Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Manouba

For one person, living is cheaper in Manouba: $651 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Manouba
Learn more

Manouba Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Manouba

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$651

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Manouba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $651 in Manouba.

Sofia $1,594
Manouba $651

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,024 in Manouba.

Sofia $2,478
Manouba $1,024

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $1,396 in Manouba.

Sofia $3,361
Manouba $1,396

Living in Sofia is roughly 145% more expensive than in Manouba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Manouba is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.33 TND 9.97

406.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$19.92 TND 59.7

230.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$6.14 TND 18.38

84.36%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$1.11 TND 3.34

209.01%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.63 TND 1.88

282.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.27 TND 0.81

585.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$1.55 TND 4.64

138.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$2.36 TND 7.05

94.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$0.46 TND 1.38

339.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.22 TND 0.66

609.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.31 TND 3.92

77.86%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.55 TND 4.63

181.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$10.27 TND 30.75

14.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$5.45 TND 16.31

62.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$13.79 TND 41.32

26.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.84 TND 5.52

16.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$3.16 TND 9.45

-37.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.08 TND 3.24

78.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.74 TND 2.21

472.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.77 TND 2.29

35.06%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.61 TND 1.84

39.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.53 TND 1.60

116.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.34 TND 1.03

161.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$3.72 TND 11.15

13.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$6.74 TND 20.18

10.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.19 TND 3.55

-3.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$1.08 TND 3.22

71.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.32 TND 0.95

171.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$9.95 TND 29.81

186.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.30 TND 0.89

460.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.33 TND 1.00

184.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$1.85 TND 5.54

729.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$0.89 TND 2.67

89.89%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$37.0K TND 110.7K

-19.37%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$35.0K TND 104.7K

-25.26%

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

$156 BGN 272

$44.48 TND 133

250.90%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$9.22 TND 27.61

133.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$20.44 TND 61.2

-25.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$26.56 TND 79.6

73.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$12.42 TND 37.19

124.80%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$5.31 TND 15.90

91.71%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$97.3 TND 291

695.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$2,444 TND 7,319

423.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$42.75 TND 128

110.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$36.55 TND 109

12.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$101 TND 303

4.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$67.8 TND 203

57.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$208 TND 624

275.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$155 TND 465

284.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$372 TND 1,115

307.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$268 TND 804

283.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$957 TND 2,866

354.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$619 TND 1,854

413.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

10.28

-71.89%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Manouba: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Manouba

$155 23.9% 74% $441

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Manouba

$185 28.4% 36.3% $105

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Manouba

$74 11.4% 70.8% $180

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Manouba

$74 11.4% 61.6% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Manouba

$112 17.2% 27.7% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Manouba

$37 5.7% 44.1% $29

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Manouba

$13 2% 65.6% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $208 in Manouba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $20.00 in Manouba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $185 per month, with Manouba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇳 Manouba

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

23:16 11:16 PM

2 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

58,792

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

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Between locations

Sofia Manouba 1,300 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Manouba

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 Manouba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Manouba differ by about 145% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $651 including rent). Manouba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,391 in Sofia and $977 in Manouba to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $208 in Manouba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Manouba – a meal for two runs $20.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $651 in Manouba versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Manouba but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Manouba 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 Manouba 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 Manouba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 145% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.