Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Nowy Sacz

For one person, living is cheaper in Nowy Sacz: $1,302 a month against $1,594 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Nowy Sacz
Learn more

Nowy Sacz Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Nowy Sacz

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,302

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Nowy Sacz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,302 in Nowy Sacz.

Sofia $1,594
Nowy Sacz $1,302

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $1,984 in Nowy Sacz.

Sofia $2,478
Nowy Sacz $1,984

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $2,666 in Nowy Sacz.

Sofia $3,361
Nowy Sacz $2,666

Living in Sofia is roughly 22% more expensive than in Nowy Sacz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 18% above, Nowy Sacz is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$8.66 zł 33.65

94.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$38.46 zł 149

71.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$7.80 zł 30.31

45.13%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$2.98 zł 11.57

15.10%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$1.92 zł 7.45

25.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$1.54 zł 5.99

20.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$2.74 zł 10.65

35.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$3.25 zł 12.64

40.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.02 zł 3.98

98.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$1.31 zł 5.07

19.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.54 zł 5.97

51.30%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$3.31 zł 12.86

31.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$8.53 zł 33.13

37.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$6.56 zł 25.47

34.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$11.37 zł 44.16

53.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$1.18 zł 4.60

82.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.72 zł 6.68

15.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$1.73 zł 6.72

11.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$2.55 zł 9.93

66.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.93 zł 3.62

11.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.04 zł 4.05

-18.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.39 zł 5.41

-17.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.73 zł 2.85

21.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$4.81 zł 18.70

-12.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$6.45 zł 25.08

15.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.06 zł 4.13

8.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$1.75 zł 6.82

5.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$0.93 zł 3.63

-6.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$28.06 zł 109

1.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$2.00 zł 7.76

-16.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.79 zł 3.09

18.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$9.75 zł 37.89

57.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.66 zł 6.43

1.81%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$30.6K zł 118.8K

-2.51%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$26.4K zł 102.5K

-0.96%

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

$156 BGN 272

$295 zł 1,145

-47.02%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$9.54 zł 37.08

126.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$12.80 zł 49.73

19.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.2

$32.47 zł 126

41.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.58

$20.48 zł 79.6

36.33%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.72

$7.91 zł 30.73

28.70%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$251 zł 976

208.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$2,095 zł 8,138

511.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$56.2 zł 219

59.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$37.64 zł 146

9.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$55.5 zł 216

89.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$72.3 zł 281

47.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$516 zł 2,003

51.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$425 zł 1,652

40.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$1,064 zł 4,133

42.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$912 zł 3,542

12.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,568

$1,912 zł 7,428

127.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,528

$1,126 zł 4,376

182.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,019

$917 zł 3,562

89.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

7.02

-58.83%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nowy Sacz: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Nowy Sacz

$425 32.6% 28.8% $172

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Nowy Sacz

$212 16.3% 27% $78

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Nowy Sacz

$162 12.5% 36.2% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Nowy Sacz

$317 24.3% 64.3% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Nowy Sacz

$100 7.7% 35.4% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Nowy Sacz

$48 3.7% 27.3% $18

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Nowy Sacz

$38 2.9% 1.6% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $516 in Nowy Sacz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays 89% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $38.00 in Nowy Sacz for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $212 per month, with Nowy Sacz cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇵🇱 Nowy Sacz

🕒 Local time

05:51 5:51 AM

04:51 4:51 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

83,943

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sofia Nowy Sacz 800 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Nowy Sacz

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 Nowy Sacz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nowy Sacz is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 89% higher in Sofia, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $516 in Nowy Sacz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $774 in Sofia versus $251 in Nowy Sacz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,302 in Nowy Sacz versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nowy Sacz but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Nowy Sacz the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nowy Sacz is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Sofia, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Nowy Sacz 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 Nowy Sacz gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.