Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and İzmit

For one person, living is cheaper in İzmit: $947 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in İzmit
Learn more

İzmit Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

İzmit

🇹🇷 Turkey

$947

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in İzmit

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $947 in İzmit.

Sofia $1,585
İzmit $947

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,414 in İzmit.

Sofia $2,486
İzmit $1,414

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,881 in İzmit.

Sofia $3,387
İzmit $1,881

Living in Sofia is roughly 67% more expensive than in İzmit, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, İzmit is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$7.47 ₺374

121.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$29.77 ₺1,490

127.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$7.86 ₺393

48.60%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.51 ₺175

-2.85%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$1.08 ₺54.2

118.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.29 ₺14.61

475.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$2.66 ₺133

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.73 ₺137

65.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.91 ₺45.43

113.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.95 ₺47.48

63.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$2.27 ₺113

3.52%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.98 ₺99.1

132.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.81 ₺391

46.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.89 ₺194

122.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$18.99 ₺950

-8.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.65 ₺82.7

30.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.88 ₺94.2

5.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.01 ₺50.7

81.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.19 ₺59.6

258.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.49 ₺24.39

112.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.34 ₺17.22

161.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.72 ₺36.23

65.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.62 ₺30.78

33.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.26 ₺113

94.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$8.09 ₺405

-8.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.96 ₺98.3

-40.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.18 ₺109

-12.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.77 ₺38.63

19.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.98 ₺48.82

70.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.07 ₺53.8

-20.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$3.99 ₺200

315.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.27 ₺63.7

37.01%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$41.1K ₺2.1M

-27.23%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$39.4K ₺2.0M

-36.52%

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

$158 BGN 275

$44.21 ₺2,212

257.07%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$10.03 ₺502

112.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$12.73 ₺637

18.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$47.48 ₺2,376

-1.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$4.98 ₺249

100.80%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$454 ₺22.7K

79.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$5,992 ₺299.8K

144.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$47.84 ₺2,394

82.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$42.69 ₺2,136

-10.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$83.6 ₺4,183

26.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$73.9 ₺3,697

45.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$452 ₺22.6K

70.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$344 ₺17.2K

72.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$746 ₺37.3K

105.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$492 ₺24.6K

115.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,116 ₺55.9K

305.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$1,151 ₺57.6K

170.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-92.77%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for İzmit: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

İzmit

$344 36.3% 42% $249

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

İzmit

$208 21.9% 27.8% $80

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

İzmit

$150 15.8% 41% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

İzmit

$67 7.1% 65.5% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

İzmit

$112 11.8% 26.7% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

İzmit

$57 6.1% 14.1% $9.4

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

İzmit

$9.4 * 1% 75% $28

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 $452 in İzmit. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $30 in İzmit for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $208 per month, with İzmit cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇷 İzmit

🕒 Local time

23:38 11:38 PM

00:38 12:38 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

376,056

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

100 TRY = 2 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 5, 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.04 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.18 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia İzmit 590 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
İzmit

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 İzmit: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $947 in İzmit, so İzmit is about 40% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,378 in Sofia and $1,421 in İzmit 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: $769 in Sofia versus $452 in İzmit. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $815 in Sofia versus $454 in İzmit. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in İzmit – 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 $947 in İzmit versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in İzmit but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes İzmit 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 İzmit are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.