Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $450 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
Learn more

Gampaha Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Gampaha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $450 in Gampaha.

Sofia $1,594
Gampaha $450

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $765 in Gampaha.

Sofia $2,478
Gampaha $765

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $1,079 in Gampaha.

Sofia $3,361
Gampaha $1,079

Living in Sofia is roughly 254% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Gampaha is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$1.81 LKR 600

832.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$18.00 LKR 5,961

265.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$5.20 LKR 1,723

117.69%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.25 LKR 414

174.40%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.54 LKR 178

346.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.27 LKR 89.7

585.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.13 LKR 705

73.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$3.04 LKR 1,007

50.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.62 LKR 538

24.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.43 LKR 144

262.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$0.73 LKR 241

219.18%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.72 LKR 569

153.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$13.52 LKR 4,480

-13.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$3.96 LKR 1,312

122.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$7.23 LKR 2,394

141.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$5.92 LKR 1,961

-63.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$0.81 LKR 269

144.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$4.41 LKR 1,461

-56.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$1.27 LKR 420

233.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.96 LKR 318

8.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.78 LKR 257

8.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.29 LKR 95.7

296.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.32 LKR 104

178.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$9.94 LKR 3,294

-57.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$12.77 LKR 4,231

-41.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.38 LKR 457

-16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.37 LKR 784

-21.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.31 LKR 103

180.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.29 LKR 95.8

479.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.36 LKR 120

161.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$0.90 LKR 297

1605.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.18 LKR 390

43.22%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$29.9K LKR 9.9M

-0.27%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$40.2K LKR 13.3M

-34.97%

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

$156 BGN 272

$27.63 LKR 9,153

464.89%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$2.98 LKR 985

623.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$10.84 LKR 3,591

40.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$7.56 LKR 2,504

509.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$4.44 LKR 1,472

129.28%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$15.07 LKR 4,991

5037.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$122 LKR 40.4K

10410.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$17.88 LKR 5,924

403.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$8.90 LKR 2,948

363.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$61.4 LKR 20.3K

71.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$24.29 LKR 8,044

339.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$89.4 LKR 29.6K

775.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$55.5 LKR 18.4K

975.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$301 LKR 99.8K

403.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$167 LKR 55.4K

516.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$225 LKR 74.4K

672.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-71.10%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Gampaha

$55 12.3% 90.7% $541

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Gampaha

$217 48.4% 25.1% $73

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Gampaha

$65 14.5% 74.5% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Gampaha

$41 9.2% 78.5% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Gampaha

$51 11.3% 67.2% $104

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Gampaha

$16 3.7% 75.2% $50

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Gampaha

$3.3 * 0.7% 91.3% $35

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 $783 in Sofia and $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 672% 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 $18.00 in Gampaha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $217 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

15:12 3:12 PM

17:42 5:42 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

20,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Gampaha 6,790 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Gampaha

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 Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Gampaha differ by about 254% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $450 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 672% 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 $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $15.07 in Gampaha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $450 in Gampaha versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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 Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 254% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.