Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Gaziantep

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaziantep: $697 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Gaziantep
Learn more

Gaziantep Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Gaziantep

🇹🇷 Turkey

$697

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Gaziantep

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $697 in Gaziantep.

Sofia $1,585
Gaziantep $697

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,142 in Gaziantep.

Sofia $2,486
Gaziantep $1,142

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,587 in Gaziantep.

Sofia $3,387
Gaziantep $1,587

Living in Sofia is roughly 128% more expensive than in Gaziantep, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Gaziantep is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.82 ₺242

243.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$30.17 ₺1,513

124.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.32 ₺367

59.56%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.16 ₺159

7.91%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$1.05 ₺52.7

124.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.27 ₺13.66

518.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$2.35 ₺118

69.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.71 ₺136

67.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.92 ₺46.16

110.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.87 ₺43.47

78.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.81 ₺90.5

29.83%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.73 ₺86.7

165.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$8.62 ₺433

33.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.27 ₺164

164.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$17.37 ₺871

-0.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.61 ₺80.9

33.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.50 ₺75.2

32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.79 ₺39.38

131.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.94 ₺46.99

354.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.46 ₺23.11

126.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.41 ₺20.31

117.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.76 ₺38.00

56.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.54 ₺27.23

53.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.07 ₺104

112.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$5.91 ₺296

25.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$2.14 ₺107

-45.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.00 ₺100

-5.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.63 ₺31.58

46.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.69 ₺34.52

142.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.74 ₺37.28

14.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$10.06 ₺504

64.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.27 ₺63.6

37.01%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$40.7K ₺2.0M

-26.43%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$39.2K ₺2.0M

-36.13%

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

$158 BGN 275

$29.73 ₺1,491

430.98%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$9.18 ₺460

131.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$10.05 ₺504

50.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$57.6 ₺2,888

-18.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$5.33 ₺267

87.62%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$444 ₺22.3K

83.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$6,866 ₺344.4K

113.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$14.82 ₺743

487.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$7.77 ₺389

392.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$50.3 ₺2,522

109.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$29.58 ₺1,483

262.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$321 ₺16.1K

139.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$216 ₺10.8K

174.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$723 ₺36.2K

111.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$447 ₺22.4K

137.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$921 ₺46.2K

391.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$592 ₺29.7K

424.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$1,283 ₺64.4K

38.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

41.5

-93.04%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Gaziantep: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Gaziantep

$216 31% 63.6% $377

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Gaziantep

$189 27.2% 34.1% $98

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Gaziantep

$121 17.4% 52.3% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Gaziantep

$49 7% 74.8% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Gaziantep

$46 6.6% 69.7% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Gaziantep

$68 9.8% 2.1% $1.4

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Gaziantep

$6.9 * 1% 81.7% $31

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 $321 in Gaziantep. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 39% 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: $68 in Sofia vs $30 in Gaziantep for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $189 per month, with Gaziantep cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇷 Gaziantep

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

11:18 11:18 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

2,164,134

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Gaziantep 1,350 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Gaziantep

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 Gaziantep: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $697 in Gaziantep, so Gaziantep is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 39% 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 $321 in Gaziantep. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $815 in Sofia versus $444 in Gaziantep. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaziantep – a meal for two runs $30 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $697 in Gaziantep versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Gaziantep but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Gaziantep 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 Gaziantep are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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