Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Esenyurt

For one person, living is cheaper in Esenyurt: $1,218 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Esenyurt
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Esenyurt Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Esenyurt

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,218

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Esenyurt

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $1,218 in Esenyurt.

Sofia $1,585
Esenyurt $1,218

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,633 in Esenyurt.

Sofia $2,486
Esenyurt $1,633

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $2,048 in Esenyurt.

Sofia $3,387
Esenyurt $2,048

Living in Sofia is roughly 30% more expensive than in Esenyurt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Esenyurt is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$7.32 ₺367

126.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$30.33 ₺1,521

123.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.15 ₺359

63.36%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.90 ₺195

-12.56%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.92 ₺46.04

156.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.40 ₺19.83

317.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.77 ₺88.8

125.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.34 ₺118

93.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.93 ₺46.72

108.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.87 ₺43.55

78.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$2.13 ₺107

10.33%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$2.44 ₺122

88.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$8.89 ₺446

29.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$2.78 ₺140

211.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$18.06 ₺906

-3.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.81 ₺90.8

18.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.95 ₺97.6

1.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.83 ₺41.44

120.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.59 ₺79.5

168.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.58 ₺29.33

79.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.30 ₺15.05

196.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.77 ₺38.76

54.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.61 ₺30.65

36.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.94 ₺97.4

126.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$12.97 ₺650

-42.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$2.39 ₺120

-51.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$3.39 ₺170

-43.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.73 ₺36.81

26.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.02 ₺51.3

63.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.89 ₺44.67

-4.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$10.82 ₺543

53.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.46 ₺73.3

19.18%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$49.5K ₺2.5M

-39.53%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$42.7K ₺2.1M

-41.48%

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

$158 BGN 275

$90.5 ₺4,541

74.37%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$10.12 ₺507

110.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$13.79 ₺692

9.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$54.5 ₺2,732

-14.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$12.14 ₺609

129.16%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$7.80 ₺391

28.21%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$595 ₺29.8K

37.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$11.5K ₺574.4K

27.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$38.00 ₺1,906

129.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$41.99 ₺2,106

-8.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$94.9 ₺4,758

11.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$71.3 ₺3,575

50.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$429 ₺21.5K

79.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$548 ₺27.5K

8.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$775 ₺38.9K

97.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$562 ₺28.2K

88.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,307 ₺65.6K

246.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$1,036 ₺51.9K

200.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$1,316 ₺66.0K

35.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

40.42

-92.85%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Esenyurt: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Esenyurt

$548 45% 7.6% $45

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Esenyurt

$220 18.1% 23.4% $67

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Esenyurt

$146 12% 42.6% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Esenyurt

$114 9.4% 41.1% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Esenyurt

$111 9.1% 27.2% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Esenyurt

$70 5.8% 4.8% $3.2

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Esenyurt

$8.4 * 0.7% 77.7% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $429 in Esenyurt. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 35% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $30 in Esenyurt for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $220 per month, with Esenyurt cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇷 Esenyurt

🕒 Local time

13:10 1:10 PM

14:10 2:10 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

978,007

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

100 TRY = 1.99 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 50.15 TRY (100 TRY = 1.99 USD). 1 EUR = 56.33 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Sofia Esenyurt 480 km

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 Esenyurt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $1,218 in Esenyurt, so Esenyurt is about 23% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 35% 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: $769 in Sofia versus $429 in Esenyurt. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 31% 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 $1,218 in Esenyurt – Esenyurt is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Esenyurt gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Esenyurt are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Esenyurt wins on affordability, Sofia on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.