Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Al Fallujah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Fallujah: $805 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Al Fallujah
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Al Fallujah Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Al Fallujah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$805

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Al Fallujah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $805 in Al Fallujah.

Sofia $1,585
Al Fallujah $805

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,203 in Al Fallujah.

Sofia $2,486
Al Fallujah $1,203

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,602 in Al Fallujah.

Sofia $3,387
Al Fallujah $1,602

Living in Sofia is roughly 97% more expensive than in Al Fallujah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Al Fallujah is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.74 IQD 7,164

249.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$25.98 IQD 39.3K

160.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$6.68 IQD 10.1K

74.85%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.81 IQD 4,247

21.35%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.36 IQD 543

555.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.22 IQD 333

659.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.36 IQD 5,084

18.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$3.28 IQD 4,958

38.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.89 IQD 1,344

117.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.71 IQD 1,078

118.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.37 IQD 2,073

71.53%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.61 IQD 2,439

185.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$3.43 IQD 5,178

234.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.23 IQD 6,387

104.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$12.56 IQD 19.0K

38.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.97 IQD 1,468

121.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$0.91 IQD 1,374

117.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.89 IQD 1,341

105.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.68 IQD 1,026

527.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.58 IQD 878

79.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.55 IQD 835

61.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.59 IQD 885

101.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.58 IQD 869

43.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.60 IQD 2,422

175.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$11.63 IQD 17.6K

-36.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$2.01 IQD 3,030

-42.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.98 IQD 2,998

-4.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.35 IQD 522

162.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$2.00 IQD 3,020

-16.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.31 IQD 1,973

-35.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$6.67 IQD 10.1K

148.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.53 IQD 808

228.30%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.2K IQD 24.5M

84.80%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$16.3K IQD 24.6M

53.76%

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

$158 BGN 275

$190 IQD 287.4K

-17.02%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$19.19 IQD 29.0K

10.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$38.66 IQD 58.4K

-60.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$36.95 IQD 55.8K

26.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$9.67 IQD 14.6K

3.41%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$147 IQD 222.5K

453.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$3,194 IQD 4.8M

358.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$25.87 IQD 39.1K

236.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$34.12 IQD 51.6K

12.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$59.7 IQD 90.3K

76.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$41.81 IQD 63.2K

156.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$208 IQD 314.7K

269.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$137 IQD 206.6K

333.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$370 IQD 559.6K

313.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$314 IQD 475.1K

237.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$856 IQD 1.3M

428.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$492 IQD 743.8K

531.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

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 Fallujah: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Al Fallujah

$137 17% 76.9% $456

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Al Fallujah

$164 20.3% 43.1% $124

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Al Fallujah

$117 14.6% 53.7% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Al Fallujah

$248 30.8% 27.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Al Fallujah

$73 9% 52.2% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Al Fallujah

$56 7% 15.8% $11

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Al Fallujah

$9.9 * 1.2% 73.7% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $208 in Al Fallujah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $26 in Al Fallujah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $164 per month, with Al Fallujah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇶 Al Fallujah

🕒 Local time

07:31 7:31 AM

08:31 8:31 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

326,471

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,696 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Al Fallujah 2,060 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Al Fallujah

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 Fallujah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al Fallujah wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Al Fallujah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,378 in Sofia and $1,207 in Al Fallujah 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: $769 in Sofia versus $208 in Al Fallujah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $815 in Sofia versus $147 in Al Fallujah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Al Fallujah – a meal for two runs $26 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Al Fallujah is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.