Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southampton and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Sofia: $1,589 a month against $2,681 in Southampton, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

129

Cost of Living Index in Southampton
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Southampton Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Southampton

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,681

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Southampton and in Sofia

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Southampton and in Sofia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,681 per month in Southampton vs $1,589 in Sofia, rent included.

Southampton $2,681
Sofia $1,589

A couple spends around $3,835 per month in Southampton vs $2,456 in Sofia, rent included.

Southampton $3,835
Sofia $2,456

A family of three spends $4,989 per month in Southampton vs $3,324 in Sofia, rent included.

Southampton $4,989
Sofia $3,324

Southampton costs about 69% more than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Southampton and Sofia sit above the global median – Southampton by 100%, Sofia by 19%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.05 £19.68

$17.10 BGN 29.93

52.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.7 £68.5

$66.9 BGN 117

35.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.35 £8.57

$11.77 BGN 20.59

-3.57%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.89

$3.42 BGN 5.99

50.29%

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

$2.97 £2.24

$2.42 BGN 4.23

22.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.62

$1.86 BGN 3.26

15.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.65

$3.33 BGN 5.83

124.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.94

$4.53 BGN 7.92

44.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.92 BGN 3.36

2.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.51 BGN 2.64

14.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.98 £2.25

$2.21 BGN 3.88

34.84%

Eggs

$4.54 £3.43

$4.40 BGN 7.69

3.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 £7.47

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-14.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 £7.12

$8.79 BGN 15.38

7.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 £10.78

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-15.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$2.17 BGN 3.79

37.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$2.04 BGN 3.57

-14.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.18

$1.84 BGN 3.22

57.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-17.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.03 BGN 1.80

72.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.14

$0.93 BGN 1.62

62.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.94

$1.20 BGN 2.11

3.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.32

$0.92 BGN 1.62

89.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.37 £16.15

$4.30 BGN 7.53

396.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.85 £8.20

$7.33 BGN 12.83

48.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.95 £2.23

$1.18 BGN 2.06

150.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 £2.62

$1.87 BGN 3.28

85.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$0.87 BGN 1.52

259.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 £65.1

$28.14 BGN 49.24

206.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.27 £3.23

$1.74 BGN 3.04

145.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$0.96 BGN 1.68

101.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.36 £23.70

$15.54 BGN 27.19

101.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.79 BGN 3.14

16.76%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

25.83%

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

$40.2K £30.3K

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

52.28%

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

$325 £245

$156 BGN 273

108.26%

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

$29.44 £22.25

$21.21 BGN 37.11

38.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.9 £40.75

$15.64 BGN 27.37

244.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 £31.00

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-12.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.46 £12.44

$27.74 BGN 48.54

-40.66%

Cinema Ticket

$15.69 £11.85

$10.02 BGN 17.53

56.59%

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

$1,560 £1,179

$766 BGN 1,341

103.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.8K £13.4K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

39.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 £77.8

$89.7 BGN 157

14.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.9 £38.49

$40.88 BGN 71.5

24.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 £75.1

$106 BGN 186

-6.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 £101

$105 BGN 183

27.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,133

$796 BGN 1,393

88.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,192 £901

$607 BGN 1,063

96.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,397 £1,811

$1,563 BGN 2,735

53.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,859 £1,405

$1,060 BGN 1,855

75.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,870 £4,436

$4,357 BGN 7,626

34.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,381 £4,066

$3,250 BGN 5,688

65.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,333 £2,519

$1,740 BGN 3,044

91.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

2.89

71.63%

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

Last update for Southampton: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Southampton

$1.2K 45%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 49.1% $585

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southampton

$408 15.4%

Sofia

$193 12% 52.8% $215

Eating Out

Southampton

$375 14.1%

Sofia

$256 16% 31.7% $119

Groceries & Markets

Southampton

$319 12%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 9.9% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Southampton

$174 6.6%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 11.7% $20

Getting Around

Southampton

$113 4.2%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 66.1% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Southampton

$72 2.7%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 7.7% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,500 in Southampton versus $796 in Sofia. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 92% higher in Southampton, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $91.0 in Southampton versus $67.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $319 vs $287 – making Sofia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southampton

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

05:49 5:49 AM

07:49 7:49 AM

2 h ahead of Southampton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

228,600

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Southampton Sofia 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Southampton
Sofia

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

Southampton vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,681 in Southampton, $1,589 in Sofia – roughly 69% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,021 per month in Southampton and $2,384 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sofia, 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 $2,681 in Southampton and $1,589 in Sofia. That's a gap of about 69%.

Public transport costs about 206% less in Sofia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sofia, where all-in costs run around $1,589, than in Southampton at $2,681. In Sofia it covers expenses comfortably, while in Southampton it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Southampton has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,589 in Sofia to $2,681 in Southampton. 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 Sofia. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Southampton makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.