Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Dhaka

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Sofia versus $426 in Dhaka.

Sofia $1,589
Dhaka $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,456 in Sofia versus $735 in Dhaka.

Sofia $2,456
Dhaka $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,324 in Sofia versus $1,043 in Dhaka.

Sofia $3,324
Dhaka $1,043

Living in Sofia is roughly 273% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 19% above, Dhaka is 68% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 BGN 29.93

$2.49 ৳306

586.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 BGN 117

$13.06 ৳1,605

412.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 BGN 20.59

$4.83 ৳594

143.69%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$3.42 BGN 5.99

$2.34 ৳287

46.15%

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

$2.42 BGN 4.23

$0.30 ৳37.39

706.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 BGN 3.26

$0.16 ৳19.96

1062.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 BGN 5.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.92

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 BGN 3.36

$0.80 ৳98.1

140.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 BGN 2.64

$0.65 ৳79.3

132.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 BGN 3.88

$0.71 ৳87.3

211.27%

Eggs

$4.40 BGN 7.69

$1.21 ৳149

263.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 BGN 20.22

$8.67 ৳1,065

33.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.79 BGN 15.38

$3.21 ৳395

173.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 BGN 29.71

$6.70 ৳823

153.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 BGN 3.79

$2.73 ৳335

-20.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 BGN 3.57

$0.88 ৳109

131.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.22

$2.37 ৳291

-22.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 BGN 7.51

$0.65 ৳79.6

560.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.80

$0.24 ৳29.20

329.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$0.49 ৳60.7

89.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 BGN 2.11

$0.32 ৳38.88

275.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 BGN 1.62

$0.30 ৳37.31

206.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳819

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 BGN 7.53

$3.23 ৳396

33.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 BGN 12.83

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 BGN 3.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.52

$0.42 ৳52.1

107.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.14 BGN 49.24

$22.54 ৳2,770

24.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 BGN 3.04

$1.19 ৳147

46.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$0.40 ৳48.60

140.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.54 BGN 27.19

$3.35 ৳411

363.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 BGN 3.14

$1.15 ৳141

55.65%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

$30.3K ৳3.7M

-1.02%

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

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

$33.0K ৳4.1M

-20.18%

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

$156 BGN 273

$46.32 ৳5,692

236.70%

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

$21.21 BGN 37.11

$4.33 ৳532

389.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.64 BGN 27.37

$10.63 ৳1,306

47.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.76 BGN 81.8

$16.37 ৳2,012

185.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.74 BGN 48.54

$16.14 ৳1,983

71.87%

Cinema Ticket

$10.02 BGN 17.53

$4.13 ৳508

142.62%

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

$766 BGN 1,341

$90.7 ৳11.1K

744.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

$2,649 ৳325.5K

382.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 BGN 157

$16.48 ৳2,025

444.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.88 BGN 71.5

$21.00 ৳2,580

94.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 186

$50.3 ৳6,175

111.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 183

$36.46 ৳4,480

187.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 BGN 1,393

$152 ৳18.6K

424.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 BGN 1,063

$73.6 ৳9,044

725.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 BGN 2,735

$436 ৳53.6K

258.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,060 BGN 1,855

$214 ৳26.3K

395.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,357 BGN 7,626

$1,622 ৳199.3K

168.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,250 BGN 5,688

$761 ৳93.5K

326.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,740 BGN 3,044

$249 ৳30.6K

598.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

10.48

-72.42%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$607 37.9%

Dhaka

$74 17.1% 87.9% $534

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$287 17.9%

Dhaka

$123 28.5% 57.3% $165

Eating Out

Sofia

$256 16%

Dhaka

$64 15% 74.9% $192

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12%

Dhaka

$61 14.3% 68.2% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Dhaka

$56 13% 63.6% $98

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Dhaka

$25 5.7% 63.1% $42

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Dhaka

$27 6.4% 28.2% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $796 in Sofia and $152 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 599% 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: $67.0 in Sofia vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

07:49 7:49 AM

10:49 10:49 AM

3 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Dhaka 6,410 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Dhaka

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 Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 273% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 599% 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: $796 in Sofia versus $152 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,589 per month in Sofia versus $426 in Dhaka – a 273% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 25% less than in Sofia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,589 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dhaka is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Dhaka 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 Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 273% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.