Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Damascus

For one person, living is cheaper in Damascus: $866 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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 Damascus
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Damascus Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Damascus

🇸🇾 Syria

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Damascus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $866 in Damascus.

Sofia $1,585
Damascus $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,404 in Damascus.

Sofia $2,486
Damascus $1,404

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,943 in Damascus.

Sofia $3,387
Damascus $1,943

Living in Sofia is roughly 83% more expensive than in Damascus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Damascus is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$10.11 SYP 1,229

63.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$43.10 SYP 5,237

57.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.21 SYP 876

62.00%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.67 SYP 446

-7.08%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$2.28 SYP 277

3.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.89 SYP 108

87.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.92 SYP 233

107.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$3.99 SYP 484

13.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.04 SYP 126

86.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.41 SYP 50.4

278.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.63 SYP 198

44.17%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.58 SYP 192

191.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$3.82 SYP 464

200.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.80 SYP 705

49.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$13.83 SYP 1,680

25.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.03 SYP 126

108.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.42 SYP 172

39.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.11 SYP 135

64.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.02 SYP 124

318.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.79 SYP 96.5

31.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.77 SYP 93.0

15.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.43 SYP 52.7

176.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.63 SYP 76.0

31.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.79 SYP 340

57.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$5.14 SYP 624

44.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.09 SYP 132

6.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.81 SYP 341

-32.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.21 SYP 25.46

338.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$7.81 SYP 949

259.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.98 SYP 119

70.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.49 SYP 181

-42.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$7.89 SYP 959

110.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$3.77 SYP 458

-53.85%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

98.73%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

28.40%

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

$158 BGN 275

$139 SYP 16.9K

13.72%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$9.53 SYP 1,158

123.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$47.09 SYP 5,721

-67.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$28.02 SYP 3,404

67.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$6.80 SYP 826

309.12%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$5.38 SYP 654

85.87%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$65.4 SYP 7,950

1146.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$1,773 SYP 215.4K

726.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$28.78 SYP 3,497

202.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$39.30 SYP 4,775

-2.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$60.9 SYP 7,403

73.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$59.0 SYP 7,168

81.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$514 SYP 62.4K

49.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$186 SYP 22.6K

219.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$864 SYP 104.9K

77.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$466 SYP 56.6K

127.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,725 SYP 209.5K

162.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$599 SYP 72.7K

419.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$78.6 SYP 9,553

2164.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

14.25

-79.72%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Damascus: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Damascus

$186 21.5% 68.7% $407

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Damascus

$167 19.3% 42% $121

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Damascus

$177 20.4% 30.3% $77

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Damascus

$195 22.6% 0.6% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Damascus

$85 9.8% 44.4% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Damascus

$39 4.5% 42% $28

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Damascus

$17 2% 54.7% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $514 in Damascus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 23 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $43 in Damascus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $167 per month, with Damascus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇸🇾 Damascus

🕒 Local time

23:38 11:38 PM

00:38 12:38 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

1,414,913 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.33 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, 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 = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 136 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.33 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Damascus 1,520 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Damascus

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 Damascus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $866 in Damascus, so Damascus is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sofia is about 23 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 $514 in Damascus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Damascus – a meal for two runs $43 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $866 in Damascus – Damascus is about 45% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $866 in Damascus versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Damascus but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Damascus 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 Damascus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.