Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stavanger and Bansko

For one person, living is cheaper in Bansko: $970 a month against $3,140 in Stavanger, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

153

Cost of Living Index in Stavanger
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Stavanger Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Bansko
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Bansko Living Index

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Stavanger

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,140

/mo nomad

Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$970

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Stavanger and in Bansko

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

A single person spends $3,140 per month in Stavanger vs $970 in Bansko, rent included.

Stavanger $3,140
Bansko $970

A couple spends around $4,513 per month in Stavanger vs $1,464 in Bansko, rent included.

Stavanger $4,513
Bansko $1,464

A family of three spends $5,886 per month in Stavanger vs $1,957 in Bansko, rent included.

Stavanger $5,886
Bansko $1,957

Stavanger costs about 224% more than Bansko, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Stavanger sits 134% above the global median, while Bansko is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.58 NOK 235

$8.66 BGN 15.15

183.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.3 NOK 929

$46.63 BGN 81.6

108.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.95 NOK 152

$9.01 BGN 15.77

77.03%

Cappuccino

$6.25 NOK 59.7

$2.24 BGN 3.92

179.02%

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

$5.41 NOK 51.7

$1.50 BGN 2.63

260.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 NOK 40.57

$0.86 BGN 1.51

394.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 NOK 130

$1.76 BGN 3.07

676.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.78 NOK 112

$2.00 BGN 3.51

489.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.37 NOK 22.61

$1.79 BGN 3.14

32.40%

White Bread (500g)

$3.47 NOK 33.14

$0.81 BGN 1.42

328.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.83 NOK 36.59

$1.52 BGN 2.66

151.97%

Eggs

$4.70 NOK 44.87

$2.30 BGN 4.02

104.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.36 NOK 137

$9.60 BGN 16.81

49.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.81 NOK 161

$6.32 BGN 11.06

165.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$34.43 NOK 329

$8.64 BGN 15.12

298.50%

Apples (1kg)

$3.42 NOK 32.68

$1.28 BGN 2.24

167.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 26.00

$1.68 BGN 2.95

61.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.54 NOK 33.78

$1.70 BGN 2.98

108.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.91 NOK 46.90

$1.89 BGN 3.30

159.79%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 NOK 24.35

$0.93 BGN 1.63

174.19%

Onion (1kg)

$3.12 NOK 29.79

$0.76 BGN 1.32

310.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.81 NOK 26.81

$0.54 BGN 0.95

420.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 NOK 22.33

$0.58 BGN 1.02

303.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.13 NOK 164

$3.44 BGN 6.02

397.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.45 NOK 176

$5.14 BGN 9.00

258.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.72 NOK 35.54

$1.11 BGN 1.94

235.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 NOK 42.52

$1.70 BGN 2.97

161.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 NOK 45.49

$0.88 BGN 1.55

440.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.0 NOK 831

$26.76 BGN 46.83

225.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.09 NOK 58.2

$1.29 BGN 2.26

372.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 NOK 16.69

$0.65 BGN 1.14

169.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$103 NOK 981

$10.18 BGN 17.81

908.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 NOK 22.50

$1.50 BGN 2.63

57.33%

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

$47.3K NOK 451.6K

$28.8K BGN 50.4K

64.15%

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

$40.4K NOK 386.0K

$21.5K BGN 37.5K

88.40%

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

$245 NOK 2,337

$91.4 BGN 160

167.60%

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

$35.29 NOK 337

$14.68 BGN 25.68

140.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$81.6 NOK 779

$12.07 BGN 21.12

575.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.3 NOK 480

$32.28 BGN 56.5

55.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.81 NOK 352

$8.60 BGN 15.05

328.02%

Cinema Ticket

$22.03 NOK 210

$5.63 BGN 9.86

291.30%

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

$322 NOK 3,080

$228 BGN 400

41.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.1K NOK 134.4K

$2,311 BGN 4,045

508.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 NOK 1,212

$30.48 BGN 53.3

316.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.1 NOK 574

$19.01 BGN 33.26

215.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 NOK 1,459

$45.53 BGN 79.7

235.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$204 NOK 1,948

$48.67 BGN 85.2

319.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 NOK 15.8K

$521 BGN 913

217.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,380 NOK 13.2K

$367 BGN 643

275.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,766 NOK 26.4K

$634 BGN 1,110

336.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,016 NOK 19.3K

$558 BGN 976

261.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,196 NOK 59.2K

$1,204 BGN 2,106

414.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,307 NOK 50.7K

$971 BGN 1,699

446.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,951 NOK 47.3K

$1,670 BGN 2,923

196.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.27

2.99

76.25%

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

Last update for Stavanger: October 4, 2026

Last update for Bansko: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stavanger

$1.4K 43.6%

Bansko

$367 38% 73.4% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Stavanger

$513 16.2%

Bansko

$193 20% 62.3% $320

Eating Out

Stavanger

$450 14.2%

Bansko

$145 15% 67.7% $305

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stavanger

$362 11.4%

Bansko

$118 12.2% 67.3% $243

Clothing & Footwear

Stavanger

$245 7.7%

Bansko

$65 6.7% 73.6% $180

Getting Around

Stavanger

$121 3.8%

Bansko

$35 3.6% 71.2% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Stavanger

$94 3%

Bansko

$44 4.5% 53.8% $51

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,658 in Stavanger versus $521 in Bansko. 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 196% higher in Stavanger, 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 $97.0 in Stavanger versus $47.00 in Bansko. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $513 vs $193 – making Bansko the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Stavanger

🇧🇬 Bansko

🕒 Local time

09:01 9:01 AM

10:01 10:01 AM

1 h ahead of Stavanger

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,330

8,000

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.71 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 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 NOK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Stavanger Bansko 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Stavanger
Bansko

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

Stavanger vs Bansko: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,140 in Stavanger, $970 in Bansko – roughly 224% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,710 per month in Stavanger and $1,455 in Bansko. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bansko, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Stavanger and $47.00 in Bansko. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,140 in Stavanger and $970 in Bansko. That's a gap of about 224%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Bansko, where all-in costs run around $970, than in Stavanger at $3,140. In Bansko it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stavanger it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Stavanger has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $970 in Bansko to $3,140 in Stavanger. 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 Bansko. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Stavanger makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.