Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Hawassa

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawassa: $838 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Hawassa
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Hawassa Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Hawassa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Hawassa

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $838 in Hawassa, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Hawassa $838

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,202 in Hawassa, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Hawassa $1,202

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,566 in Hawassa, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Hawassa $1,566

Sofia costs about 89% more than Hawassa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Hawassa is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$3.88 ETB 625

327.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$42.15 ETB 6,777

60.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$6.60 ETB 1,061

76.97%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$0.88 ETB 142

287.50%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.63 ETB 101

274.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.68 ETB 109

145.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$0.78 ETB 125

411.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.21 ETB 355

104.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.05 ETB 169

84.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$1.17 ETB 189

32.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.03 ETB 165

128.16%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.58 ETB 254

191.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.38 ETB 1,186

55.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$10.02 ETB 1,612

-13.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$9.27 ETB 1,491

87.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$5.23 ETB 841

-58.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$0.63 ETB 101

214.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.24 ETB 361

-18.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.69 ETB 112

518.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.47 ETB 75.0

121.28%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$1.09 ETB 175

-18.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.66 ETB 106

80.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.57 ETB 91.7

45.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$7.91 ETB 1,272

-44.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$5.65 ETB 908

31.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$0.67 ETB 108

73.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.22 ETB 197

55.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.36 ETB 218

22.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.27 ETB 43.39

214.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$2.02 ETB 325

721.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.95 ETB 153

83.16%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$54.3K ETB 8.7M

-44.85%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$55.5K ETB 8.9M

-54.96%

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

$158 BGN 275

$205 ETB 33.0K

-23.04%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$7.48 ETB 1,202

184.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$216 ETB 34.8K

-93.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$3.81 ETB 613

162.47%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$616 ETB 99.1K

32.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$30.4K ETB 4.9M

-51.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$33.38 ETB 5,368

160.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$69.6 ETB 11.2K

-44.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$77.4 ETB 12.4K

36.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$83.5 ETB 13.4K

28.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$500 ETB 80.3K

522.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

18.5

-84.38%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Hawassa: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Hawassa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Hawassa

$205 24.5% 28.7% $83

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Hawassa

$75 8.9% 70.4% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Hawassa

$429 51.2% 121% $235

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Hawassa

$119 14.2% 22% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Hawassa

$7.6 * 0.9% 88.6% $59

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Hawassa

$2.7 * 0.3% 92.8% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $42 in Hawassa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $205 – making Hawassa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇪🇹 Hawassa

🕒 Local time

19:25 7:25 PM

20:25 8:25 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

160,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, 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).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 181 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Hawassa 4,230 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Hawassa

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 Hawassa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,585 in Sofia, $838 in Hawassa – Hawassa comes out roughly 47% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,258 in Hawassa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $42 in Hawassa. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 40% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Hawassa, where all-in costs run around $838, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Hawassa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $838 in Hawassa to $1,585 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.