Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and An Najaf

For one person, living is cheaper in An Najaf: $569 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in An Najaf

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $569 in An Najaf, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
An Najaf $569

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $855 in An Najaf, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
An Najaf $855

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,142 in An Najaf, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
An Najaf $1,142

Sofia costs about 179% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while An Najaf is 58% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$3.87 IQD 5,854

328.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$20.11 IQD 30.4K

236.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$4.32 IQD 6,530

170.37%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.29 IQD 3,457

48.91%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.38 IQD 577

521.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.20 IQD 301

735.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.20 IQD 4,840

24.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.04 IQD 3,077

122.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.92 IQD 1,390

110.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.68 IQD 1,027

127.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.37 IQD 2,070

71.53%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.61 IQD 2,439

185.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$3.24 IQD 4,897

254.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.42 IQD 5,169

152.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$9.28 IQD 14.0K

86.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.97 IQD 1,461

121.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$0.89 IQD 1,350

122.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.94 IQD 1,421

94.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.64 IQD 968

567.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.59 IQD 890

76.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.60 IQD 910

48.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.54 IQD 814

120.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.45 IQD 682

84.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.52 IQD 2,303

189.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$11.69 IQD 17.7K

-36.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.97 IQD 2,972

-41.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.87 IQD 2,818

1.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.32 IQD 486

187.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.30 IQD 1,964

28.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.34 IQD 2,028

-36.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$5.55 IQD 8,389

198.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.41 IQD 623

324.39%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$11.8K IQD 17.8M

154.02%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

49.59%

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

$158 BGN 275

$35.53 IQD 53.7K

344.30%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$14.71 IQD 22.2K

44.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$33.60 IQD 50.8K

-55.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$25.54 IQD 38.6K

83.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$8.49 IQD 12.8K

17.79%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$142 IQD 215.0K

472.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$787 IQD 1.2M

1761.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$15.09 IQD 22.8K

477.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$23.86 IQD 36.0K

60.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$60.2 IQD 91.0K

75.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$41.05 IQD 62.0K

161.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$231 IQD 348.9K

232.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$129 IQD 195.3K

358.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$309 IQD 467.2K

394.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$190 IQD 286.6K

459.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,118 IQD 1.7M

304.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$448 IQD 677.4K

593.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$655 IQD 989.7K

171.80%

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 An Najaf: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

An Najaf

$129 22.7% 78.2% $464

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

An Najaf

$147 25.9% 48.8% $141

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

An Najaf

$94 16.5% 63% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

An Najaf

$84 14.7% 56.8% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

An Najaf

$63 11.1% 58.5% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

An Najaf

$43 7.5% 36.4% $24

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

An Najaf

$9.3 * 1.6% 75.4% $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 $231 in An Najaf. 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 2.7 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $20 in An Najaf. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $147 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🕒 Local time

23:24 11:24 PM

00:24 12:24 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

1,221,248

💱 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 5, 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 5, 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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Highest

Between locations

Sofia An Najaf 2,200 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
An Najaf

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 An Najaf: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 179% more than An Najaf, 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 $854 in An Najaf. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in An Najaf, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $231 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $569 in An Najaf. That makes An Najaf about 64% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $815 per month in Sofia and $142 in An Najaf. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in An Najaf, where all-in costs run around $569, than in Sofia at $1,585. In An Najaf it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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