Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Janub-as-surrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Janub-as-surrah: $1,298 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Janub-as-surrah
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Janub-as-surrah Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Janub-as-surrah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,298

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $1,298 in Janub-as-surrah.

Sofia $1,585
Janub-as-surrah $1,298

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $2,119 in Janub-as-surrah.

Sofia $2,486
Janub-as-surrah $2,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $2,940 in Janub-as-surrah.

Sofia $3,387
Janub-as-surrah $2,940

Living in Sofia is roughly 22% more expensive than in Janub-as-surrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Janub-as-surrah is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$7.93 KWD 2.44

108.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$48.46 KWD 14.92

39.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$8.14 KWD 2.50

43.49%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 KWD 0.98

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 KWD 0.98

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$4.64 KWD 1.43

-26.51%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.57 KWD 0.18

314.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.31 KWD 0.10

438.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.25 KWD 0.39

55.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.76 KWD 0.24

103.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.91 KWD 0.59

23.04%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$2.06 KWD 0.63

123.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$4.27 KWD 1.32

168.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$5.58 KWD 1.72

55.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$10.35 KWD 3.19

67.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$2.49 KWD 0.77

-13.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.95 KWD 0.60

1.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.31 KWD 0.40

39.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.55 KWD 0.48

175.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$1.32 KWD 0.41

-21.21%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.91 KWD 0.28

-2.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.59 KWD 0.49

-25.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.47 KWD 0.14

76.60%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.20 KWD 0.98

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 KWD 0.32

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.82 KWD 0.87

56.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.77 KWD 0.24

19.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$3.24 KWD 1.00

-48.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$3.28 KWD 1.01

-74.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$15.90 KWD 4.90

4.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.35 KWD 0.11

397.14%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$23.2K KWD 7,135

29.14%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$19.6K KWD 6,046

27.34%

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

$158 BGN 275

$65.4 KWD 20.13

141.41%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$20.52 KWD 6.31

3.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$30.36 KWD 9.34

-50.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$95.9 KWD 29.51

-51.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$11.27 KWD 3.47

-11.27%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$276 KWD 85.1

195.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$7,511 KWD 2,312

94.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$37.78 KWD 11.63

130.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$39.60 KWD 12.19

-3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$99.2 KWD 30.54

6.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$87.2 KWD 26.84

22.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$817 KWD 251

-5.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$612 KWD 188

-3.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$1,744 KWD 537

-12.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$1,315 KWD 405

-19.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

6.53

-55.74%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Janub-as-surrah: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Janub-as-surrah

$612 47.1% 3.1% $19

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$163 12.5% 43.5% $125

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Janub-as-surrah

$147 11.3% 42% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Janub-as-surrah

$116 9% 40.1% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Janub-as-surrah

$119 9.2% 22% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$118 9.1% 77.1% $52

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Janub-as-surrah

$23 * 1.8% 39.8% $15

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 $817 in Janub-as-surrah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $48 in Janub-as-surrah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $163 per month, with Janub-as-surrah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇰🇼 Janub-as-surrah

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

02:01 2:01 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

18,496

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Janub-as-surrah 2,660 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Janub-as-surrah wins on cost – living expenses run 18% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Janub-as-surrah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,378 in Sofia and $1,946 in Janub-as-surrah 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 $817 in Janub-as-surrah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 77% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $1,298 in Janub-as-surrah – Janub-as-surrah is about 18% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

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

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 Janub-as-surrah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.