Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Erbil

For one person, living is cheaper in Erbil: $960 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Erbil
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Erbil Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Erbil

🇮🇶 Iraq

$960

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Erbil

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $960 in Erbil, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Erbil $960

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,439 in Erbil, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Erbil $1,439

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,918 in Erbil, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Erbil $1,918

Sofia costs about 65% more than Erbil, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Erbil is 29% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$6.65 IQD 10.1K

149.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$37.28 IQD 56.3K

81.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.27 IQD 11.0K

60.66%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.25 IQD 4,914

4.92%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.89 IQD 1,350

165.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.36 IQD 545

363.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$5.76 IQD 8,706

-30.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$4.52 IQD 6,834

0.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.05 IQD 1,587

84.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.64 IQD 970

142.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.44 IQD 2,180

63.19%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.52 IQD 2,298

202.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.04 IQD 10.6K

62.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.41 IQD 6,661

96.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$12.64 IQD 19.1K

37.18%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.99 IQD 1,501

117.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$0.99 IQD 1,493

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.07 IQD 1,612

71.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.69 IQD 1,050

518.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.64 IQD 972

62.50%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.57 IQD 865

56.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.66 IQD 998

80.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.51 IQD 770

62.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.12 IQD 3,209

107.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$10.56 IQD 16.0K

-29.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.46 IQD 2,209

-20.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.82 IQD 2,750

4.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.50 IQD 759

84.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$39.67 IQD 59.9K

-29.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.67 IQD 2,520

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.54 IQD 2,325

-44.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$5.48 IQD 8,286

202.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.58 IQD 884

200.00%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.7K IQD 25.3M

78.87%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$17.0K IQD 25.7M

46.90%

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

$158 BGN 275

$116 IQD 174.8K

36.49%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$11.96 IQD 18.1K

77.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$24.50 IQD 37.0K

-38.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$57.0 IQD 86.1K

-17.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$13.43 IQD 20.3K

107.15%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$9.99 IQD 15.1K

0.10%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$297 IQD 448.2K

174.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$4,080 IQD 6.2M

258.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$26.29 IQD 39.7K

231.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$38.72 IQD 58.5K

-1.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$60.8 IQD 91.8K

73.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$58.8 IQD 88.9K

82.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$441 IQD 666.1K

74.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$268 IQD 404.7K

121.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$696 IQD 1.1M

119.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$414 IQD 626.0K

156.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,047 IQD 1.6M

332.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$600 IQD 906.7K

418.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$514 IQD 776.4K

246.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

2.53

14.23%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Erbil: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Erbil

$268 27.9% 54.8% $325

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Erbil

$172 18% 40.1% $115

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Erbil

$157 16.3% 38.1% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Erbil

$152 15.8% 21.7% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Erbil

$83 8.7% 45.4% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Erbil

$77 8% 15.1% $10

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Erbil

$51 5.3% 35.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $769 in Sofia versus $441 in Erbil. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $37 in Erbil. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $172 – making Erbil the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇮🇶 Erbil

🕒 Local time

20:10 8:10 PM

21:10 9:10 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

1,713,461

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, 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 = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,698 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Erbil 1,910 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
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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 Erbil: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 65%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,441 in Erbil. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Erbil, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $441 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Groceries cost about 67% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $37 in Erbil. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

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

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

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