Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Orsha

For one person, living is cheaper in Orsha: $672 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Orsha
Learn more

Orsha Living Index

Jump to prices

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Orsha

🇧🇾 Belarus

$672

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Orsha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,585 in Sofia versus $672 in Orsha.

Sofia $1,585
Orsha $672

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,486 in Sofia versus $1,039 in Orsha.

Sofia $2,486
Orsha $1,039

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,387 in Sofia versus $1,406 in Orsha.

Sofia $3,387
Orsha $1,406

Living in Sofia is roughly 136% more expensive than in Orsha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sofia is 17% above, Orsha is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$6.61 BYN 19.65

150.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$30.58 BYN 90.8

121.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$4.49 BYN 13.34

160.13%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$1.63 BYN 4.86

109.20%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.62 BYN 1.85

280.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.32 BYN 0.96

421.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.16 BYN 3.45

243.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.59 BYN 7.71

74.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$0.71 BYN 2.10

173.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.58 BYN 1.73

167.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$1.17 BYN 3.47

100.85%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$1.39 BYN 4.12

230.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.05 BYN 20.95

62.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$4.08 BYN 12.13

112.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$6.23 BYN 18.49

178.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$1.24 BYN 3.67

73.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.88 BYN 5.58

5.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$1.89 BYN 5.61

-3.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$1.73 BYN 5.14

146.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.39 BYN 1.16

166.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$0.62 BYN 1.83

43.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$1.00 BYN 2.97

19.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.49 BYN 1.45

69.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$1.98 BYN 5.87

122.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$8.21 BYN 24.38

-9.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.59 BYN 4.73

-27.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$2.10 BYN 6.23

-9.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.67 BYN 1.98

37.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

$14.99 BYN 44.51

87.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$0.68 BYN 2.02

145.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.35 BYN 1.04

142.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$10.22 BYN 30.36

62.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$0.93 BYN 2.77

87.10%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

$15.3K BYN 45.6K

95.07%

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$16.4K BYN 48.6K

52.84%

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

$158 BGN 275

$73.4 BYN 218

115.10%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$7.73 BYN 22.96

175.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$11.99 BYN 35.61

26.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$42.77 BYN 127

9.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$3.46 BYN 10.27

189.02%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

$343 BYN 1,019

137.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

$10.4K BYN 30.8K

41.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$46.53 BYN 138

87.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$49.46 BYN 147

-22.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$92.3 BYN 274

14.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$109 BYN 324

-1.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$356 BYN 1,058

115.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$116 BYN 346

409.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$593 BYN 1,761

157.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$151 BYN 449

601.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$1,116 BYN 3,315

305.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$865 BYN 2,570

259.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$183 BYN 544

871.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-83.94%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Orsha: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Orsha

$116 17.3% 80.4% $477

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Orsha

$158 23.5% 45.1% $130

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Orsha

$101 15% 60.3% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Orsha

$93 13.9% 52.1% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Orsha

$134 19.9% 12% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Orsha

$50 7.4% 25.7% $17

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Orsha

$20 3% 46.7% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $769 in Sofia and $356 in Orsha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sofia pays about 9.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $68 in Sofia vs $31 in Orsha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $158 per month, with Orsha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇧🇾 Orsha

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

11:17 11:17 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

115,052

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Belarusian Ruble BYN Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

1 BYN = 0.337 USD

1 BYN = 0.3 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BYN, 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 = 1.95 BGN (1 BGN = 0.512 EUR).

Belarusian Ruble exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2.97 BYN (1 BYN = 0.337 USD). 1 EUR = 3.34 BYN (1 BYN = 0.3 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sofia Orsha 1,410 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Orsha

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 Orsha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Orsha is about 58% 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 9.7 times higher, 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: $769 in Sofia versus $356 in Orsha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Sofia. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Orsha – a meal for two runs $31 versus $68 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $672 in Orsha versus $1,585 in Sofia, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Orsha but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Orsha 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.

Safety-wise, Sofia and Orsha are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Orsha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 58% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.