Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Khartoum

For one person, living is cheaper in Khartoum: $505 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Khartoum
Learn more

Khartoum Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Khartoum

🇸🇩 Sudan

$505

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Khartoum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Sofia versus $505 in Khartoum.

Sofia $1,589
Khartoum $505

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,456 in Sofia versus $681 in Khartoum.

Sofia $2,456
Khartoum $681

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,324 in Sofia versus $856 in Khartoum.

Sofia $3,324
Khartoum $856

Living in Sofia is roughly 215% more expensive than in Khartoum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 19% above, Khartoum is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 BGN 29.93

$2.34 SDG 1,401

630.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 BGN 117

$14.08 SDG 8,425

375.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 BGN 20.59

$2.64 SDG 1,579

345.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 SDG 1,434

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 SDG 1,289

Cappuccino

$3.42 BGN 5.99

$2.73 SDG 1,633

25.27%

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

$2.42 BGN 4.23

$0.52 SDG 314

365.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 BGN 3.26

$0.35 SDG 212

431.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 BGN 5.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.92

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 BGN 3.36

$1.38 SDG 826

39.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 BGN 2.64

$1.39 SDG 829

8.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 BGN 3.88

$1.42 SDG 853

55.63%

Eggs

$4.40 BGN 7.69

$3.64 SDG 2,179

20.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 BGN 20.22

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.79 BGN 15.38

$4.32 SDG 2,584

103.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 BGN 29.71

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 BGN 3.79

$4.27 SDG 2,555

-49.18%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 BGN 3.57

$1.02 SDG 611

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.22

$1.57 SDG 941

17.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 BGN 7.51

$1.61 SDG 964

166.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.80

$1.04 SDG 625

-0.96%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$0.74 SDG 444

25.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 BGN 2.11

$0.57 SDG 340

110.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 BGN 1.62

$0.56 SDG 336

64.29%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.97 SDG 2,374

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 SDG 463

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 SDG 1,010

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 BGN 7.53

$1.86 SDG 1,114

131.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 BGN 12.83

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 BGN 3.28

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.52

$0.67 SDG 404

29.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.14 BGN 49.24

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 BGN 3.04

$3.80 SDG 2,274

-54.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.54 BGN 27.19

$4.88 SDG 2,923

218.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 BGN 3.14

$1.16 SDG 693

54.31%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

$4,970 SDG 3.0M

503.31%

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

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

$10.1K SDG 6.0M

161.11%

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

$156 BGN 273

$71.1 SDG 42.6K

119.23%

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

$21.21 BGN 37.11

$9.87 SDG 5,906

114.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.64 BGN 27.37

$32.81 SDG 19.6K

-52.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.76 BGN 81.8

$8.18 SDG 4,897

471.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.74 BGN 48.54

Cinema Ticket

$10.02 BGN 17.53

$3.89 SDG 2,329

157.58%

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

$766 BGN 1,341

$111 SDG 66.7K

587.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

$2,732 SDG 1.6M

367.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 BGN 157

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.88 BGN 71.5

$8.72 SDG 5,218

368.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 186

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 183

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 BGN 1,393

$538 SDG 322.2K

47.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 BGN 1,063

$170 SDG 101.9K

256.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 BGN 2,735

$1,243 SDG 743.7K

25.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,060 BGN 1,855

$164 SDG 98.4K

544.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,357 BGN 7,626

$1,029 SDG 615.8K

323.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,250 BGN 5,688

$1,019 SDG 609.7K

219.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,740 BGN 3,044

$241 SDG 144.2K

621.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-90.37%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Khartoum: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$607 37.9%

Khartoum

$170 34.2% 72% $437

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$287 17.9%

Khartoum

$125 * 25.1% 56.5% $162

Eating Out

Sofia

$256 16%

Khartoum

$63 12.6% 75.4% $193

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12%

Khartoum

$114 22.8% 41% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Khartoum

$3.9 * 0.8% 97.4% $150

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Khartoum

$16 3.2% 76.1% $51

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Khartoum

$6.5 * 1.3% 83% $32

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 $796 in Sofia and $538 in Khartoum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 622% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67.0 in Sofia vs $14.00 in Khartoum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $125 per month, with Khartoum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇸🇩 Khartoum

🕒 Local time

13:03 1:03 PM

12:03 12:03 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

2,682,431 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Sudanese Pound SDG £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 EUR

1,000 SDG = 1.67 USD

1,000 SDG = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SDG, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

Sudanese Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 599 SDG (1,000 SDG = 1.67 USD). 1 EUR = 671 SDG (1,000 SDG = 1.49 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Sofia Khartoum 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Khartoum

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 Khartoum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Khartoum is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 215% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 622% 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: $796 in Sofia versus $538 in Khartoum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $766 in Sofia versus $111 in Khartoum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Khartoum – a meal for two runs $14.00 versus $67.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $505 in Khartoum versus $1,589 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Khartoum but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Khartoum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Khartoum is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Khartoum are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Khartoum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 215% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.