Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Cox's Bazar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cox's Bazar: $347 a month against $1,600 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
17

Cost of Living Index in Cox's Bazar
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Cox's Bazar Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Cox's Bazar

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$347

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Cox's Bazar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,600 in Sofia versus $347 in Cox's Bazar.

Sofia $1,600
Cox's Bazar $347

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,490 in Sofia versus $557 in Cox's Bazar.

Sofia $2,490
Cox's Bazar $557

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,380 in Sofia versus $767 in Cox's Bazar.

Sofia $3,380
Cox's Bazar $767

Living in Sofia is roughly 361% more expensive than in Cox's Bazar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Cox's Bazar is 74% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 BGN 29.51

$1.65 ৳203

927.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.3 BGN 119

$12.00 ৳1,483

468.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.62 BGN 20.21

$3.09 ৳382

276.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 ৳329

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 ৳297

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.90 ৳235

80.53%

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

$2.34 BGN 4.08

$0.36 ৳44.03

550.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 BGN 3.19

$0.12 ৳14.26

1425.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.41 BGN 5.93

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 BGN 7.73

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 BGN 3.42

$0.81 ৳99.9

143.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 BGN 2.59

$0.47 ৳57.9

217.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$0.66 ৳82.0

253.03%

Eggs

$4.41 BGN 7.68

$0.99 ৳123

345.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.54 BGN 20.08

$7.20 ৳890

60.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 BGN 15.44

$2.06 ৳254

331.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.51 BGN 30.46

$7.17 ৳886

144.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.25 ৳278

-4.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 BGN 3.60

$0.85 ৳106

143.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.68 ৳207

14.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 BGN 7.39

$0.51 ৳63.6

733.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.79

$0.46 ৳57.2

123.91%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.54

$0.54 ৳66.5

62.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.07

$0.45 ৳55.5

164.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.55

$0.29 ৳36.42

206.90%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.94 ৳981

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 ৳310

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.72 ৳584

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 BGN 7.35

$1.85 ৳229

128.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.87 BGN 13.69

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 BGN 3.29

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.30 BGN 49.24

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.27 ৳33.02

522.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$0.37 ৳46.16

159.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.36 BGN 26.73

$4.15 ৳513

270.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 BGN 3.09

$1.09 ৳135

62.39%

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

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

$32.4K ৳4.0M

-5.93%

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

$25.1K BGN 43.6K

$34.5K ৳4.3M

-27.28%

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

$157 BGN 273

$12.18 ৳1,505

1189.66%

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

$21.12 BGN 36.74

$2.64 ৳326

700.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.32 BGN 26.65

$11.44 ৳1,414

33.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.39 BGN 80.7

$16.28 ৳2,011

184.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.09 BGN 48.87

$4.00 ৳494

602.25%

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 BGN 17.46

$2.38 ৳294

321.85%

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

$775 BGN 1,348

$24.48 ৳3,024

3064.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K BGN 21.8K

$1,443 ৳178.3K

769.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.1 BGN 153

$22.55 ৳2,786

290.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.39 BGN 72.0

$18.08 ৳2,233

128.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 BGN 186

$32.46 ৳4,010

228.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 BGN 185

$35.09 ৳4,336

202.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 BGN 1,340

$161 ৳19.8K

379.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 BGN 1,048

$95.2 ৳11.8K

532.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,564 BGN 2,721

$302 ৳37.3K

417.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 BGN 1,803

$164 ৳20.2K

533.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,567 BGN 7,946

$348 ৳43.0K

1212.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,162 BGN 5,502

$266 ৳32.9K

1086.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,742 BGN 3,031

$278 ৳34.3K

526.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

11.5

-74.87%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cox's Bazar: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$602 37.6%

Cox's Bazar

$95 27.5% 84.2% $507

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$291 18.2%

Cox's Bazar

$106 30.6% 63.5% $185

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 15.9%

Cox's Bazar

$47 13.6% 81.5% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.1%

Cox's Bazar

$26 7.6% 86.4% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Cox's Bazar

$49 14% 68.4% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Cox's Bazar

$21 6.1% 68.3% $45

Getting Around

Sofia

$39 2.4%

Cox's Bazar

$2.1 * 0.6% 94.4% $36

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 $770 in Sofia and $161 in Cox's Bazar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 527% 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: $68.0 in Sofia vs $12.00 in Cox's Bazar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $291 vs $106 per month, with Cox's Bazar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇩 Cox's Bazar

🕒 Local time

13:45 1:45 PM

16:45 4:45 PM

3 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

223,522

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, 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).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Cox's Bazar 6,690 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Cox's Bazar

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 Cox's Bazar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Cox's Bazar differ by about 361% in total monthly costs ($1,600 vs $347 including rent). Cox's Bazar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 527% higher in Sofia, 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: $770 in Sofia versus $161 in Cox's Bazar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 174% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,600 per month in Sofia versus $347 in Cox's Bazar – a 361% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $347 in Cox's Bazar versus $1,600 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Cox's Bazar but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Cox's Bazar 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 Cox's Bazar 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 Cox's Bazar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 361% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.