Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Buckingham

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,219 in Buckingham, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Buckingham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,219 in Buckingham.

Sofia $1,594
Buckingham $2,219

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $3,265 in Buckingham.

Sofia $2,478
Buckingham $3,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $4,311 in Buckingham.

Sofia $3,361
Buckingham $4,311

Living in Sofia costs roughly 28% less than in Buckingham, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 18% above, Buckingham 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$20.03 £15.03

-15.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$78.9 £59.2

-16.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$10.44 £7.83

8.43%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$4.60 £3.45

-25.43%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$2.05 £1.54

17.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$1.50 £1.12

23.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$5.45 £4.09

-32.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$4.52 £3.39

1.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.51 £1.13

33.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$1.77 £1.33

-11.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$2.82 £2.11

-17.38%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$4.04 £3.03

7.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$9.09 £6.82

29.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$7.72 £5.79

14.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$16.42 £12.32

6.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$3.29 £2.47

-34.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.54 £1.16

28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$2.80 £2.10

-31.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$3.20 £2.40

32.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$1.16 £0.87

-10.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.73 £1.30

-50.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.29 £0.97

-10.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$1.35 £1.01

-34.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$23.66 £17.75

-82.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$10.10 £7.57

-26.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$3.14 £2.36

-63.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.28 £1.71

-18.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$3.38 £2.53

-74.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$94.7 £71.1

-69.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$4.18 £3.14

-59.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$2.69 £2.02

-65.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$32.36 £24.28

-52.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$2.04 £1.53

-17.16%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$38.4K £28.8K

-22.35%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$41.3K £31.0K

-36.69%

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

$156 BGN 272

$200 £150

-21.95%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$17.46 £13.10

23.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$43.68 £32.77

-65.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$45.77 £34.34

0.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$13.38 £10.04

-23.92%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$1,464 £1,099

-47.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$22.0K £16.5K

-41.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$84.3 £63.2

6.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$31.33 £23.50

31.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$73.7 £55.3

42.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$97.2 £72.9

9.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$1,462 £1,097

-46.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$1,036 £777

-42.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$2,105 £1,579

-27.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$1,659 £1,244

-37.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$5,081 £3,812

-14.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$3,819 £2,865

-16.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$4,447 £3,336

-60.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

5.06

-42.89%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Buckingham: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Buckingham

$1K 46.7% 73.6% $439

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 2.3% $6.6

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Buckingham

$297 13.4% 16.7% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Buckingham

$261 11.8% 35.4% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Buckingham

$129 5.8% 16.5% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Buckingham

$73 3.3% 9.2% $6.1

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Buckingham

$126 5.7% 228% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 156% 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 $79.0 in Buckingham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $297 per month, with Sofia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

10:00 10:00 AM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

12,890

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Buckingham 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Buckingham

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 Buckingham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Buckingham differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $2,219 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 156% lower in Buckingham. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $1,462 in Buckingham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,594 per month in Sofia versus $2,219 in Buckingham – a 39% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 232% less than in Buckingham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,219 in Buckingham, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Buckingham. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia 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 Buckingham 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 Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 39% less than in Buckingham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.