Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Mazar-i-Sharif

For one person, living is cheaper in Mazar-i-Sharif: $290 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Mazar-i-Sharif

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$290

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Mazar-i-Sharif

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 Mazar-i-Sharif actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $290 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Sofia $1,585
Mazar-i-Sharif $290

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $460 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Sofia $2,486
Mazar-i-Sharif $460

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $629 in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Sofia $3,387
Mazar-i-Sharif $629

Living in Sofia is roughly 447% more expensive than in Mazar-i-Sharif, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Mazar-i-Sharif is 79% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$2.30 ؋149

620.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$15.53 ؋1,010

335.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$4.05 ؋263

188.40%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.90 ؋514

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.85 ؋510

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$1.18 ؋76.8

188.98%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.58 ؋37.69

306.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.30 ؋19.48

456.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.64 ؋41.35

203.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.18 ؋11.90

761.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$2.10 ؋137

11.90%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.61 ؋104

185.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.65 ؋498

49.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$3.39 ؋221

155.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$6.29 ؋409

175.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$0.56 ؋36.14

283.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.13 ؋73.2

75.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.81 ؋52.7

125.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.65 ؋42.18

556.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.48 ؋30.97

116.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.39 ؋25.10

128.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.52 ؋34.09

128.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.32 ؋20.95

159.38%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.90 ؋123

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.57 ؋102

180.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.75 ؋48.58

22.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$1.55 ؋101

970.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.51 ؋98.3

15.23%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$9,767 ؋635.0K

206.50%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

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

$158 BGN 275

$80.3 ؋5,221

96.56%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$17.25 ؋1,122

23.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$11.61 ؋755

303.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

$3.89 ؋253

615.17%

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$4.69 ؋305

113.22%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$77.0 ؋5,006

958.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$13.23 ؋860

558.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$18.44 ؋1,199

481.24%

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

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$231 ؋15.0K

671.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Mazar-i-Sharif: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Mazar-i-Sharif

–

Cost Breakdown

Sofia pays about 7.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $16 in Mazar-i-Sharif for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $106 per month, with Mazar-i-Sharif cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇦🇫 Mazar-i-Sharif

🕒 Local time

22:43 10:43 PM

01:13 1:13 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

300,600

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.514 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, 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).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 65.02 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.66 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Mazar-i-Sharif 3,760 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Mazar-i-Sharif

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 Mazar-i-Sharif: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mazar-i-Sharif is about 82% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Sofia is about 7.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Supermarket bills run roughly 171% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,585 per month in Sofia versus $290 in Mazar-i-Sharif – Mazar-i-Sharif is about 82% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $290 in Mazar-i-Sharif versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mazar-i-Sharif but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Mazar-i-Sharif 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.

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