Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Mizdah

For one person, living is cheaper in Mizdah: $370 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $14,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
16

Cost of Living Index in Mizdah
Learn more

Mizdah Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Mizdah

🇱🇾 Libya

$370

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Mizdah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $370 in Mizdah.

Sofia $1,594
Mizdah $370

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $573 in Mizdah.

Sofia $2,478
Mizdah $573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $775 in Mizdah.

Sofia $3,361
Mizdah $775

Living in Sofia is roughly 331% more expensive than in Mizdah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Mizdah is 73% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.91 LYD 25.06

331.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$15.34 LYD 98.3

329.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$2.62 LYD 16.82

332.06%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.60 LYD 3.86

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 LYD 4.30

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$0.44 LYD 2.82

679.55%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.42 LYD 2.69

473.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.11 LYD 0.69

1581.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$0.96 LYD 6.15

110.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.20 LYD 1.28

680.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.23 LYD 7.86

89.43%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.38 LYD 8.83

215.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$5.28 LYD 33.83

122.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$3.60 LYD 23.07

145.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$9.56 LYD 61.3

82.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.27 LYD 14.52

-5.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.48 LYD 9.47

33.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$0.69 LYD 4.41

179.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.61 LYD 3.88

595.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.75 LYD 4.82

38.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.49 LYD 3.15

73.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.43 LYD 2.74

167.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.21 LYD 1.33

323.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.82 LYD 11.64

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 LYD 6.36

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$1.99 LYD 12.75

111.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$0.79 LYD 5.06

112.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.46 LYD 2.93

104.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$0.02 LYD 0.13

8350.00%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$22.9K LYD 147.0K

29.89%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$21.4K LYD 137.4K

21.90%

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

$156 BGN 272

$92.6 LYD 593

68.59%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$6.17 LYD 39.56

249.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$27.49 LYD 176

-44.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$53.0 LYD 340

1360.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,536 LYD 9,842

733.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$22.35 LYD 143

302.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$17.10 LYD 110

141.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$64.7 LYD 414

62.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$64.9 LYD 416

64.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

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: October 13, 2026

Last update for Mizdah: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Mizdah

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Mizdah

$118 31.9% 59.4% $173

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Mizdah

$47 12.6% 81.7% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Mizdah

$126 34.1% 34.5% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Mizdah

$76 20.6% 50.7% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Mizdah

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Mizdah

$3.1 * 0.8% 92% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $15.00 in Mizdah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $118 per month, with Mizdah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇱🇾 Mizdah

🕒 Local time

22:28 10:28 PM

21:28 9:28 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

16,735

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Mizdah 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Mizdah

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 Mizdah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mizdah wins on cost – living expenses run 331% lower than in Sofia. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Mizdah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,391 in Sofia and $555 in Mizdah 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.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $53.0 in Mizdah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mizdah – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $370 in Mizdah versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mizdah but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Mizdah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Mizdah delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $370 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Mizdah hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Mizdah 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 Mizdah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 331% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.