Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Tarhuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Tarhuna: $367 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Tarhuna
Learn more

Tarhuna Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Tarhuna

🇱🇾 Libya

$367

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Tarhuna

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

A single person spends $1,594 per month in Sofia vs $367 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Sofia $1,594
Tarhuna $367

A couple spends around $2,478 per month in Sofia vs $569 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Sofia $2,478
Tarhuna $569

A family of three spends $3,361 per month in Sofia vs $771 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Sofia $3,361
Tarhuna $771

Sofia costs about 334% more than Tarhuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 18% above the global median, while Tarhuna is 73% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.35

$3.98 LYD 25.51

323.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$15.36 LYD 98.5

328.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.69

$2.66 LYD 17.06

325.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.16

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.63

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 5.98

$0.47 LYD 3.01

629.79%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.19

$0.46 LYD 2.95

423.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.22

$0.12 LYD 0.78

1441.67%

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

$0.93 LYD 5.93

117.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.72

$0.20 LYD 1.28

680.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.21 LYD 7.77

92.56%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.59

$1.42 LYD 9.08

207.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.47

$5.26 LYD 33.70

123.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.37

$3.43 LYD 22.00

157.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.38

$9.37 LYD 60.1

86.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.74

$2.32 LYD 14.90

-7.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.44

$1.47 LYD 9.43

34.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.37

$0.67 LYD 4.32

188.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.37

$0.56 LYD 3.62

657.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.80

$0.71 LYD 4.52

46.48%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.48

$0.47 LYD 3.00

80.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.00

$0.39 LYD 2.52

194.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.56

$0.19 LYD 1.23

368.42%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.82 LYD 11.65

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 LYD 6.00

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 LYD 5.26

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.33

$1.93 LYD 12.36

118.13%

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

$0.80 LYD 5.12

110.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.45 LYD 2.86

108.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.70

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.94

$0.02 LYD 0.15

8350.00%

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

$29.8K BGN 51.9K

$23.4K LYD 150.2K

27.10%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.5K

$21.3K LYD 136.3K

22.87%

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

$156 BGN 272

$91.9 LYD 589

69.82%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.52

$5.91 LYD 37.88

264.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.51

$26.67 LYD 171

-42.86%

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

$52.4 LYD 336

1377.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.3K

$1,536 LYD 9,845

733.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$22.69 LYD 145

296.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 71.8

$17.62 LYD 113

134.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 183

$63.4 LYD 406

65.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 186

$66.0 LYD 423

61.76%

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 Tarhuna: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Tarhuna

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Tarhuna

$116 31.5% 60.2% $175

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Tarhuna

$48 13% 81.2% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Tarhuna

$125 33.9% 35.5% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Tarhuna

$76 20.8% 50.6% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Tarhuna

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Tarhuna

$3 * 0.8% 92.1% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Sofia versus $15.00 in Tarhuna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $290 vs $116 – making Tarhuna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇱🇾 Tarhuna

🕒 Local time

20:36 8:36 PM

19:36 7:36 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

120,000

💱 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

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Tarhuna 1,420 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Tarhuna

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 Tarhuna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,594 in Sofia, $367 in Tarhuna – roughly 334% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,391 per month in Sofia and $551 in Tarhuna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Sofia and $15.00 in Tarhuna. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 151% more in Sofia, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Tarhuna, where all-in costs run around $367, than in Sofia at $1,594. In Tarhuna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Sofia has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $367 in Tarhuna to $1,594 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Tarhuna. 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.