Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,600 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Lisbon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,600 in Sofia versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

Sofia $1,600
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,490 in Sofia versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

Sofia $2,490
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,380 in Sofia versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

Sofia $3,380
Lisbon $4,346

Living in Sofia costs roughly 27% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 18% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 BGN 29.51

$17.04 €15.15

-0.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.3 BGN 119

$62.3 €55.4

9.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.62 BGN 20.21

$11.02 €9.80

5.44%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$3.12 €2.78

9.94%

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

$2.34 BGN 4.08

$2.27 €2.02

3.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 BGN 3.19

$1.74 €1.55

5.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$3.42 €3.04

-0.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 BGN 7.73

$3.74 €3.33

18.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 BGN 3.42

$1.17 €1.04

68.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 BGN 2.59

$1.86 €1.66

-19.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.54 €1.37

51.30%

Eggs

$4.41 BGN 7.68

$4.06 €3.61

8.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.54 BGN 20.08

$12.91 €11.49

-10.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 BGN 15.44

$7.90 €7.03

12.41%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.51 BGN 30.46

$17.64 €15.69

-0.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.26 €2.01

-4.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 BGN 3.60

$1.75 €1.55

18.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.89 €1.68

2.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 BGN 7.39

$2.56 €2.27

66.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.79

$1.85 €1.64

-44.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.54

$1.97 €1.75

-55.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.07

$1.45 €1.29

-17.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.55

$0.77 €0.69

15.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 BGN 7.35

$6.71 €5.97

-36.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.87 BGN 13.69

$5.67 €5.04

38.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$1.37 €1.22

-13.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 BGN 3.29

$2.11 €1.88

-10.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$2.32 €2.07

-59.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.30 BGN 49.24

$44.43 €39.52

-36.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$3.95 €3.51

-57.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$1.05 €0.93

-8.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.36 BGN 26.73

$17.15 €15.26

-10.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 BGN 3.09

$2.19 €1.95

-19.18%

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

$30.5K BGN 53.1K

$33.8K €30.0K

-9.74%

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

$25.1K BGN 43.6K

$38.3K €34.0K

-34.46%

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

$157 BGN 273

$164 €146

-4.11%

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

$21.12 BGN 36.74

$18.48 €16.43

14.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.32 BGN 26.65

$32.96 €29.32

-53.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.39 BGN 80.7

$45.87 €40.80

1.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.09 BGN 48.87

$18.68 €16.61

50.37%

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 BGN 17.46

$9.75 €8.67

2.97%

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

$775 BGN 1,348

$684 €608

13.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K BGN 21.8K

$17.6K €15.7K

-28.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.1 BGN 153

$104 €92.3

-15.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.39 BGN 72.0

$46.20 €41.09

-10.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 BGN 186

$99.7 €88.7

7.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 BGN 185

$125 €111

-14.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 BGN 1,340

$1,589 €1,414

-51.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 BGN 1,048

$1,169 €1,040

-48.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,564 BGN 2,721

$2,851 €2,536

-45.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 BGN 1,803

$1,993 €1,773

-48.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,567 BGN 7,946

$7,793 €6,932

-41.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,162 BGN 5,502

$4,418 €3,930

-28.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,742 BGN 3,031

$1,600 €1,423

8.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.85

-24.94%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$602 37.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 94.1% $567

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$291 18.2%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 6.2% $18

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 15.9%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 2.7% $6.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.1%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 11.2% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 9.3% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Lisbon

$65 3% 1.6% $1.1

Getting Around

Sofia

$39 2.4%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 63.3% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $770 in Sofia and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 9% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $68.0 in Sofia vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $291 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

07:04 7:04 AM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Lisbon 2,750 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Lisbon

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 Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Lisbon differ by about 38% in total monthly costs ($1,600 vs $2,202 including rent). Sofia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 9% 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: $770 in Sofia versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $775 in Sofia versus $684 in Lisbon. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Lisbon pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,600 in Sofia versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia 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 Lisbon 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 Sofia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.