Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Khujand

For one person, living is cheaper in Khujand: $690 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Khujand
Learn more

Khujand Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Khujand

🇹🇯 Tajikistan

$690

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Khujand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $690 in Khujand.

Sofia $1,585
Khujand $690

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,093 in Khujand.

Sofia $2,486
Khujand $1,093

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,496 in Khujand.

Sofia $3,387
Khujand $1,496

Living in Sofia is roughly 130% more expensive than in Khujand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Khujand is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.86 TJS 44.71

240.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$17.09 TJS 157

296.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$5.39 TJS 49.63

116.70%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$1.64 TJS 15.12

107.93%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.56 TJS 5.13

321.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.34 TJS 3.14

391.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.19 TJS 10.92

235.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.34 TJS 21.55

93.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.03 TJS 9.46

88.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.49 TJS 4.51

216.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.78 TJS 16.41

32.02%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.81 TJS 16.69

154.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$11.03 TJS 102

3.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.39 TJS 31.24

155.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$11.35 TJS 104

52.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.52 TJS 14.01

41.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$2.36 TJS 21.70

-16.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$2.75 TJS 25.31

-33.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.56 TJS 5.14

662.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.51 TJS 4.74

103.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.35 TJS 3.23

154.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.29 TJS 11.89

-7.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.60 TJS 5.56

38.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.21 TJS 20.31

99.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$11.50 TJS 106

-35.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.46 TJS 13.43

-20.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.18 TJS 20.10

-12.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.32 TJS 2.92

187.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$1.07 TJS 9.86

56.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.35 TJS 3.19

142.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$5.36 TJS 49.31

209.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.19 TJS 10.95

46.22%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$16.1K TJS 148.1K

86.08%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$16.9K TJS 155.5K

48.11%

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

$158 BGN 275

$47.47 TJS 437

232.55%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$6.29 TJS 58.0

238.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$16.91 TJS 156

-10.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$27.58 TJS 254

69.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$16.15 TJS 149

72.26%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$4.40 TJS 40.53

127.27%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$83.4 TJS 768

877.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$5,319 TJS 49.0K

175.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$20.79 TJS 191

318.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$36.04 TJS 332

6.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$50.1 TJS 461

110.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$57.0 TJS 525

88.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$274 TJS 2,526

180.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$218 TJS 2,007

172.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$522 TJS 4,810

192.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$442 TJS 4,073

139.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$892 TJS 8,213

407.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$544 TJS 5,007

471.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$352 TJS 3,243

405.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-86.86%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Khujand: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Khujand

$218 31.6% 63.2% $375

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Khujand

$199 28.8% 31% $89

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Khujand

$89 12.9% 64.9% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Khujand

$71 10.2% 63.6% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Khujand

$74 10.7% 51.5% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Khujand

$36 5.3% 45.6% $30

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Khujand

$4.1 * 0.6% 89.2% $34

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 $274 in Khujand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 5.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $17 in Khujand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $199 per month, with Khujand cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇯 Khujand

🕒 Local time

21:48 9:48 PM

00:48 12:48 AM

3 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

181,600

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Tajikistani Somoni TJS ЅМ

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.514 EUR

100 TJS = 10.86 USD

100 TJS = 9.72 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TJS, 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 = 1.94 BGN (1 BGN = 0.514 EUR).

Tajikistani Somoni exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.21 TJS (1 TJS = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.29 TJS (100 TJS = 9.72 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Khujand 3,820 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Khujand

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 Khujand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $690 in Khujand, so Khujand is about 56% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sofia is about 5.1 times higher, 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 $274 in Khujand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $815 in Sofia versus $83 in Khujand. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Khujand – a meal for two runs $17 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $690 in Khujand versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Khujand but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Khujand 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 Khujand are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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