Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and El Kef

For one person, living is cheaper in El Kef: $610 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in El Kef
Learn more

El Kef Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

El Kef

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in El Kef

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

A single person spends $1,594 per month in Sofia vs $610 in El Kef, rent included.

Sofia $1,594
El Kef $610

A couple spends around $2,478 per month in Sofia vs $959 in El Kef, rent included.

Sofia $2,478
El Kef $959

A family of three spends $3,361 per month in Sofia vs $1,308 in El Kef, rent included.

Sofia $3,361
El Kef $1,308

Sofia costs about 162% more than El Kef, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 18% above the global median, while El Kef is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$5.34 TND 15.99

215.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$13.49 TND 40.39

387.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$4.55 TND 13.63

148.79%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$0.65 TND 1.94

427.69%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.52 TND 1.55

363.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.24 TND 0.72

670.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$0.88 TND 2.65

320.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$0.98 TND 2.92

367.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$0.46 TND 1.39

339.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.20 TND 0.60

680.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.78 TND 5.34

30.90%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.44 TND 4.30

202.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$15.02 TND 45.00

-21.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$6.41 TND 19.20

37.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$14.67 TND 43.94

19.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.59 TND 4.76

35.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.69 TND 5.06

17.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.02 TND 3.06

89.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.57 TND 1.72

643.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.38 TND 1.14

173.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.19 TND 0.56

347.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.45 TND 1.36

155.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.29 TND 0.86

206.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$3.45 TND 10.32

22.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$4.33 TND 12.98

72.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$0.70 TND 2.11

64.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$0.93 TND 2.77

98.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.32 TND 0.95

171.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$9.99 TND 29.93

185.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.31 TND 0.94

441.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.29 TND 0.87

224.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$3.96 TND 11.87

287.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$0.83 TND 2.49

103.61%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$38.8K TND 116.3K

-23.24%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$36.7K TND 109.8K

-28.72%

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

$156 BGN 272

$26.87 TND 80.5

480.87%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$10.57 TND 31.65

103.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$13.92 TND 41.70

9.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$27.30 TND 81.8

68.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$12.16 TND 36.42

129.61%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$3.36 TND 10.05

202.98%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$61.2 TND 183

1164.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,972 TND 5,905

549.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$23.11 TND 69.2

289.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$68.0 TND 204

-39.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$39.88 TND 119

163.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$78.3 TND 234

36.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$208 TND 624

275.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$157 TND 470

280.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$365 TND 1,093

315.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$269 TND 804

283.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$939 TND 2,813

363.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$628 TND 1,880

406.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$168 TND 504

930.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-73.73%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for El Kef: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

El Kef

$157 25.7% 73.7% $440

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

El Kef

$187 30.6% 35.8% $104

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

El Kef

$74 12.1% 71.1% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

El Kef

$51 8.4% 73.4% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

El Kef

$94 15.5% 39% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

El Kef

$34 5.6% 48.8% $32

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

El Kef

$13 2.1% 66.1% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $783 in Sofia versus $208 in El Kef. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 930% higher in Sofia, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Sofia versus $13.00 in El Kef. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $290 vs $187 – making El Kef the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇳 El Kef

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

23:16 11:16 PM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

73,710

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia El Kef 1,450 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
El Kef

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 El Kef: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 162%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,391 per month in Sofia and $914 in El Kef. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Kef, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 186% less in El Kef. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $774 per month in Sofia and $61.2 in El Kef. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in El Kef, where all-in costs run around $610, than in Sofia at $1,594. In El Kef it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Kef – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with El Kef. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.