Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Al-'aziziyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-'aziziyah: $371 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Al-'aziziyah
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Al-'aziziyah Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Al-'aziziyah

🇱🇾 Libya

$371

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $371 in Al-'aziziyah.

Sofia $1,594
Al-'aziziyah $371

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $573 in Al-'aziziyah.

Sofia $2,478
Al-'aziziyah $573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $775 in Al-'aziziyah.

Sofia $3,361
Al-'aziziyah $775

Living in Sofia is roughly 330% more expensive than in Al-'aziziyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Al-'aziziyah is 73% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.93 LYD 25.16

329.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$15.44 LYD 98.9

326.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$2.62 LYD 16.78

332.06%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.06

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 LYD 4.27

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$0.44 LYD 2.84

679.55%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.43 LYD 2.73

460.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.11 LYD 0.70

1581.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$0.96 LYD 6.18

110.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.22 LYD 1.41

609.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.22 LYD 7.79

90.98%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.36 LYD 8.70

220.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$5.12 LYD 32.82

129.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$3.56 LYD 22.78

148.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$9.22 LYD 59.1

89.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.25 LYD 14.43

-4.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.46 LYD 9.34

35.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$0.74 LYD 4.72

160.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.59 LYD 3.79

618.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.72 LYD 4.63

44.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.49 LYD 3.16

73.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.39 LYD 2.51

194.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.21 LYD 1.36

323.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.81 LYD 11.60

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 LYD 5.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 LYD 5.06

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$1.93 LYD 12.36

118.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.81 LYD 5.17

107.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.49 LYD 3.16

91.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$0.02 LYD 0.11

8350.00%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$23.0K LYD 147.1K

29.83%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$20.9K LYD 134.0K

25.01%

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

$156 BGN 272

$94.3 LYD 604

65.51%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$6.17 LYD 39.53

249.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$26.89 LYD 172

-43.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$52.4 LYD 336

1378.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,561 LYD 10,000

720.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$22.50 LYD 144

299.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$17.52 LYD 112

135.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$64.9 LYD 416

62.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$66.5 LYD 426

60.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Al-'aziziyah: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Al-'aziziyah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Al-'aziziyah

$116 31.3% 60% $174

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Al-'aziziyah

$47 12.6% 81.7% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Al-'aziziyah

$127 34.4% 34% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Al-'aziziyah

$77 20.8% 50% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Al-'aziziyah

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Al-'aziziyah

$3.3 * 0.9% 91.5% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $15.00 in Al-'aziziyah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $116 per month, with Al-'aziziyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇱🇾 Al-'aziziyah

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

22:26 10:26 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

23,399

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Al-'aziziyah 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Al-'aziziyah

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-'aziziyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Al-'aziziyah differ by about 330% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $371 including rent). Al-'aziziyah 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 $556 in Al-'aziziyah 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 150% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,594 per month in Sofia versus $371 in Al-'aziziyah – a 330% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $371 in Al-'aziziyah versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Al-'aziziyah but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Al-'aziziyah 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 Al-'aziziyah 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 Al-'aziziyah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 330% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.