Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,060 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Howick

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,060 in Howick.

Sofia $1,594
Howick $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,654 in Howick.

Sofia $2,478
Howick $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $2,248 in Howick.

Sofia $3,361
Howick $2,248

Living in Sofia is roughly 50% more expensive than in Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Howick is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$7.59 R 125

122.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$39.02 R 643

68.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$5.36 R 88.3

111.19%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$2.70 R 44.48

27.04%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$1.11 R 18.34

117.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.83 R 13.71

122.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.36 R 38.83

56.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$2.61 R 42.93

75.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.23 R 20.28

64.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.97 R 16.06

60.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.48 R 24.32

57.43%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$2.32 R 38.24

87.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$8.08 R 133

45.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$5.04 R 83.1

75.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$7.25 R 119

140.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.94 R 32.00

10.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.85 R 30.55

7.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.90 R 31.33

1.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$1.63 R 26.89

160.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$1.48 R 24.36

-29.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.45 R 23.88

-41.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.16 R 19.16

-0.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$1.19 R 19.66

-25.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$3.68 R 60.7

14.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$4.72 R 77.8

58.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.45 R 23.93

-20.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$1.84 R 30.30

0.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$1.47 R 24.20

-40.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.43 R 7.17

290.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.69 R 11.43

36.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$7.48 R 123

105.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.41 R 23.18

19.86%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$35.0K R 576.3K

-14.81%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$31.0K R 510.4K

-15.63%

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

$156 BGN 272

$148 R 2,434

5.64%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$14.79 R 244

45.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$39.50 R 651

-61.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$32.28 R 532

42.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$10.64 R 175

162.41%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$7.20 R 119

41.39%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$307 R 5,053

152.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$7,495 R 123.5K

70.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$53.1 R 875

69.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$30.21 R 498

36.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$97.5 R 1,606

7.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$82.1 R 1,353

29.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$387 R 6,368

102.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$357 R 5,883

67.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$737 R 12.1K

105.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$734 R 12.1K

40.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$863 R 14.2K

404.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$664 R 10.9K

378.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

11.78

-75.47%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Howick: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Howick

$357 33.7% 40.2% $240

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Howick

$192 18.1% 34% $99

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Howick

$134 12.6% 47.4% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Howick

$202 19.1% 4.7% $9.2

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Howick

$118 11.2% 23.4% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Howick

$47 4.4% 29.8% $20

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Howick

$9.8 * 0.9% 74.5% $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 $783 in Sofia and $387 in Howick. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $39.00 in Howick for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $192 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

12:03 12:03 PM

11:03 11:03 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

32,453

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Howick 8,060 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 50% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,391 in Sofia and $1,589 in Howick to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $387 in Howick. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $307 in Howick. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Howick – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,060 in Howick versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Howick the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Howick is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Howick 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 Howick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.