Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Umag

For one person, living costs are similar in Sofia and in Umag: $1,594 and $1,532 a month, rent and utilities included.

78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Umag
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Umag Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,594

/mo nomad

Umag

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,532

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Umag

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

A single person spends $1,594 per month in Sofia vs $1,532 in Umag, rent included.

Sofia $1,594
Umag $1,532

A couple spends around $2,478 per month in Sofia vs $2,439 in Umag, rent included.

Sofia $2,478
Umag $2,439

A family of three spends $3,361 per month in Sofia vs $3,345 in Umag, rent included.

Sofia $3,361
Umag $3,345

Sofia costs about 4% more than Umag, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Sofia and Umag sit above the global median – Sofia by 18%, Umag by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.87 BGN 29.52

$12.31 €10.99

37.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 BGN 115

$63.5 €56.7

3.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 BGN 19.80

$7.93 €7.08

42.75%

Cappuccino

$3.43 BGN 6.01

$2.18 €1.95

57.34%

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

$2.41 BGN 4.22

$2.98 €2.66

-19.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.23

$2.25 €2.01

-17.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.70 BGN 6.48

$3.33 €2.97

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.58 BGN 8.02

$4.48 €4.00

2.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 BGN 3.53

$1.24 €1.11

62.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 BGN 2.74

$1.60 €1.43

-2.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BGN 4.07

$2.72 €2.43

-14.34%

Eggs

$4.36 BGN 7.63

$3.89 €3.47

12.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.76 BGN 20.59

$14.81 €13.23

-20.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.83 BGN 15.46

$11.80 €10.53

-25.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 BGN 30.56

$17.92 €16.00

-2.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.76

$2.29 €2.05

-6.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.46

$1.79 €1.60

10.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 BGN 3.39

$2.05 €1.83

-5.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 BGN 7.42

$2.51 €2.24

68.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.81

$1.30 €1.16

-20.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$1.13 €1.01

-24.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 BGN 2.02

$1.18 €1.05

-2.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 BGN 1.57

$1.39 €1.25

-35.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 BGN 7.37

$5.90 €5.27

-28.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.46 BGN 13.05

$10.09 €9.01

-26.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 BGN 2.02

$1.68 €1.50

-31.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 BGN 3.25

$2.56 €2.28

-27.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 BGN 1.52

$1.81 €1.62

-51.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.53 BGN 49.93

$39.73 €35.48

-28.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.68 BGN 2.95

$2.22 €1.98

-24.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 BGN 1.64

$1.36 €1.21

-30.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.35 BGN 26.86

$11.94 €10.66

28.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 BGN 2.96

$1.92 €1.71

-11.98%

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

$29.8K BGN 52.1K

$27.7K €24.7K

7.61%

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

$26.1K BGN 45.7K

$26.9K €24.0K

-2.74%

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

$156 BGN 273

$215 €192

-27.27%

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

$21.56 BGN 37.74

$22.92 €20.47

-5.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.24 BGN 26.66

$40.61 €36.27

-62.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.08 BGN 80.6

$52.1 €46.54

-11.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.92 BGN 48.86

$15.38 €13.74

81.53%

Cinema Ticket

$10.18 BGN 17.82

$8.39 €7.49

21.33%

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

$774 BGN 1,355

$495 €442

56.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

$9,808 €8,758

30.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.9 BGN 157

$107 €95.4

-15.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.29 BGN 72.3

$43.30 €38.67

-4.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 BGN 184

$94.7 €84.6

11.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$110 €98.3

-3.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$783 BGN 1,370

$673 €601

16.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$597 BGN 1,044

$458 €409

30.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,516 BGN 2,653

$1,148 €1,025

32.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,030 BGN 1,803

$977 €873

5.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,350 BGN 7,612

$4,640 €4,143

-6.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,177 BGN 5,560

$2,948 €2,632

7.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,735 BGN 3,037

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

3.3

-12.42%

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

Last update for Sofia: October 13, 2026

Last update for Umag: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$597 37.4%

Umag

$458 29.9% 23.2% $139

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$290 18.2%

Umag

$316 20.6% 8.9% $26

Eating Out

Sofia

$255 16%

Umag

$195 12.7% 23.5% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$193 12.1%

Umag

$278 18.2% 44.2% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$154 9.7%

Umag

$160 10.4% 3.4% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$66 4.2%

Umag

$69 4.5% 3.7% $2.4

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Umag

$56 3.7% 45.9% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $783 in Sofia versus $673 in Umag. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Sofia versus $64.0 in Umag. Groceries tell a different story – $290 in Sofia vs $316 in Umag – so Sofia wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇭🇷 Umag

🕒 Local time

14:06 2:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

1 h behind Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

13,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.51 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.51 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Umag 840 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Umag

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 Umag: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,594 in Sofia, $1,532 in Umag – roughly 4% 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 $2,298 in Umag. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Umag, 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 $1,594 in Sofia and $1,532 in Umag. That's a gap of about 4%.

Public transport costs about 39% less in Umag. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Umag, where all-in costs run around $1,532, than in Sofia at $1,594. In Umag 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 $1,532 in Umag 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 Umag. 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.