Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Durres

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,138 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Durres
Learn more

Durres Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Durres

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,138 in Durres.

Sofia $1,594
Durres $1,138

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,733 in Durres.

Sofia $2,478
Durres $1,733

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $2,329 in Durres.

Sofia $3,361
Durres $2,329

Living in Sofia is roughly 40% more expensive than in Durres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Durres is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$10.51 ALL 846

60.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$37.27 ALL 3,001

76.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$10.18 ALL 820

11.20%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.98 ALL 160

73.23%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$2.04 ALL 164

18.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$1.05 ALL 84.2

76.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.98 ALL 240

24.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$4.23 ALL 340

8.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$2.11 ALL 170

-4.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$1.07 ALL 86.2

45.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$2.37 ALL 190

-1.69%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$3.69 ALL 297

18.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$12.79 ALL 1,030

-8.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$7.64 ALL 615

15.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$14.57 ALL 1,173

19.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.15 ALL 93.0

86.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$2.38 ALL 192

-16.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.54 ALL 124

25.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$1.31 ALL 106

223.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.92 ALL 74.0

13.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.94 ALL 76.1

-9.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.25 ALL 101

-8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.70 ALL 56.7

27.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$4.24 ALL 341

-0.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$11.01 ALL 887

-32.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.50 ALL 121

-23.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.06 ALL 166

-10.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.48 ALL 38.53

81.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$19.19 ALL 1,545

48.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$3.57 ALL 287

-52.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$2.47 ALL 199

-61.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$2.18 ALL 176

-22.48%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$16.1K ALL 1.3M

85.45%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

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

$156 BGN 272

$93.6 ALL 7,534

66.82%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$16.62 ALL 1,338

29.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$16.68 ALL 1,343

-8.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$40.50 ALL 3,262

13.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$61.3 ALL 4,932

-54.42%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$7.48 ALL 602

36.10%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$183 ALL 14.7K

322.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$4,590 ALL 369.6K

178.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$39.06 ALL 3,146

130.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$41.02 ALL 3,303

0.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$89.4 ALL 7,195

17.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$159 ALL 12.8K

-32.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$444 ALL 35.8K

76.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$336 ALL 27.0K

77.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$690 ALL 55.6K

119.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$469 ALL 37.8K

119.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$1,774 ALL 142.9K

145.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$1,154 ALL 92.9K

175.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$940 ALL 75.7K

84.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

5.25

-44.95%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Durres: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Durres

$336 29.5% 43.8% $261

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Durres

$261 22.9% 10.2% $30

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Durres

$174 15.3% 31.7% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Durres

$127 11.2% 34.2% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Durres

$148 13% 4.2% $6.5

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Durres

$55 4.9% 16.5% $11

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Durres

$37 3.3% 3.6% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $444 in Durres. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 85% 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 $37.00 in Durres for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $261 per month, with Durres cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇦🇱 Durres

🕒 Local time

06:17 6:17 AM

05:17 5:17 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

175,110

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Sofia Durres 360 km

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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 Durres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Durres wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Durres the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 85% 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: $783 in Sofia versus $444 in Durres. 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 $1,138 in Durres – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Durres runs roughly 49% less than in Sofia. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,138 in Durres versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Durres but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Durres the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Durres delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,138 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Durres hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Durres 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 Durres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.