Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $1,777 in Lund, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Lund
Learn more

Lund Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Lund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Sofia versus $1,777 in Lund.

Sofia $1,589
Lund $1,777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,456 in Sofia versus $2,922 in Lund.

Sofia $2,456
Lund $2,922

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,324 in Sofia versus $4,067 in Lund.

Sofia $3,324
Lund $4,067

Living in Sofia costs roughly 11% less than in Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 19% above, Lund 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 BGN 29.93

$12.72 SEK 127

34.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 BGN 117

$91.0 SEK 909

-26.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 BGN 20.59

$11.72 SEK 117

0.43%

Cappuccino

$3.42 BGN 5.99

$4.60 SEK 46.01

-25.65%

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

$2.42 BGN 4.23

$2.79 SEK 27.88

-13.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 BGN 3.26

$2.07 SEK 20.65

-10.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 BGN 5.83

$8.18 SEK 81.7

-59.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.92

$6.79 SEK 67.9

-33.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 BGN 3.36

$1.63 SEK 16.28

17.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 BGN 2.64

$2.55 SEK 25.47

-40.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 BGN 3.88

$3.38 SEK 33.74

-34.62%

Eggs

$4.40 BGN 7.69

$4.57 SEK 45.63

-3.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 BGN 20.22

$12.53 SEK 125

-7.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.79 BGN 15.38

$11.84 SEK 118

-25.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 BGN 29.71

$15.33 SEK 153

10.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 BGN 3.79

$3.06 SEK 30.63

-29.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 BGN 3.57

$2.58 SEK 25.82

-20.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.22

$2.83 SEK 28.26

-34.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 BGN 7.51

$4.68 SEK 46.78

-8.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.80

$1.70 SEK 16.98

-39.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$1.43 SEK 14.25

-34.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 BGN 2.11

$2.55 SEK 25.50

-52.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 BGN 1.62

$1.52 SEK 15.20

-39.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 BGN 7.53

$8.10 SEK 81.0

-46.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 BGN 12.83

$11.15 SEK 111

-34.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$1.85 SEK 18.50

-36.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 BGN 3.28

$2.73 SEK 27.27

-31.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.52

$3.28 SEK 32.79

-73.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.14 BGN 49.24

$63.3 SEK 632

-55.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 BGN 3.04

$5.08 SEK 50.7

-65.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$1.10 SEK 11.02

-12.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.54 BGN 27.19

$41.40 SEK 414

-62.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 BGN 3.14

$1.80 SEK 17.97

-0.56%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

$33.1K SEK 331.0K

-9.48%

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

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

$32.8K SEK 328.1K

-19.68%

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

$156 BGN 273

$76.4 SEK 764

104.11%

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

$21.21 BGN 37.11

$28.05 SEK 280

-24.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.64 BGN 27.37

$41.33 SEK 413

-62.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.76 BGN 81.8

$38.07 SEK 381

22.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.74 BGN 48.54

$27.39 SEK 274

1.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.02 BGN 17.53

$15.11 SEK 151

-33.69%

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

$766 BGN 1,341

$157 SEK 1,571

387.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 BGN 157

$78.5 SEK 785

14.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.88 BGN 71.5

$56.6 SEK 566

-27.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 186

$97.7 SEK 976

8.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 183

$121 SEK 1,213

-13.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 BGN 1,393

$826 SEK 8,255

-3.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 BGN 1,063

$672 SEK 6,716

-9.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 BGN 2,735

$1,697 SEK 17.0K

-7.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,060 BGN 1,855

$1,365 SEK 13.6K

-22.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,357 BGN 7,626

$6,116 SEK 61.1K

-28.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,250 BGN 5,688

$3,597 SEK 35.9K

-9.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,740 BGN 3,044

$2,871 SEK 28.7K

-39.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.03

-4.62%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Lund: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$607 37.9%

Lund

$672 38.3% 10.6% $65

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$287 17.9%

Lund

$355 20.3% 23.6% $68

Eating Out

Sofia

$256 16%

Lund

$266 15.2% 3.9% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12%

Lund

$146 8.3% 24.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Lund

$159 9.1% 3.8% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Lund

$68 3.9% 2.2% $1.5

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Lund

$87 5% 128% $49

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $796 in Sofia and $826 in Lund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lund pays 65% 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 $91.0 in Lund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $355 per month, with Sofia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇸🇪 Lund

🕒 Local time

10:27 10:27 AM

09:27 9:27 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

82,800

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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 = 0.509 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Lund 1,620 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Lund

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 Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia wins on cost – living expenses run 12% lower than in Lund. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sofia the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 65% lower in Lund. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $796 in Sofia versus $826 in Lund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,589 per month in Sofia versus $1,777 in Lund – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Sofia runs roughly 125% less than in Lund. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,589 in Sofia versus $1,777 in Lund, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sofia but tight or insufficient in Lund. The gap between the two cities makes Sofia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sofia delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,589 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sofia hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Lund 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 12% less than in Lund. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.