Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Funchal

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,594 a month against $2,099 in Funchal, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Funchal outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
102

Cost of Living Index in Funchal
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Funchal Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Funchal

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,099

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Funchal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,099 in Funchal.

Sofia $1,594
Funchal $2,099

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $3,058 in Funchal.

Sofia $2,478
Funchal $3,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $4,017 in Funchal.

Sofia $3,361
Funchal $4,017

Living in Sofia costs roughly 24% less than in Funchal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 18% above, Funchal 56% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$14.90 €13.25

13.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$64.8 €57.6

1.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$13.51 €12.02

-16.21%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$2.00 €1.78

71.50%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$1.64 €1.46

46.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$1.39 €1.24

33.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.87 €2.55

28.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$3.87 €3.44

18.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.05 €0.93

92.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$1.72 €1.53

-9.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.69 €1.50

37.87%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$3.96 €3.52

10.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$10.34 €9.20

13.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$7.36 €6.55

19.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$11.82 €10.52

47.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.73 €1.54

24.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.82 €1.62

8.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.73 €1.54

11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$2.51 €2.24

68.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$1.86 €1.65

-44.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.96 €1.75

-56.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.69 €1.50

-31.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.80 €0.71

11.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$5.60 €4.98

-24.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$6.58 €5.85

13.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.26 €1.12

-8.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.46 €2.19

-24.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$2.17 €1.93

-59.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$34.10 €30.33

-16.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$3.82 €3.40

-56.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$1.38 €1.22

-31.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$18.88 €16.79

-18.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$2.03 €1.80

-16.75%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$34.0K €30.2K

-12.35%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$38.0K €33.8K

-31.25%

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

$156 BGN 272

$123 €109

27.02%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$17.20 €15.30

25.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$49.15 €43.72

-68.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$41.59 €36.99

10.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$8.56 €7.61

226.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$8.48 €7.54

20.05%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$419 €372

84.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$8,353 €7,430

53.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$61.7 €54.9

45.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$32.72 €29.10

26.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$88.8 €79.0

18.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$74.3 €66.1

43.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$1,471 €1,309

-46.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$1,222 €1,087

-51.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$2,490 €2,215

-39.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$1,981 €1,762

-48.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$4,739 €4,215

-8.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$3,237 €2,880

-1.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$1,457 €1,296

19.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.59

-19.50%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Funchal: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Funchal

$1.2K 58.2% 105% $625

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Funchal

$243 11.6% 16.4% $48

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Funchal

$218 10.4% 14.5% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Funchal

$189 9% 1.9% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Funchal

$116 5.5% 24.9% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Funchal

$59 2.8% 11.9% $7.9

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Funchal

$53 2.6% 39.4% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $1,471 in Funchal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $65.0 in Funchal for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $243 per month, with Funchal cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇵🇹 Funchal

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

00:25 12:25 AM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

105,795

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Funchal 3,670 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Funchal

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 Funchal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Funchal differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $2,099 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 19% 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 $1,471 in Funchal. 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 $2,099 in Funchal – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 20% less than in Funchal. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,594 in Sofia versus $2,099 in Funchal, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Funchal. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia 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 Funchal 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 Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Funchal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.