Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Izmir

For one person, living is cheaper in Izmir: $1,218 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Izmir
Learn more

Izmir Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,218

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Izmir

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $1,218 in Izmir.

Sofia $1,585
Izmir $1,218

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,900 in Izmir.

Sofia $2,486
Izmir $1,900

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $2,582 in Izmir.

Sofia $3,387
Izmir $2,582

Living in Sofia is roughly 30% more expensive than in Izmir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Izmir is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$9.89 ₺496

67.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$36.57 ₺1,834

85.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$8.31 ₺417

40.55%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.69 ₺185

-7.59%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$1.53 ₺76.6

54.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.63 ₺31.77

165.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$3.41 ₺171

17.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$5.13 ₺257

-11.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.12 ₺56.1

73.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$1.01 ₺50.4

53.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$2.26 ₺113

3.98%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$2.50 ₺125

84.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$9.51 ₺477

20.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.08 ₺255

70.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$20.81 ₺1,044

-16.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.99 ₺99.6

8.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$2.09 ₺105

-5.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.02 ₺51.1

79.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.42 ₺71.2

200.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.58 ₺29.25

79.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.41 ₺20.52

117.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.05 ₺52.8

13.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.79 ₺39.83

5.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.19 ₺110

100.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$12.04 ₺604

-38.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$2.00 ₺100

-42.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$3.12 ₺156

-39.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.72 ₺36.27

27.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$42.39 ₺2,126

-33.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$3.56 ₺179

-53.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.10 ₺55.2

-22.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$4.86 ₺244

241.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.41 ₺70.7

23.40%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$45.6K ₺2.3M

-34.30%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$45.3K ₺2.3M

-44.84%

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

$158 BGN 275

$84.3 ₺4,227

87.28%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$10.46 ₺525

103.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$15.54 ₺780

-2.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$67.7 ₺3,395

-30.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$30.07 ₺1,508

-7.48%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$8.23 ₺413

21.51%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$590 ₺29.6K

38.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$27.1K ₺1.4M

-46.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$46.81 ₺2,348

86.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$36.08 ₺1,809

6.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$91.3 ₺4,578

15.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$79.4 ₺3,982

35.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$593 ₺29.7K

29.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$424 ₺21.3K

39.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$1,142 ₺57.3K

33.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$779 ₺39.1K

36.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,359 ₺68.2K

232.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$1,015 ₺50.9K

206.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$1,160 ₺58.2K

53.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

41.22

-92.99%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Izmir: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Izmir

$424 34.8% 28.6% $169

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Izmir

$247 20.3% 14.2% $41

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Izmir

$184 15.1% 27.3% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Izmir

$110 9.1% 43.2% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Izmir

$114 9.4% 25% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Izmir

$84 6.9% 25.9% $17

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Izmir

$54 4.5% 44.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $593 in Izmir. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 54% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $37 in Izmir for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $247 per month, with Izmir cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇷 Izmir

🕒 Local time

11:08 11:08 AM

12:08 12:08 PM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

4,493,242

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Izmir 570 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Izmir

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 Izmir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Izmir wins on cost – living expenses run 23% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Izmir the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 54% 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 $593 in Izmir. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $1,218 in Izmir – Izmir is about 23% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 34% less than in Izmir. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Izmir is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Izmir delivers better value at $1,218 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Izmir hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Izmir are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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