Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Al Mahwit

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Mahwit: $774 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Al Mahwit
Learn more

Al Mahwit Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Al Mahwit

🇾🇪 Yemen

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $774 in Al Mahwit, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Al Mahwit $774

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,194 in Al Mahwit, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Al Mahwit $1,194

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,615 in Al Mahwit, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Al Mahwit $1,615

Sofia costs about 105% more than Al Mahwit, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Al Mahwit is 43% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$6.19 YER 1,461

167.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$25.90 YER 6,109

161.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$9.60 YER 2,264

21.67%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 YER 467

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 YER 585

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.78 YER 892

-9.79%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$1.17 YER 276

101.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.54 YER 128

209.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.97 YER 465

-1.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$1.69 YER 399

-8.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.99 YER 470

18.09%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$3.74 YER 882

22.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$16.95 YER 3,999

-32.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$8.23 YER 1,941

5.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$18.92 YER 4,463

-8.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$3.45 YER 813

-37.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.05 YER 249

88.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.23 YER 525

-17.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.71 YER 404

149.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$1.52 YER 358

-31.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$1.37 YER 323

-35.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.26 YER 297

-5.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.69 YER 162

20.29%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.51 YER 591

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 YER 438

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$5.48 YER 1,293

-19.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$4.12 YER 973

-59.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$2.18 YER 515

-61.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$7.08 YER 1,670

134.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$2.13 YER 503

-18.31%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.7K YER 3.9M

79.06%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$34.7K YER 8.2M

-27.85%

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

$158 BGN 275

$107 YER 25.3K

47.16%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$23.75 YER 5,603

-10.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$102 YER 24.2K

-85.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$6.07 YER 1,433

64.74%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$114 YER 26.9K

616.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$2,344 YER 553.1K

524.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$41.99 YER 9,907

107.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$121 YER 28.5K

-68.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$47.51 YER 11.2K

122.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$40.19 YER 9,483

166.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

11.25

-74.31%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Al Mahwit: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Al Mahwit

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Al Mahwit

$270 34.9% 6.2% $18

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Al Mahwit

$131 16.9% 48.5% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Al Mahwit

$233 30.2% 20.2% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Al Mahwit

$113 14.6% 25.9% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Al Mahwit

$12 * 1.6% 81.8% $55

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Al Mahwit

$15 * 1.9% 60.1% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $26 in Al Mahwit. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $270 – making Al Mahwit the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇾🇪 Al Mahwit

🕒 Local time

14:49 2:49 PM

15:49 3:49 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

12,817

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, 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).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 265 YER (1,000 YER = 3.77 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Al Mahwit 3,590 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Al Mahwit

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 Mahwit: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 105%, 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 $1,161 in Al Mahwit. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $774 in Al Mahwit. That makes Al Mahwit about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $815 per month in Sofia and $114 in Al Mahwit. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Al Mahwit, where all-in costs run around $774, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Al Mahwit it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $774 in Al Mahwit to $1,585 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.