Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Asti

For one person, living costs are similar in Sofia and in Asti: $1,594 and $1,585 a month, rent and utilities included.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Asti
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Asti Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Asti

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Asti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,585 in Asti.

Sofia $1,594
Asti $1,585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $2,375 in Asti.

Sofia $2,478
Asti $2,375

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $3,164 in Asti.

Sofia $3,361
Asti $3,164

Living in Sofia is roughly 1% more expensive than in Asti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 18% above, Asti 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$17.05 €15.16

-1.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$66.1 €58.8

-0.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$11.17 €9.93

1.34%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.83 €1.63

87.43%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$3.35 €2.98

-28.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$1.43 €1.27

29.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$6.58 €5.85

-43.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$4.39 €3.91

4.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.72 €1.53

17.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$2.04 €1.82

-23.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$3.25 €2.89

-28.31%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$4.33 €3.86

0.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$26.95 €23.98

-56.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$14.70 €13.08

-39.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$25.02 €22.26

-30.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.07 €1.84

3.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$2.18 €1.94

-9.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$3.05 €2.71

-36.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$3.33 €2.96

27.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$2.48 €2.21

-58.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$2.08 €1.85

-59.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.78 €1.58

-35.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.45 €0.40

97.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$6.50 €5.78

-35.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$5.90 €5.25

26.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$2.03 €1.81

-43.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.22 €1.98

-16.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$1.37 €1.22

-36.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$27.98 €24.89

1.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$5.60 €4.98

-70.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$2.25 €2.00

-58.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$11.76 €10.46

30.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$2.00 €1.78

-15.50%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$26.3K €23.4K

13.38%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$35.4K €31.5K

-26.17%

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

$156 BGN 272

$173 €154

-9.97%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$10.16 €9.04

112.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$25.71 €22.87

-40.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$79.5 €70.7

-42.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$11.11 €9.88

151.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$9.71 €8.63

4.84%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$556 €495

39.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$8,747 €7,781

46.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$94.1 €83.7

-4.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$38.30 €34.07

7.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$86.4 €76.9

21.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$133 €119

-20.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$503 €448

55.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$416 €370

43.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$679 €604

123.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$491 €437

109.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$2,390 €2,125

82.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$1,364 €1,213

132.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$1,846 €1,642

-6.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.7

-21.89%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Asti: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Asti

$416 26.2% 30.3% $181

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Asti

$400 25.2% 37.7% $110

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Asti

$253 15.9% 0.8% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Asti

$209 13.2% 8.5% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Asti

$159 10% 2.7% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Asti

$99 6.2% 48.8% $32

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Asti

$50 3.2% 31.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $503 in Asti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Asti pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $66.0 in Asti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $400 per month, with Sofia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇹 Asti

🕒 Local time

09:24 9:24 AM

08:24 8:24 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

71,276

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Asti 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Asti

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 Asti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Asti is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Asti. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $503 in Asti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Asti – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,594 per month in Sofia versus $1,585 in Asti – a 1% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,585 in Asti versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Asti but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Asti the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Asti is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Asti 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 Asti gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.