Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Kerak

For one person, living is cheaper in Kerak: $951 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Sofia, Bulgaria
Kerak, Jordan
Sofia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,585
/mo nomad
Kerak
🇯🇴 Jordan
$951
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Kerak

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $951 in Kerak, rent included.

  • Sofia $1,585
  • Kerak $951

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,490 in Kerak, rent included.

  • Sofia $2,486
  • Kerak $1,490

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $2,030 in Kerak, rent included.

  • Sofia $3,387
  • Kerak $2,030

Sofia costs about 67% more than Kerak, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Kerak is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.57 BGN 28.84
$2.84 JOD 2.01
483.45%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.7 BGN 118
$69.8 JOD 49.37
-2.98%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.68 BGN 20.33
$5.80 JOD 4.11
101.38%
Cappuccino
$3.41 BGN 5.93
$0.68 JOD 0.48
401.47%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.36 BGN 4.11
$0.48 JOD 0.34
391.67%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 BGN 2.91
$0.36 JOD 0.26
363.89%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.99 BGN 6.94
$8.26 JOD 5.85
-51.69%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 BGN 7.88
$11.01 JOD 7.79
-58.86%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.94 BGN 3.38
$1.38 JOD 0.97
40.58%
White Bread (500g)
$1.55 BGN 2.70
$0.34 JOD 0.24
355.88%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.35 BGN 4.09
$0.87 JOD 0.62
170.11%
Eggs
$4.60 BGN 8.00
$1.73 JOD 1.22
165.90%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.47 BGN 19.96
$7.04 JOD 4.98
62.93%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.65 BGN 15.04
$4.17 JOD 2.95
107.43%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.34 BGN 30.17
$12.43 JOD 8.80
39.50%
Apples (1kg)
$2.15 BGN 3.73
$1.39 JOD 0.99
54.68%
Banana (1kg)
$1.98 BGN 3.45
$1.45 JOD 1.03
36.55%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.83 BGN 3.18
$1.40 JOD 0.99
30.71%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.27 BGN 7.43
$0.40 JOD 0.28
967.50%
Potato (1kg)
$1.04 BGN 1.82
$0.83 JOD 0.59
25.30%
Onion (1kg)
$0.89 BGN 1.54
$0.81 JOD 0.57
9.88%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 BGN 2.06
$0.59 JOD 0.42
101.69%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.83 BGN 1.45
$0.70 JOD 0.50
18.57%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.40 BGN 7.66
$3.78 JOD 2.68
16.40%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.42 BGN 12.91
$20.93 JOD 14.81
-64.55%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 BGN 2.01
$4.84 JOD 3.42
-76.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.90 BGN 3.30
$5.13 JOD 3.63
-62.96%
🚌 Getting Around
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.92 BGN 1.60
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$28.11 BGN 48.91
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.67 BGN 2.90
$0.63 JOD 0.45
165.08%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.85 BGN 1.49
$1.37 JOD 0.97
-37.96%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.59 BGN 28.87
$6.91 JOD 4.89
140.09%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.74 BGN 3.03
$1.76 JOD 1.25
-1.14%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.9K BGN 52.1K
$32.5K JOD 23.0K
-7.86%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.0K BGN 43.5K
$34.0K JOD 24.1K
-26.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$158 BGN 275
$113 JOD 79.7
40.27%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.27 BGN 37.01
$15.62 JOD 11.05
36.17%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$15.12 BGN 26.30
$28.54 JOD 20.20
-47.02%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.85 BGN 81.5
$42.19 JOD 29.86
11.05%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$27.82 BGN 48.41
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.00 BGN 17.39
$11.19 JOD 7.92
-10.63%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$815 BGN 1,419
$141 JOD 99.7
478.74%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.6K BGN 25.5K
$3,372 JOD 2,386
334.36%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.1 BGN 152
$63.1 JOD 44.67
38.00%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.28 BGN 66.6
$80.7 JOD 57.1
-52.55%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 BGN 184
$127 JOD 89.5
-16.53%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 BGN 187
$82.1 JOD 58.1
30.56%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$769 BGN 1,338
$185 JOD 131
314.60%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$593 BGN 1,032
$227 JOD 161
160.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,530 BGN 2,662
$284 JOD 201
437.72%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,061 BGN 1,846
$330 JOD 233
221.65%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,526 BGN 7,875
$212 JOD 150
2035.66%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,109 BGN 5,410
$281 JOD 199
1004.79%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sofia
Kerak
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,780 BGN 3,098
$524 JOD 371
239.58%
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 Kerak: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Sofia
$593
Kerak
$227 61.7% $366
Groceries & Markets
Sofia
$288
Kerak
$221 23.1% $67
Eating Out
Sofia
$254
Kerak
$115 54.7% $139
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sofia
$194
Kerak
$157 19.3% $38
Clothing & Footwear
Sofia
$152
Kerak
$159 4.2% $6.4
Sport & Entertainment
Sofia
$67
Kerak
$65 3.4% $2.3
Getting Around
Sofia
$38
Kerak
$7.5 * 80.2% $30

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 $185 in Kerak. 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 3.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $70 in Kerak. Groceries tell a different story – $288 in Sofia vs $221 in Kerak – so Kerak wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇧🇬 Sofia
🇯🇴 Kerak
🕒 Local time
20:31 8:31 PM
21:31 9:31 PM
1 h ahead of Sofia
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,286,383 Capital
21,678
💱 Currency
Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.
Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sofia Kerak 1,690 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Sofia
  • Kerak

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 Kerak: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kerak cheaper than Sofia?
Yes – Sofia is pricier by about 67%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,426 in Kerak. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Kerak, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $185 there versus $769 in Sofia.
Is eating out cheaper in Sofia or in Kerak?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $70 in Kerak. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Sofia and in Kerak?
Groceries cost about 30% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Is Sofia or Kerak more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Kerak – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Kerak. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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