Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Irbid

For one person, living is cheaper in Irbid: $780 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Irbid
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Irbid Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Irbid

🇯🇴 Jordan

$780

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Irbid

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $780 in Irbid, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Irbid $780

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,238 in Irbid, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Irbid $1,238

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,697 in Irbid, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Irbid $1,697

Sofia costs about 103% more than Irbid, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Irbid is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.33 JOD 3.07

282.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$43.12 JOD 30.52

56.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.01 JOD 4.96

66.62%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$1.47 JOD 1.04

131.97%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.47 JOD 0.33

402.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.34 JOD 0.24

391.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$6.42 JOD 4.55

-37.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$6.03 JOD 4.27

-24.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.18 JOD 0.84

64.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.45 JOD 0.32

244.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.57 JOD 1.11

49.68%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.83 JOD 1.29

151.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$8.03 JOD 5.69

42.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.73 JOD 3.35

82.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$12.77 JOD 9.04

35.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.39 JOD 0.99

54.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.56 JOD 1.10

26.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.04 JOD 0.74

75.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.58 JOD 0.41

636.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.97 JOD 0.69

7.22%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.85 JOD 0.60

4.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.68 JOD 0.48

75.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.68 JOD 0.48

22.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$3.48 JOD 2.46

26.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$7.23 JOD 5.12

2.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$2.90 JOD 2.05

-60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$4.15 JOD 2.94

-54.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.72 JOD 0.51

27.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.48 JOD 0.34

247.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.42 JOD 1.01

-40.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$7.22 JOD 5.11

129.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.66 JOD 1.18

4.82%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$27.0K JOD 19.1K

10.81%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$32.1K JOD 22.7K

-21.97%

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

$158 BGN 275

$97.7 JOD 69.1

61.63%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$15.67 JOD 11.09

35.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$31.47 JOD 22.27

-51.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$35.00 JOD 24.78

33.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$21.07 JOD 14.91

32.04%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$10.01 JOD 7.08

-0.10%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$92.0 JOD 65.1

786.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$4,062 JOD 2,875

260.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$43.37 JOD 30.70

100.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$27.95 JOD 19.78

36.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$80.6 JOD 57.1

31.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$50.2 JOD 35.52

113.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$222 JOD 157

245.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$165 JOD 117

258.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$386 JOD 274

295.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$300 JOD 213

253.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$515 JOD 365

778.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$501 JOD 355

520.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$560 JOD 396

217.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

6.94

-58.36%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Irbid: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Irbid

$165 21.2% 72.1% $428

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Irbid

$192 24.7% 33.2% $96

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Irbid

$121 15.5% 52.4% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Irbid

$145 18.6% 25.4% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Irbid

$91 11.7% 40.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Irbid

$55 7.1% 17.7% $12

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Irbid

$10 * 1.4% 72.2% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $769 in Sofia versus $222 in Irbid. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $43 in Irbid. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $192 – making Irbid the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇯🇴 Irbid

🕒 Local time

11:29 11:29 AM

12:29 12:29 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

292,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, 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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.795 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Irbid 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Irbid

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 Irbid: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 103% more than Irbid, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,169 in Irbid. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Irbid, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $222 there versus $769 in Sofia.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $780 in Irbid. That makes Irbid about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $815 per month in Sofia and $92 in Irbid. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Families tend to lean toward Irbid – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Irbid. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.