Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Basra

For one person, living is cheaper in Basra: $662 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Basra
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Basra Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Basra

🇮🇶 Iraq

$662

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Basra

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $662 in Basra.

Sofia $1,585
Basra $662

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,191 in Basra.

Sofia $2,486
Basra $1,191

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,719 in Basra.

Sofia $3,387
Basra $1,719

Living in Sofia is roughly 139% more expensive than in Basra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Basra is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.02 IQD 6,082

312.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$26.47 IQD 40.0K

155.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$6.62 IQD 10.0K

76.44%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.17 IQD 3,285

57.14%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.37 IQD 554

537.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.28 IQD 417

496.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.25 IQD 4,916

22.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$3.57 IQD 5,393

26.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.92 IQD 1,389

110.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.60 IQD 902

158.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.22 IQD 1,842

92.62%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.62 IQD 2,448

183.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$6.41 IQD 9,681

78.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.58 IQD 8,429

55.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$12.22 IQD 18.5K

41.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.84 IQD 1,267

155.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.16 IQD 1,753

70.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.89 IQD 1,342

105.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.60 IQD 910

611.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.69 IQD 1,044

50.72%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.56 IQD 846

58.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.82 IQD 1,236

45.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.36 IQD 547

130.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.85 IQD 2,790

137.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$11.16 IQD 16.9K

-33.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.57 IQD 2,365

-26.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.80 IQD 2,717

5.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.50 IQD 762

84.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$16.56 IQD 25.0K

69.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$2.02 IQD 3,056

-17.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$2.00 IQD 3,023

-57.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$6.34 IQD 9,581

161.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.55 IQD 838

216.36%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$11.7K IQD 17.7M

155.60%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$19.9K IQD 30.1M

25.50%

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

$158 BGN 275

$43.26 IQD 65.4K

264.91%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$21.81 IQD 33.0K

-2.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$34.04 IQD 51.4K

-55.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$31.25 IQD 47.2K

49.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$12.28 IQD 18.6K

126.55%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$6.69 IQD 10.1K

49.48%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$107 IQD 161.7K

662.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$3,309 IQD 5.0M

342.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$43.15 IQD 65.2K

101.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$17.34 IQD 26.2K

120.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$67.0 IQD 101.2K

57.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$36.13 IQD 54.6K

196.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$405 IQD 612.0K

89.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$138 IQD 208.2K

330.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$370 IQD 559.6K

313.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$545 IQD 823.8K

94.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,398 IQD 2.1M

223.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$704 IQD 1.1M

341.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$672 IQD 1.0M

164.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

4.12

-29.85%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Basra: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Basra

$138 20.8% 76.8% $455

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Basra

$173 26% 40% $115

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Basra

$104 15.7% 58.9% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Basra

$99 15% 49% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Basra

$74 11.1% 51.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Basra

$45 6.7% 33.2% $22

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Basra

$31 4.6% 18.9% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $405 in Basra. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $26 in Basra for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $173 per month, with Basra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇶 Basra

🕒 Local time

20:09 8:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

2,150,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, 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).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,698 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Basra 2,560 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Basra

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 Basra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $662 in Basra, so Basra is about 58% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sofia is about 2.6 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 $405 in Basra. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Basra – a meal for two runs $26 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $662 in Basra versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Basra but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Basra 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 Basra gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.