Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Duma

For one person, living is cheaper in Duma: $639 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Duma
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Duma Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Duma

🇸🇾 Syria

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Duma

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $639 in Duma.

Sofia $1,585
Duma $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,010 in Duma.

Sofia $2,486
Duma $1,010

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,381 in Duma.

Sofia $3,387
Duma $1,381

Living in Sofia is roughly 148% more expensive than in Duma, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Duma is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 29.00

$10.02 SYP 1,218

65.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$41.72 SYP 5,069

62.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.44

$7.06 SYP 858

65.44%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.96

$3.67 SYP 445

-7.08%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.13

$2.27 SYP 276

3.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.92

$0.88 SYP 107

89.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.98

$1.94 SYP 235

105.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.93

$3.99 SYP 484

13.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.39

$1.02 SYP 124

90.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.72

$0.41 SYP 49.95

278.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.12

$1.61 SYP 196

45.96%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.05

$1.56 SYP 190

194.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 20.07

$3.82 SYP 464

200.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.13

$5.78 SYP 702

49.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.34

$13.52 SYP 1,642

28.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.76

$1.07 SYP 131

100.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.47

$1.36 SYP 165

45.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.20

$1.15 SYP 140

59.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.47

$1.02 SYP 124

318.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.83

$0.80 SYP 97.1

30.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.55

$0.80 SYP 97.6

11.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.08

$0.44 SYP 53.3

170.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.46

$0.61 SYP 74.1

36.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.70

$2.80 SYP 340

57.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.98

$5.11 SYP 621

45.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.03

$1.15 SYP 140

0.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.32

$2.79 SYP 339

-31.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.61

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 49.19

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.92

$1.02 SYP 124

63.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.49 SYP 181

-42.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 29.04

$7.88 SYP 957

110.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.04

$3.71 SYP 451

-53.10%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.4K

$15.3K SYP 1.9M

95.98%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.8K

$18.9K SYP 2.3M

32.46%

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

$158 BGN 276

$137 SYP 16.7K

14.90%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.22

$9.60 SYP 1,167

121.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.46

$46.62 SYP 5,664

-67.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 82.0

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.69

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.49

$5.64 SYP 685

77.30%

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

$815 BGN 1,427

$65.7 SYP 7,978

1141.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.6K

$1,800 SYP 218.8K

713.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$29.01 SYP 3,525

200.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 67.0

$39.31 SYP 4,776

-2.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 185

$59.9 SYP 7,275

76.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 188

$58.2 SYP 7,072

84.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,345

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,038

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,677

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,856

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,920

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,441

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,116

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 Duma: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Duma

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Duma

$166 26% 42.4% $122

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Duma

$176 27.5% 30.8% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Duma

$194 30.3% 0.3% $0.6

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Duma

$84 13.1% 44.9% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Duma

$11 * 1.8% 83.1% $56

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Duma

$8.5 * 1.3% 77.5% $29

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $42 in Duma for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $166 per month, with Duma cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇸🇾 Duma

🕒 Local time

20:09 8:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

110,893

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 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 = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.97 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Duma 1,530 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Duma

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 Duma: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Duma wins on cost – living expenses run 60% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Duma the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,378 in Sofia and $958 in Duma to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 74% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $639 in Duma – Duma is about 60% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $639 in Duma versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $800 budget is realistic in Duma but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Duma 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 Duma are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.