Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Braslav

For one person, living is cheaper in Braslav: $651 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Braslav
Learn more

Braslav Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Braslav

🇧🇾 Belarus

$651

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Braslav

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $651 in Braslav.

Sofia $1,585
Braslav $651

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,115 in Braslav.

Sofia $2,486
Braslav $1,115

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,580 in Braslav.

Sofia $3,387
Braslav $1,580

Living in Sofia is roughly 144% more expensive than in Braslav, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Braslav is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$10.09 BYN 29.98

64.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$50.6 BYN 150

33.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.09 BYN 21.06

64.74%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.45 BYN 7.27

39.18%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.97 BYN 2.89

143.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.65 BYN 1.93

156.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.73 BYN 5.13

130.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.66 BYN 7.91

70.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.91 BYN 2.70

113.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.74 BYN 2.19

109.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.30 BYN 3.86

80.77%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.75 BYN 5.21

162.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.68 BYN 22.82

49.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.42 BYN 16.09

59.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$11.32 BYN 33.61

53.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.61 BYN 4.79

33.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.79 BYN 5.31

10.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.30 BYN 6.82

-20.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$2.81 BYN 8.34

51.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.70 BYN 2.08

48.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.79 BYN 2.36

12.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.48 BYN 4.39

-19.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.62 BYN 1.85

33.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.67 BYN 7.93

64.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$8.31 BYN 24.68

-10.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.03 BYN 3.05

12.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.01 BYN 5.98

-5.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.32 BYN 0.97

187.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$15.06 BYN 44.73

86.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.66 BYN 4.93

0.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.53 BYN 1.57

60.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$10.28 BYN 30.52

61.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.88 BYN 2.63

97.73%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$22.1K BYN 65.7K

35.37%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$22.8K BYN 67.7K

9.66%

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

$158 BGN 275

$62.9 BYN 187

151.01%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$9.13 BYN 27.11

132.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$13.79 BYN 40.95

9.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$37.45 BYN 111

25.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$6.02 BYN 17.87

66.11%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$411 BYN 1,220

98.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$24.0K BYN 71.3K

-39.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$52.9 BYN 157

64.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$46.25 BYN 137

-17.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$110 BYN 328

-4.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$113 BYN 335

-5.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$352 BYN 1,045

118.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$579 BYN 1,719

164.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,116 BYN 3,315

305.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$891 BYN 2,646

248.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

15.93

-81.86%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Braslav: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Braslav

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Braslav

$198 30.4% 31.3% $90

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Braslav

$152 23.4% 40.1% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Braslav

$86 13.2% 55.8% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Braslav

$145 22.3% 4.7% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Braslav

$49 7.6% 26% $17

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Braslav

$21 3.2% 45.2% $17

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 $769 in Sofia and $352 in Braslav. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $51 in Braslav for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $198 per month, with Braslav cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇾 Braslav

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

07:34 7:34 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

9,800

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Belarusian Ruble BYN Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Belarusian Ruble exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2.97 BYN (1 BYN = 0.337 USD). 1 EUR = 3.33 BYN (1 BYN = 0.3 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Braslav 1,460 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Braslav

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 Braslav: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Braslav wins on cost – living expenses run 59% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Braslav the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,378 in Sofia and $976 in Braslav to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $769 in Sofia versus $352 in Braslav. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Braslav – a meal for two runs $51 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $651 in Braslav versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $800 budget is realistic in Braslav but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Braslav 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 Braslav gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.