Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Az-Zarqa

For one person, living is cheaper in Az-Zarqa: $716 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Az-Zarqa
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Az-Zarqa Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Az-Zarqa

🇯🇴 Jordan

$716

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Az-Zarqa

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 Az-Zarqa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $716 in Az-Zarqa.

Sofia $1,585
Az-Zarqa $716

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,083 in Az-Zarqa.

Sofia $2,486
Az-Zarqa $1,083

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,450 in Az-Zarqa.

Sofia $3,387
Az-Zarqa $1,450

Living in Sofia is roughly 122% more expensive than in Az-Zarqa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Az-Zarqa is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.30 JOD 3.04

285.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$24.92 JOD 17.64

171.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$5.59 JOD 3.95

108.94%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$0.80 JOD 0.57

326.25%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.44 JOD 0.31

436.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.35 JOD 0.25

377.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$4.16 JOD 2.95

-4.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$10.85 JOD 7.68

-58.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.44 JOD 1.02

34.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.44 JOD 0.31

252.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.54 JOD 1.09

52.60%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.78 JOD 1.26

158.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$5.05 JOD 3.58

127.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.33 JOD 3.77

62.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$8.41 JOD 5.95

106.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.49 JOD 1.06

44.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.28 JOD 0.90

54.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.19 JOD 0.84

53.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.63 JOD 0.45

577.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.85 JOD 0.60

22.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.87 JOD 0.61

2.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.59 JOD 0.42

101.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.50 JOD 0.36

66.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$3.57 JOD 2.53

23.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$7.02 JOD 4.97

5.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$4.31 JOD 3.05

-73.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$4.28 JOD 3.03

-55.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.60 JOD 0.42

53.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$21.43 JOD 15.17

31.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.63 JOD 0.45

165.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.37 JOD 0.97

-37.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$5.03 JOD 3.56

229.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.46 JOD 1.03

19.18%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.9K JOD 11.9K

77.63%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$22.1K JOD 15.7K

13.03%

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

$158 BGN 275

$132 JOD 93.6

19.38%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$12.99 JOD 9.20

63.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$28.75 JOD 20.35

-47.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$28.65 JOD 20.28

63.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$13.83 JOD 9.79

101.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$9.75 JOD 6.90

2.56%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$213 JOD 151

283.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$4,297 JOD 3,041

240.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$21.45 JOD 15.18

306.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$13.97 JOD 9.89

174.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$44.20 JOD 31.28

138.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$40.72 JOD 28.82

163.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$164 JOD 116

368.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$123 JOD 86.9

383.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$305 JOD 216

400.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$243 JOD 172

336.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$564 JOD 399

702.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$348 JOD 246

793.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$499 JOD 353

256.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

6.94

-58.36%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Az-Zarqa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Az-Zarqa

$123 17.2% 79.3% $470

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Az-Zarqa

$179 25% 37.8% $109

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Az-Zarqa

$106 14.9% 58% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Az-Zarqa

$174 24.3% 10.4% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Az-Zarqa

$54 7.6% 64.4% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Az-Zarqa

$48 6.7% 28% $19

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Az-Zarqa

$31 4.4% 17% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $164 in Az-Zarqa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 3.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $25 in Az-Zarqa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $179 per month, with Az-Zarqa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇯🇴 Az-Zarqa

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

07:34 7:34 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

395,227

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, 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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.795 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Az-Zarqa 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Az-Zarqa

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 Az-Zarqa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $716 in Az-Zarqa, so Az-Zarqa is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sofia is about 3.6 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $769 in Sofia versus $164 in Az-Zarqa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $716 in Az-Zarqa – Az-Zarqa is about 55% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Az-Zarqa runs roughly 24% less than in Sofia. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $716 in Az-Zarqa versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Az-Zarqa but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Az-Zarqa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Az-Zarqa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.