Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Brest, Belarus

For one person, living is cheaper in Brest: $855 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Brest
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Brest Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Brest

🇧🇾 Belarus

$855

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Brest

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $855 in Brest, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Brest $855

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,357 in Brest, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Brest $1,357

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,859 in Brest, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Brest $1,859

Sofia costs about 85% more than Brest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Brest is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$12.65 BYN 37.58

30.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$38.56 BYN 115

75.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$6.59 BYN 19.56

77.24%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.18 BYN 6.48

56.42%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.97 BYN 2.88

143.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.91 BYN 2.70

83.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.13 BYN 9.31

27.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$4.09 BYN 12.14

10.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.18 BYN 3.50

64.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$1.04 BYN 3.08

49.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.00 BYN 2.96

135.00%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.60 BYN 4.76

187.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$6.91 BYN 20.54

65.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.71 BYN 11.01

133.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$3.65 BYN 10.83

375.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$2.04 BYN 6.06

5.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$2.45 BYN 7.27

-19.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.17 BYN 6.45

-15.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$2.48 BYN 7.38

72.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.89 BYN 2.64

16.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$1.64 BYN 4.88

-45.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.99 BYN 5.90

-40.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$1.32 BYN 3.93

-37.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.76 BYN 8.19

59.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$7.95 BYN 23.61

-6.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.27 BYN 3.77

-8.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.08 BYN 6.17

-8.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.34 BYN 1.00

170.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$16.53 BYN 49.09

70.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.78 BYN 2.31

114.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.54 BYN 1.61

57.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$16.80 BYN 49.90

-1.25%

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

$19.1K BYN 56.7K

56.70%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$28.1K BYN 83.4K

-10.97%

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

$158 BGN 275

$65.0 BYN 193

142.97%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$11.49 BYN 34.13

85.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$22.60 BYN 67.1

-33.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$33.47 BYN 99.4

39.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$7.98 BYN 23.69

248.62%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$5.38 BYN 15.99

85.87%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$336 BYN 997

142.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$6,199 BYN 18.4K

136.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$52.9 BYN 157

64.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$40.25 BYN 120

-4.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$135 BYN 402

-22.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$88.3 BYN 262

21.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$357 BYN 1,061

115.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$184 BYN 548

221.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$504 BYN 1,496

203.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$315 BYN 936

236.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$2,483 BYN 7,376

82.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$2,506 BYN 7,444

24.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$538 BYN 1,598

230.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-73.73%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Brest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Brest

$184 21.6% 68.9% $409

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Brest

$185 21.6% 35.7% $103

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Brest

$179 20.9% 29.6% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Brest

$99 11.6% 49% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Brest

$143 16.7% 6.3% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Brest

$44 5.2% 33.8% $23

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Brest

$21 2.5% 43.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $769 in Sofia versus $357 in Brest. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $39 in Brest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $185 – making Brest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇾 Brest

🕒 Local time

11:29 11:29 AM

12:29 12:29 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

340,521

💱 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 = 3.34 BYN (1 BYN = 0.3 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Brest 1,050 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Brest

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 Brest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 85% more than Brest, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,283 in Brest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Brest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $357 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Groceries cost about 56% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $39 in Brest. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,585 in Sofia and $855 in Brest. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Brest – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Brest. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.