Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Ma'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Ma’an: $840 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Sofia, Bulgaria
Ma'an, Jordan
Sofia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,585
/mo nomad
Ma'an
🇯🇴 Jordan
$840
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Ma'an

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $840 in Ma’an, rent included.

  • Sofia $1,585
  • Ma'an $840

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $1,390 in Ma’an, rent included.

  • Sofia $2,486
  • Ma'an $1,390

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,939 in Ma’an, rent included.

  • Sofia $3,387
  • Ma'an $1,939

Sofia costs about 89% more than Ma’an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Ma’an is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.57 BGN 28.84
$7.24 JOD 5.13
128.87%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$67.7 BGN 118
$71.6 JOD 50.7
-5.53%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.68 BGN 20.33
$7.19 JOD 5.09
62.45%
Cappuccino
$3.41 BGN 5.93
$4.47 JOD 3.17
-23.71%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.36 BGN 4.11
$0.64 JOD 0.45
268.75%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.67 BGN 2.91
$0.57 JOD 0.41
192.98%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.99 BGN 6.94
$8.41 JOD 5.95
-52.56%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.53 BGN 7.88
$10.98 JOD 7.77
-58.74%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.94 BGN 3.38
$1.60 JOD 1.13
21.25%
White Bread (500g)
$1.55 BGN 2.70
$0.65 JOD 0.46
138.46%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.35 BGN 4.09
$1.59 JOD 1.13
47.80%
Eggs
$4.60 BGN 8.00
$2.31 JOD 1.63
99.13%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.47 BGN 19.96
$9.29 JOD 6.58
23.47%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.65 BGN 15.04
$6.30 JOD 4.46
37.30%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.34 BGN 30.17
$12.85 JOD 9.10
34.94%
Apples (1kg)
$2.15 BGN 3.73
$2.58 JOD 1.83
-16.67%
Banana (1kg)
$1.98 BGN 3.45
$2.04 JOD 1.44
-2.94%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.83 BGN 3.18
$1.79 JOD 1.27
2.23%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.27 BGN 7.43
$0.84 JOD 0.59
408.33%
Potato (1kg)
$1.04 BGN 1.82
$0.89 JOD 0.63
16.85%
Onion (1kg)
$0.89 BGN 1.54
$0.79 JOD 0.56
12.66%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 BGN 2.06
$0.62 JOD 0.44
91.94%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.83 BGN 1.45
$0.66 JOD 0.47
25.76%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.40 BGN 7.66
$3.78 JOD 2.68
16.40%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.42 BGN 12.91
$21.05 JOD 14.90
-64.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 BGN 2.01
$5.06 JOD 3.58
-77.08%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.90 BGN 3.30
$4.87 JOD 3.44
-60.99%
🚌 Getting Around
Sofia
Ma'an
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
$0.58 JOD 0.41
187.93%
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
$7.13 JOD 5.05
132.68%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.74 BGN 3.03
$1.77 JOD 1.25
-1.69%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.9K BGN 52.1K
$33.0K JOD 23.4K
-9.37%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.0K BGN 43.5K
$33.7K JOD 23.8K
-25.71%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$158 BGN 275
$137 JOD 96.8
15.45%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.27 BGN 37.01
$15.46 JOD 10.94
37.58%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$15.12 BGN 26.30
$32.38 JOD 22.92
-53.30%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.85 BGN 81.5
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$27.82 BGN 48.41
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.00 BGN 17.39
$11.09 JOD 7.85
-9.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$815 BGN 1,419
$540 JOD 382
50.95%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$14.6K BGN 25.5K
$9,415 JOD 6,664
55.55%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$87.1 BGN 152
$61.8 JOD 43.73
40.95%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.28 BGN 66.6
$81.9 JOD 57.9
-53.23%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$106 BGN 184
$127 JOD 90.1
-17.02%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 BGN 187
$84.1 JOD 59.5
27.47%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$769 BGN 1,338
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$593 BGN 1,032
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,530 BGN 2,662
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,061 BGN 1,846
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,526 BGN 7,875
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,109 BGN 5,410
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sofia
Ma'an
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,780 BGN 3,098
-
-
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 Ma'an: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Sofia
$593
Ma'an
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Sofia
$288
Ma'an
$264 8.2% $24
Eating Out
Sofia
$254
Ma'an
$202 20.3% $52
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sofia
$194
Ma'an
$185 5% $9.7
Clothing & Footwear
Sofia
$152
Ma'an
$160 5% $7.6
Sport & Entertainment
Sofia
$67
Ma'an
$22 * 66.8% $45
Getting Around
Sofia
$38
Ma'an
$7.4 * 80.3% $30

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $72 in Ma’an. Groceries tell a different story – $288 in Sofia vs $264 in Ma’an – so Ma’an wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know
🇧🇬 Sofia
🇯🇴 Ma'an
🕒 Local time
03:02 3:02 AM
04:02 4:02 AM
1 h ahead of Sofia
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,286,383 Capital
50,350
💱 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 Ma'an 1,770 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Sofia
  • Ma'an

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 Ma'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Sofia and in Ma’an compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $1,585 in Sofia, $840 in Ma’an – Ma’an comes out roughly 47% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.
What salary covers living expenses in Sofia compared to Ma’an?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $1,260 in Ma’an. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $72 in Ma’an. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Groceries cost about 9% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.
Which city is more doable on $1,200 per month?
A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Ma’an, where all-in costs run around $840, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Ma’an it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
How does quality of life compare between Sofia and Ma’an?
It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $840 in Ma’an to $1,585 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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