Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Mersa Matruh

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $457 a month against $1,600 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
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Mersa Matruh Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,600

/mo nomad

Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Mersa Matruh

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

A single person spends $1,600 per month in Sofia vs $457 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Sofia $1,600
Mersa Matruh $457

A couple spends around $2,490 per month in Sofia vs $749 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Sofia $2,490
Mersa Matruh $749

A family of three spends $3,380 per month in Sofia vs $1,040 in Mersa Matruh, rent included.

Sofia $3,380
Mersa Matruh $1,040

Sofia costs about 250% more than Mersa Matruh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 18% above the global median, while Mersa Matruh is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.96 BGN 29.68

$4.20 E£234

303.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.3 BGN 119

$19.05 E£1,062

258.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.62 BGN 20.33

$4.72 E£264

146.19%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 6.01

$1.27 E£70.6

170.08%

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

$2.34 BGN 4.10

$0.33 E£18.14

609.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 BGN 3.21

$0.11 E£6.01

1563.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.41 BGN 5.96

$1.36 E£75.8

150.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 BGN 7.77

$2.79 E£156

59.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 BGN 3.44

$0.87 E£48.65

126.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 BGN 2.61

$0.66 E£37.07

125.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.08

$0.65 E£36.07

258.46%

Eggs

$4.41 BGN 7.72

$1.19 E£66.1

270.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.54 BGN 20.20

$3.80 E£212

203.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 BGN 15.53

$4.24 E£237

109.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.51 BGN 30.64

$9.23 E£515

89.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.76

$1.54 E£86.1

39.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 BGN 3.62

$0.75 E£41.82

176.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.39

$0.55 E£30.85

250.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.25 BGN 7.43

$0.35 E£19.76

1114.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.80

$0.26 E£14.59

296.15%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 BGN 1.54

$0.30 E£16.70

193.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.08

$0.27 E£15.19

340.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.22 E£11.99

304.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.23 BGN 7.40

$1.85 E£103

128.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.87 BGN 13.77

$5.67 E£316

38.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.07

$1.25 E£69.6

-5.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 BGN 3.31

$2.28 E£127

-17.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 BGN 1.63

$0.21 E£11.72

342.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.30 BGN 49.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.94

$0.56 E£31.13

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.69

$0.17 E£9.23

464.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.36 BGN 26.88

$1.20 E£67.1

1180.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 BGN 3.10

$0.43 E£24.06

311.63%

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

$30.5K BGN 53.4K

$32.5K E£1.8M

-6.12%

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

$25.1K BGN 43.9K

$27.1K E£1.5M

-7.37%

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

$157 BGN 275

$14.05 E£784

1018.01%

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

$21.12 BGN 36.95

$6.68 E£373

216.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.32 BGN 26.80

$13.50 E£753

13.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.39 BGN 81.2

$15.88 E£885

192.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.09 BGN 49.15

Cinema Ticket

$10.04 BGN 17.56

$2.91 E£162

245.02%

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

$775 BGN 1,356

$85.0 E£4,740

811.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K BGN 21.9K

$2,090 E£116.6K

500.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.1 BGN 154

$33.72 E£1,881

161.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.39 BGN 72.4

$45.91 E£2,560

-9.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 BGN 187

$128 E£7,112

-16.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 BGN 186

$57.4 E£3,202

85.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$770 BGN 1,347

$128 E£7,152

500.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$602 BGN 1,054

$76.7 E£4,278

685.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,564 BGN 2,737

$256 E£14.3K

512.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 BGN 1,813

$144 E£8,048

618.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,567 BGN 7,992

$772 E£43.0K

491.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,162 BGN 5,534

$354 E£19.7K

793.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,742 BGN 3,048

$94.2 E£5,253

1749.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

21.33

-86.45%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mersa Matruh: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$602 37.6%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.8% 87.3% $525

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$291 18.2%

Mersa Matruh

$126 27.6% 56.6% $165

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 15.9%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.9% 69.7% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.1%

Mersa Matruh

$34 7.5% 82.3% $159

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Mersa Matruh

$119 26% 22.7% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Mersa Matruh

$22 4.7% 67.4% $45

Getting Around

Sofia

$39 2.4%

Mersa Matruh

$2.2 * 0.5% 94.2% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $770 in Sofia versus $128 in Mersa Matruh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 18 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $19 in Mersa Matruh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $291 vs $126 – making Mersa Matruh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

140,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Mersa Matruh 1,310 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Mersa Matruh

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 Mersa Matruh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 250% more than Mersa Matruh, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,400 per month in Sofia and $686 in Mersa Matruh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mersa Matruh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $128 there versus $770 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $19 in Mersa Matruh. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 130% more in Sofia, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Mersa Matruh, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Sofia at $1,600. In Mersa Matruh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mersa Matruh – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Mersa Matruh. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.