920

192.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.51 IQD 5,297

146.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$12.00 IQD 18.1K

44.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.93 IQD 1,412

131.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.00 IQD 1,511

98.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.96 IQD 1,451

90.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.63 IQD 959

577.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.59 IQD 890

76.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.59 IQD 884

50.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.61 IQD 921

95.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.48 IQD 723

72.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.66 IQD 2,510

165.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$11.32 IQD 17.1K

-34.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.57 IQD 2,378

-26.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.79 IQD 2,707

6.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.34 IQD 515

170.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.80 IQD 2,718

-7.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.36 IQD 2,054

-37.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$5.49 IQD 8,296

202.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.54 IQD 809

222.22%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.3K IQD 24.7M

83.30%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$17.0K IQD 25.6M

47.41%

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

$158 BGN 275

$86.6 IQD 130.8K

82.33%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$13.27 IQD 20.1K

60.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$28.99 IQD 43.8K

-47.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$37.08 IQD 56.0K

26.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$8.89 IQD 13.4K

12.49%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$144 IQD 217.4K

466.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$2,770 IQD 4.2M

428.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$20.92 IQD 31.6K

316.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$22.79 IQD 34.4K

67.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$58.3 IQD 88.1K

81.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$38.00 IQD 57.4K

182.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$207 IQD 312.4K

271.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$136 IQD 205.2K

336.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$382 IQD 576.6K

300.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$312 IQD 471.7K

239.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$867 IQD 1.3M

422.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$500 IQD 754.8K

522.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$441 IQD 666.0K

303.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

4.12

-29.85%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Al-'amarah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Al-'amarah

$136 20.8% 77.1% $457

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Al-'amarah

$157 24% 45.3% $130

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Al-'amarah

$105 16% 58.7% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Al-'amarah

$129 19.7% 33.7% $65

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Al-'amarah

$63 9.6% 58.6% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Al-'amarah

$55 8.4% 17.9% $12

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Al-'amarah

$10 * 1.5% 73.6% $28

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 $207 in Al-’amarah. 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 4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $21 in Al-’amarah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $157 – making Al-’amarah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇶 Al-'amarah

🕒 Local time

04:57 4:57 AM

05:57 5:57 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

511,542

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.514 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.94 BGN (1 BGN = 0.514 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,689 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.92 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Al-'amarah 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Al-'amarah

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 Al-'amarah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 142%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $982 in Al-’amarah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al-’amarah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $207 there versus $769 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $21 in Al-’amarah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 83% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al-’amarah, where all-in costs run around $654, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Al-’amarah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Al-’amarah – 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 Al-’amarah. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.