Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 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
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $543 in Badulla.

Sofia $1,594
Badulla $543

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $877 in Badulla.

Sofia $2,478
Badulla $877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $1,211 in Badulla.

Sofia $3,361
Badulla $1,211

Living in Sofia is roughly 193% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.88 LKR 1,287

334.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$25.05 LKR 8,298

162.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$7.37 LKR 2,442

53.60%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$2.55 LKR 844

34.51%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.71 LKR 236

239.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.27 LKR 89.5

585.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.22 LKR 735

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$3.07 LKR 1,015

49.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.55 LKR 514

30.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.53 LKR 174

194.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$0.60 LKR 199

288.33%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.66 LKR 551

162.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$13.97 LKR 4,627

-15.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$3.56 LKR 1,178

148.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$7.62 LKR 2,522

129.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$6.65 LKR 2,202

-67.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$0.87 LKR 288

127.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$4.35 LKR 1,440

-55.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$1.33 LKR 439

218.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.99 LKR 329

5.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.77 LKR 255

10.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.87 LKR 287

32.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.45 LKR 151

97.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$10.13 LKR 3,354

-58.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$12.74 LKR 4,221

-41.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.90 LKR 628

-39.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.93 LKR 971

-36.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.38 LKR 125

342.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.37 LKR 123

154.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$0.88 LKR 293

1644.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.38 LKR 456

22.46%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

-18.40%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

-35.82%

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

$156 BGN 272

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

169.80%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$4.31 LKR 1,429

400.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$21.13 LKR 6,998

-27.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$4.49 LKR 1,488

126.73%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

1919.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

962.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$18.44 LKR 6,108

387.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$16.32 LKR 5,405

153.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

31.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

158.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

928.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

1242.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

1046.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

-4.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$742 LKR 245.8K

328.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$224 LKR 74.3K

673.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

12.69

-77.23%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Badulla: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Badulla

$44 8.2% 92.6% $552

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Badulla

$229 42.2% 21.1% $61

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Badulla

$105 19.3% 58.8% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Badulla

$83 15.3% 56.8% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Badulla

$70 12.9% 54.4% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Badulla

$9 * 1.7% 86.5% $57

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4% 94.2% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $76.1 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 673% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $25.00 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $229 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

14:25 2:25 PM

16:55 4:55 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Badulla 6,880 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 193% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 673% higher in Sofia, 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: $783 in Sofia versus $76.1 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $38.34 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $543 in Badulla versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Badulla 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 Badulla 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 Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 193% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.