Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Barysaw

For one person, living is cheaper in Barysaw: $809 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Barysaw
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Barysaw Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Barysaw

🇧🇾 Belarus

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Barysaw

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $809 in Barysaw.

Sofia $1,585
Barysaw $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,272 in Barysaw.

Sofia $2,486
Barysaw $1,272

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,734 in Barysaw.

Sofia $3,387
Barysaw $1,734

Living in Sofia is roughly 96% more expensive than in Barysaw, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Barysaw is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$6.69 BYN 19.86

147.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$30.05 BYN 89.2

125.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$4.44 BYN 13.20

163.06%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$1.61 BYN 4.80

111.80%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.59 BYN 1.76

300.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.35 BYN 1.05

377.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.16 BYN 3.45

243.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.52 BYN 7.50

79.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.70 BYN 2.09

177.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.58 BYN 1.72

167.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.13 BYN 3.35

107.96%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.40 BYN 4.17

228.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$6.97 BYN 20.69

64.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.14 BYN 12.28

108.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$6.50 BYN 19.32

166.77%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.30 BYN 3.86

65.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.79 BYN 5.33

10.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.82 BYN 5.41

0.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.76 BYN 5.24

142.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.39 BYN 1.17

166.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.65 BYN 1.92

36.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.00 BYN 2.98

19.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.51 BYN 1.52

62.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.06 BYN 6.11

113.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$8.21 BYN 24.38

-9.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.55 BYN 4.61

-25.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.13 BYN 6.32

-10.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.33 BYN 0.97

178.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$14.86 BYN 44.12

89.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.70 BYN 2.07

138.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.52 BYN 1.54

63.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$10.10 BYN 29.99

64.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.93 BYN 2.77

87.10%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$20.2K BYN 60.0K

48.26%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$20.6K BYN 61.1K

21.61%

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

$158 BGN 275

$72.0 BYN 214

119.37%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$7.85 BYN 23.31

170.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$11.92 BYN 35.40

26.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$38.10 BYN 113

22.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$3.30 BYN 9.80

203.03%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$335 BYN 995

143.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$10.0K BYN 29.8K

45.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$46.14 BYN 137

88.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$49.32 BYN 146

-22.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$90.7 BYN 269

16.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$106 BYN 314

1.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$394 BYN 1,169

95.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$262 BYN 779

126.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$584 BYN 1,735

161.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$498 BYN 1,480

112.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,115 BYN 3,313

305.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$871 BYN 2,587

256.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$667 BYN 1,981

166.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-79.36%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Barysaw: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Barysaw

$262 32.4% 55.8% $331

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Barysaw

$159 19.6% 44.9% $129

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Barysaw

$101 12.5% 60.2% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Barysaw

$92 11.3% 52.8% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Barysaw

$131 16.2% 13.7% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Barysaw

$45 5.5% 33.1% $22

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Barysaw

$19 2.4% 48.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $394 in Barysaw. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 2.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $30 in Barysaw for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $159 per month, with Barysaw cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇾 Barysaw

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

20:06 8:06 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

143,051

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Belarusian Ruble BYN Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 BYN = 0.337 USD

1 BYN = 0.3 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BYN, 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 = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Belarusian Ruble exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 2.97 BYN (1 BYN = 0.337 USD). 1 EUR = 3.34 BYN (1 BYN = 0.3 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Barysaw 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Barysaw

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 Barysaw: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barysaw is about 49% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Sofia is about 2.7 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 $394 in Barysaw. 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 $809 in Barysaw – Barysaw is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Barysaw runs roughly 47% less than in Sofia. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $809 in Barysaw versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Barysaw but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Barysaw 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.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Barysaw are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Barysaw gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.