Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
Learn more

Sofia Living Index

Jump to prices

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: South Africa is 18.9% cheaper than Sofia without rent, and 25.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: South Africa is 25.8% cheaper than Sofia without rent, and 24.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.64 R 176

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-37.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.40 R 683

$66.9 BGN 117

-38.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 R 92.4

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-52.42%

Cappuccino

$2.28 R 37.63

$3.42 BGN 5.99

-33.33%

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

$1.16 R 19.17

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-52.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.22

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-50.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.40

$3.33 BGN 5.83

-26.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 R 48.69

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-34.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 19.63

$1.92 BGN 3.36

-38.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.42

$1.51 BGN 2.64

-25.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.58

$2.21 BGN 3.88

-19.00%

Eggs

$2.48 R 40.88

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-43.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 R 133

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-30.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.13 R 84.7

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-41.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 R 129

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-53.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$2.17 BGN 3.79

-13.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.42

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.15

$1.84 BGN 3.22

-3.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.67

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-58.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.03 BGN 1.80

44.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.71

$0.93 BGN 1.62

61.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.16

$1.20 BGN 2.11

6.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R 17.97

$0.92 BGN 1.62

18.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.22 R 53.2

$4.30 BGN 7.53

-25.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.93 R 81.3

$7.33 BGN 12.83

-32.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 R 24.47

$1.18 BGN 2.06

25.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 R 33.09

$1.87 BGN 3.28

7.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 R 26.39

$0.87 BGN 1.52

83.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 R 1,001

$28.14 BGN 49.24

115.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R 17.98

$1.74 BGN 3.04

-37.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.23

$0.96 BGN 1.68

2.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.42 R 122

$15.54 BGN 27.19

-52.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.63

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-16.76%

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

$35.0K R 578.2K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

16.89%

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

$31.6K R 521.1K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

19.80%

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

$131 R 2,168

$156 BGN 273

-15.73%

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

$34.71 R 573

$21.21 BGN 37.11

63.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.94 R 659

$15.64 BGN 27.37

155.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.88 R 559

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-27.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 R 188

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-58.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.31 R 121

$10.02 BGN 17.53

-27.05%

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

$225 R 3,715

$766 BGN 1,341

-70.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,485 R 90.5K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-57.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 R 858

$89.7 BGN 157

-42.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 549

$40.88 BGN 71.5

-18.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 R 1,640

$106 BGN 186

-6.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 R 1,441

$105 BGN 183

-16.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$480 R 7,918

$796 BGN 1,393

-39.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 R 6,692

$607 BGN 1,063

-33.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 R 15.4K

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-40.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$796 R 13.1K

$1,060 BGN 1,855

-24.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,111 R 18.3K

$4,357 BGN 7,626

-74.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$777 R 12.8K

$3,250 BGN 5,688

-76.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,476 R 24.4K

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-15.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.23

2.89

288.58%

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

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

South Africa

$406 33.6%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 49.7% $202

Monthly Utilities & Internet

South Africa

$206 17.1%

Sofia

$193 12% 6.4% $13

Groceries & Markets

South Africa

$196 16.2%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 46.8% $92

Eating Out

South Africa

$156 12.9%

Sofia

$256 16% 64.3% $100

Clothing & Footwear

South Africa

$122 10.1%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 25.5% $31

Getting Around

South Africa

$73 6.1%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 47.8% $35

Sport & Entertainment

South Africa

$49 4%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 37.7% $18

Good to know

🇿🇦 South Africa

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

10:30 10:30 AM

1 h ahead of South Africa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,027,503

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BGN (1 BGN = 0.571 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.509 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

South Africa Sofia 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

South Africa
Sofia

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Sofia

BGN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

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