Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Nis

For one person, living is cheaper in Nis: $1,033 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Nis
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Nis Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Nis

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Nis

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

A single person spends $1,589 per month in Sofia vs $1,033 in Nis, rent included.

Sofia $1,589
Nis $1,033

A couple spends around $2,456 per month in Sofia vs $1,512 in Nis, rent included.

Sofia $2,456
Nis $1,512

A family of three spends $3,324 per month in Sofia vs $1,991 in Nis, rent included.

Sofia $3,324
Nis $1,991

Sofia costs about 54% more than Nis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sofia sits 19% above the global median, while Nis is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.10 BGN 29.93

$8.78 RSD 917

94.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 BGN 117

$33.92 RSD 3,541

97.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 BGN 20.59

$9.57 RSD 999

22.99%

Cappuccino

$3.42 BGN 5.99

$1.97 RSD 206

73.60%

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

$2.42 BGN 4.23

$2.31 RSD 242

4.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 BGN 3.26

$1.74 RSD 182

6.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 BGN 5.83

$3.61 RSD 377

-7.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.92

$4.49 RSD 469

0.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 BGN 3.36

$1.14 RSD 120

68.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 BGN 2.64

$0.70 RSD 73.2

115.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 BGN 3.88

$1.76 RSD 184

25.57%

Eggs

$4.40 BGN 7.69

$2.35 RSD 246

87.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 BGN 20.22

$7.65 RSD 799

51.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.79 BGN 15.38

$5.72 RSD 597

53.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 BGN 29.71

$10.59 RSD 1,105

60.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 BGN 3.79

$1.11 RSD 116

95.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 BGN 3.57

$1.68 RSD 175

21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 BGN 3.22

$1.50 RSD 157

22.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.29 BGN 7.51

$2.17 RSD 226

97.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 BGN 1.80

$0.78 RSD 81.8

32.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.93 BGN 1.62

$0.72 RSD 74.7

29.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 BGN 2.11

$0.64 RSD 66.6

87.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 BGN 1.62

$0.58 RSD 60.6

58.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.30 BGN 7.53

$4.42 RSD 461

-2.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.33 BGN 12.83

$5.78 RSD 604

26.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 BGN 2.06

$0.72 RSD 75.3

63.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 BGN 3.28

$1.29 RSD 135

44.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.52

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.14 BGN 49.24

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 BGN 3.04

$1.84 RSD 192

-5.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 BGN 1.68

$0.66 RSD 68.8

45.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.54 BGN 27.19

$8.29 RSD 866

87.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 BGN 3.14

$1.89 RSD 198

-5.29%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

$30.7K RSD 3.2M

-2.48%

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

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

$24.0K RSD 2.5M

9.96%

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

$156 BGN 273

$160 RSD 16.8K

-2.81%

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

$21.21 BGN 37.11

$19.03 RSD 1,987

11.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.64 BGN 27.37

$22.20 RSD 2,318

-29.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.76 BGN 81.8

$30.54 RSD 3,188

53.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.74 BGN 48.54

$15.65 RSD 1,634

77.25%

Cinema Ticket

$10.02 BGN 17.53

$4.68 RSD 489

114.10%

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

$766 BGN 1,341

$252 RSD 26.4K

203.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

$4,989 RSD 520.9K

156.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.7 BGN 157

$88.4 RSD 9,234

1.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.88 BGN 71.5

$37.42 RSD 3,906

9.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 186

$99.3 RSD 10.4K

6.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 BGN 183

$112 RSD 11.7K

-6.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 BGN 1,393

$398 RSD 41.5K

100.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 BGN 1,063

$277 RSD 28.9K

119.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,563 BGN 2,735

$591 RSD 61.7K

164.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,060 BGN 1,855

$397 RSD 41.5K

166.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,357 BGN 7,626

$2,531 RSD 264.2K

72.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,250 BGN 5,688

$1,884 RSD 196.7K

72.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,740 BGN 3,044

$901 RSD 94.0K

93.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

5.12

-43.55%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nis: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$607 37.9%

Nis

$277 27.1% 54.4% $330

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$287 17.9%

Nis

$182 17.8% 36.8% $106

Eating Out

Sofia

$256 16%

Nis

$166 16.2% 35.2% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12%

Nis

$202 19.7% 4.6% $8.9

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.6%

Nis

$152 14.8% 1.3% $2

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Nis

$40 3.9% 40.3% $27

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Nis

$5.1 * 0.5% 86.5% $33

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $796 in Sofia versus $398 in Nis. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 93% higher in Sofia, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67.0 in Sofia versus $34.00 in Nis. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $287 vs $182 – making Nis the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇷🇸 Nis

🕒 Local time

08:18 8:18 AM

07:18 7:18 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

78,470

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.58 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.54 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Sofia Nis 130 km

From you

Sofia
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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 Nis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia costs about 54% more than Nis, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,384 per month in Sofia and $1,549 in Nis. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nis, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,589 in Sofia and $1,033 in Nis. That's a gap of about 54%.

Kindergarten costs $766 per month in Sofia and $252 in Nis. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Nis, where all-in costs run around $1,033, than in Sofia at $1,589. In Nis it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nis costs $1,033 versus $1,589 in Sofia. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nis. 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.