Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sofia and Zanzibar

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $582 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
Learn more

Zanzibar Living Index

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Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$582

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sofia and in Zanzibar

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

A single person spends $1,585 per month in Sofia vs $582 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Sofia $1,585
Zanzibar $582

A couple spends around $2,486 per month in Sofia vs $866 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Sofia $2,486
Zanzibar $866

A family of three spends $3,387 per month in Sofia vs $1,150 in Zanzibar, rent included.

Sofia $3,387
Zanzibar $1,150

Sofia costs about 172% more than Zanzibar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Sofia sits 17% above the global median, while Zanzibar is 57% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.57 BGN 28.84

$4.65 TZS 12.2K

256.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.7 BGN 118

$21.37 TZS 56.2K

216.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 BGN 20.33

$5.81 TZS 15.3K

101.03%

Cappuccino

$3.41 BGN 5.93

$2.23 TZS 5,870

52.91%

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

$2.36 BGN 4.11

$0.62 TZS 1,639

280.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 BGN 2.91

$0.33 TZS 873

406.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.99 BGN 6.94

$1.85 TZS 4,857

115.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 BGN 7.88

$2.69 TZS 7,074

68.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$2.03 TZS 5,333

-4.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 BGN 2.70

$0.77 TZS 2,021

101.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 BGN 4.09

$0.79 TZS 2,069

197.47%

Eggs

$4.60 BGN 8.00

$2.79 TZS 7,347

64.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.47 BGN 19.96

$7.49 TZS 19.7K

53.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.65 BGN 15.04

$2.30 TZS 6,054

276.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.34 BGN 30.17

$6.22 TZS 16.4K

178.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 BGN 3.73

$2.78 TZS 7,312

-22.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$1.16 TZS 3,059

70.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 BGN 3.18

$0.75 TZS 1,962

144.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.27 BGN 7.43

$0.59 TZS 1,546

623.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 BGN 1.82

$0.94 TZS 2,471

10.64%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 BGN 1.54

$1.47 TZS 3,870

-39.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 BGN 2.06

$0.73 TZS 1,921

63.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 BGN 1.45

$0.45 TZS 1,175

84.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.40 BGN 7.66

$2.17 TZS 5,692

102.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.42 BGN 12.91

$9.39 TZS 24.7K

-20.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 BGN 2.01

$1.53 TZS 4,021

-24.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 BGN 3.30

$1.30 TZS 3,428

46.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.92 BGN 1.60

$0.31 TZS 824

196.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 BGN 2.90

$3.80 TZS 9,992

-56.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 BGN 1.49

$0.74 TZS 1,941

14.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 BGN 28.87

$2.70 TZS 7,108

514.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 BGN 3.03

$1.27 TZS 3,330

37.01%

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

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

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

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

$50.3K TZS 132.4M

-50.32%

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

$158 BGN 275

$73.0 TZS 191.8K

116.39%

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

$21.27 BGN 37.01

$11.14 TZS 29.3K

90.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.12 BGN 26.30

$49.10 TZS 129.1K

-69.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.85 BGN 81.5

$29.01 TZS 76.3K

61.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$10.00 BGN 17.39

$9.66 TZS 25.4K

3.52%

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

$815 BGN 1,419

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 BGN 152

$12.86 TZS 33.8K

577.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.28 BGN 66.6

$17.32 TZS 45.5K

121.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 BGN 184

$15.28 TZS 40.2K

591.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 BGN 187

$13.18 TZS 34.6K

713.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$769 BGN 1,338

$151 TZS 397.1K

408.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$593 BGN 1,032

$101 TZS 265.0K

488.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 BGN 2,662

$197 TZS 518.0K

676.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,061 BGN 1,846

$147 TZS 387.1K

620.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,526 BGN 7,875

$38.2K TZS 100.4M

-88.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,109 BGN 5,410

$11.3K TZS 29.6M

-72.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,780 BGN 3,098

$314 TZS 824.4K

467.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

-71.10%

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

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Last update for Zanzibar: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sofia

$593 37.4%

Zanzibar

$101 17.3% 83% $492

Groceries & Markets

Sofia

$288 18.2%

Zanzibar

$165 28.3% 42.7% $123

Eating Out

Sofia

$254 16%

Zanzibar

$100 17.2% 60.6% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sofia

$194 12.3%

Zanzibar

$133 22.9% 31.4% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Sofia

$152 9.6%

Zanzibar

$26 4.5% 82.7% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Sofia

$67 4.2%

Zanzibar

$48 8.3% 27.7% $19

Getting Around

Sofia

$38 2.4%

Zanzibar

$8.8 * 1.5% 76.8% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $769 in Sofia versus $151 in Zanzibar. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sofia are about 5.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia versus $21 in Zanzibar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $165 – making Zanzibar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Sofia

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🕒 Local time

10:18 10:18 AM

11:18 11:18 AM

1 h ahead of Sofia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,286,383 Capital

709,809

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.8 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, 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).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2,629 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.8 USD). 1 EUR = 2,953 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.39 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sofia Zanzibar 5,670 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Sofia
Zanzibar

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 Zanzibar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,585 in Sofia, $582 in Zanzibar – Zanzibar comes out roughly 63% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,378 per month in Sofia and $873 in Zanzibar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zanzibar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $151 there versus $769 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68 in Sofia and $21 in Zanzibar. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,585 in Sofia and $582 in Zanzibar. That makes Zanzibar about 63% cheaper.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Zanzibar, where all-in costs run around $582, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Zanzibar 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 $582 in Zanzibar to $1,585 in Sofia. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Zanzibar. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.