Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Passau

For one person, living costs are similar in Sofia and in Passau: $1,594 and $1,528 a month, rent and utilities included.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Passau
Learn more

Passau Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Passau

🇩🇪 Germany

$1,528

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Passau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,594 in Sofia versus $1,528 in Passau.

Sofia $1,594
Passau $1,528

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,478 in Sofia versus $2,563 in Passau.

Sofia $2,478
Passau $2,563

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,361 in Sofia versus $3,598 in Passau.

Sofia $3,361
Passau $3,598

Living in Sofia is roughly 4% more expensive than in Passau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sofia 18% above, Passau 13% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$16.77 €14.92

0.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$61.2 €54.4

7.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$11.91 €10.60

-4.95%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$3.78 €3.36

-9.26%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$3.55 €3.16

-32.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$3.09 €2.75

-40.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.44

$4.32 €3.84

-14.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 7.97

$4.91 €4.37

-6.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.51

$1.17 €1.04

72.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$2.06 €1.83

-24.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$3.17 €2.82

-26.50%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$3.71 €3.30

17.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$14.16 €12.60

-16.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$16.10 €14.32

-45.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$20.62 €18.34

-15.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.89 €2.57

-25.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.75 €1.55

13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$2.05 €1.82

-5.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$4.69 €4.17

-9.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$1.44 €1.28

-27.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$1.59 €1.42

-46.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$1.75 €1.55

-34.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$1.01 €0.90

-11.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$9.13 €8.12

-53.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 12.98

$5.67 €5.04

31.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.01

$1.05 €0.93

9.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$1.73 €1.54

6.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.51

$2.75 €2.45

-68.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.65

$66.0 €58.7

-56.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.93

$4.46 €3.96

-62.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$2.43 €2.16

-61.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

$40.49 €36.01

-62.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$1.88 €1.67

-10.11%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$33.0K €29.4K

-9.76%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

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

$156 BGN 272

$262 €233

-40.48%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$16.19 €14.40

33.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$53.5 €47.63

-71.54%

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

$12.10 €10.77

-15.87%

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

$774 BGN 1,347

$692 €616

11.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$18.7K €16.6K

-31.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,362

$674 €599

16.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,038

$457 €407

30.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,638

$1,662 €1,479

-8.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,792

$1,330 €1,183

-22.53%

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

$3,438 €3,058

-49.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.98

-27.39%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Passau: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Passau

$457 29.9% 23.4% $140

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Passau

$348 22.8% 19.7% $57

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Passau

$273 17.9% 7.3% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Passau

$332 21.7% 72.1% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Passau

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Passau

$24 * 1.6% 63.6% $42

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Passau

$94 6.1% 144% $55

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $783 in Sofia and $674 in Passau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Passau pays 98% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Sofia vs $61.0 in Passau. Groceries flip the comparison at $290 vs $348, with Sofia cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇩🇪 Passau

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

02:33 2:33 AM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

54,401

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Passau 1,010 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Passau

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 Passau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sofia and Passau differ by about 4% in total monthly costs ($1,594 vs $1,528 including rent). Passau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 98% lower in Passau. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $783 in Sofia versus $674 in Passau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Passau – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $66.0 in Sofia. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,594 per month in Sofia versus $1,528 in Passau – a 4% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,528 in Passau versus $1,594 in Sofia, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Passau but tight or insufficient in Sofia. The gap between the two cities makes Passau 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 Passau 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 Passau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 4% less than in Sofia. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.