Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Arun

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,600 a month against $2,629 in Arun, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Arun
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Arun Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Arun

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Arun

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

A single person spends $1,600 per month in Sofia vs $2,629 in Arun, rent included.

Sofia $1,600
Arun $2,629

A couple spends around $2,490 per month in Sofia vs $3,863 in Arun, rent included.

Sofia $2,490
Arun $3,863

A family of three spends $3,380 per month in Sofia vs $5,097 in Arun, rent included.

Sofia $3,380
Arun $5,097

Sofia is about 39% cheaper than Arun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sofia and Arun sit above the global median – Sofia by 18%, Arun by 94%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 BGN 29.51

$26.34 £19.76

-35.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.3 BGN 119

$108 £81.3

-37.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.62 BGN 20.21

$10.69 £8.02

8.70%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$5.82 £4.37

-41.07%

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

$2.34 BGN 4.08

$3.02 £2.26

-22.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 BGN 3.19

$2.21 £1.65

-17.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$9.08 £6.81

-62.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 BGN 7.73

$8.31 £6.24

-46.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 BGN 3.42

$1.89 £1.42

4.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 BGN 2.59

$2.02 £1.52

-26.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$2.45 £1.84

-4.90%

Eggs

$4.41 BGN 7.68

$5.09 £3.82

-13.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.54 BGN 20.08

$4.70 £3.52

145.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 BGN 15.44

$10.72 £8.04

-17.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.51 BGN 30.46

$17.19 £12.90

1.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$3.08 £2.31

-30.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 BGN 3.60

$1.11 £0.83

86.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$3.00 £2.25

-35.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 BGN 7.39

$3.39 £2.55

25.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.79

$1.61 £1.21

-36.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.54

$1.80 £1.35

-51.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.07

$1.45 £1.09

-17.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.55

$1.88 £1.41

-52.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 BGN 7.35

$23.67 £17.76

-82.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.87 BGN 13.69

$13.11 £9.84

-39.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$3.23 £2.42

-63.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 BGN 3.29

$4.49 £3.37

-57.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$3.63 £2.72

-74.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.30 BGN 49.24

$99.1 £74.3

-71.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$5.72 £4.29

-70.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$3.23 £2.42

-70.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.36 BGN 26.73

$26.16 £19.62

-41.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 BGN 3.09

$1.92 £1.44

-7.81%

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

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

$38.8K £29.1K

-21.50%

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

$25.1K BGN 43.6K

$41.1K £30.8K

-38.92%

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

$157 BGN 273

$370 £277

-57.50%

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

$21.12 BGN 36.74

$17.94 £13.46

17.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.32 BGN 26.65

$39.96 £29.98

-61.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.39 BGN 80.7

$53.1 £39.87

-12.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.09 BGN 48.87

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 BGN 17.46

$6.15 £4.61

63.25%

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

$775 BGN 1,348

$2,919 £2,190

-73.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K BGN 21.8K

$36.4K £27.3K

-65.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.1 BGN 153

$117 £87.8

-24.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.39 BGN 72.0

$39.30 £29.48

5.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 BGN 186

$128 £96.2

-16.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 BGN 185

$66.6 £49.94

59.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 BGN 1,340

$1,164 £874

-33.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 BGN 1,048

$1,119 £840

-46.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,564 BGN 2,721

$2,254 £1,691

-30.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 BGN 1,803

$1,796 £1,347

-42.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,567 BGN 7,946

$4,762 £3,572

-4.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,162 BGN 5,502

$4,150 £3,113

-23.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,742 BGN 3,031

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

4.74

-39.03%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Arun: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$602 37.6%

Arun

$1.1K 42.6% 85.8% $517

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$291 18.2%

Arun

$328 12.5% 12.6% $37

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 15.9%

Arun

$396 15.1% 55.5% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.1%

Arun

$428 16.3% 121% $234

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Arun

$158 6% 2.5% $3.9

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Arun

$65 2.5% 1.5% $1

Getting Around

Sofia

$39 2.4%

Arun

$135 5.2% 252% $97

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $770 in Sofia versus $1,164 in Arun. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68.0 in Sofia versus $108 in Arun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $291 vs $328 – making Sofia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇬🇧 Arun

🕒 Local time

02:43 2:43 AM

00:43 12:43 AM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

3,285

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Arun 2,020 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Arun

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 Arun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arun costs about 64% more than Sofia, 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 $2,400 per month in Sofia and $3,943 in Arun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sofia, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68.0 in Sofia and $108 in Arun. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,600 in Sofia and $2,629 in Arun. That's a gap of about 64%.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,600, than in Arun at $2,629. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arun it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Sofia costs $1,600 versus $2,629 in Arun. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Sofia. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arun makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.