Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surgut and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Surgut: $1,136 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Surgut, Russia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Surgut
🇷🇺 Russia
$1,136
/mo nomad
Sofia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
$1,585
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surgut 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 Surgut and in Sofia actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,136 per month in Surgut vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Surgut $1,136
  • Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $1,720 per month in Surgut vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Surgut $1,720
  • Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $2,305 per month in Surgut vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

  • Surgut $2,305
  • Sofia $3,387

Surgut is about 28% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Surgut sits 16% below the global median, while Sofia is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.02 ₽980
$16.57 BGN 28.84
-27.46%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$37.39 ₽3,049
$67.7 BGN 118
-44.75%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.08 ₽578
$11.68 BGN 20.33
-39.38%
Cappuccino
$2.62 ₽214
$3.41 BGN 5.93
-23.17%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.10 ₽90.1
$2.36 BGN 4.11
-53.39%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.64 ₽51.8
$1.67 BGN 2.91
-61.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.93 ₽157
$3.99 BGN 6.94
-51.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.70 ₽220
$4.53 BGN 7.88
-40.40%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.26 ₽102
$1.94 BGN 3.38
-35.05%
White Bread (500g)
$0.69 ₽56.1
$1.55 BGN 2.70
-55.48%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.30 ₽106
$2.35 BGN 4.09
-44.68%
Eggs
$1.54 ₽125
$4.60 BGN 8.00
-66.52%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.93 ₽892
$11.47 BGN 19.96
-4.71%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.04 ₽411
$8.65 BGN 15.04
-41.73%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.47 ₽936
$17.34 BGN 30.17
-33.85%
Apples (1kg)
$1.99 ₽162
$2.15 BGN 3.73
-7.44%
Banana (1kg)
$1.77 ₽145
$1.98 BGN 3.45
-10.61%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.91 ₽156
$1.83 BGN 3.18
4.37%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.48 ₽284
$4.27 BGN 7.43
-18.50%
Potato (1kg)
$0.91 ₽74.3
$1.04 BGN 1.82
-12.50%
Onion (1kg)
$0.55 ₽44.66
$0.89 BGN 1.54
-38.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.56 ₽127
$1.19 BGN 2.06
31.09%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.61 ₽50.1
$0.83 BGN 1.45
-26.51%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.63 ₽215
$4.40 BGN 7.66
-40.23%
Wine (Bottle)
$8.23 ₽671
$7.42 BGN 12.91
10.92%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.22 ₽99.7
$1.16 BGN 2.01
5.17%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.05 ₽168
$1.90 BGN 3.30
7.89%
🚌 Getting Around
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.53 ₽43.61
$0.92 BGN 1.60
-42.39%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$30.61 ₽2,497
$28.11 BGN 48.91
8.89%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.60 ₽212
$1.67 BGN 2.90
55.69%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.34 ₽28.02
$0.85 BGN 1.49
-60.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.27 ₽511
$16.59 BGN 28.87
-62.21%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.89 ₽72.3
$1.74 BGN 3.03
-48.85%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$60.3K ₽4.9M
$29.9K BGN 52.1K
101.48%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$43.1K ₽3.5M
$25.0K BGN 43.5K
72.13%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$133 ₽10.9K
$158 BGN 275
-15.55%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$6.15 ₽502
$21.27 BGN 37.01
-71.09%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$9.23 ₽753
$15.12 BGN 26.30
-38.96%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$39.81 ₽3,247
$46.85 BGN 81.5
-15.03%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$26.16 ₽2,133
$27.82 BGN 48.41
-5.97%
Cinema Ticket
$6.04 ₽492
$10.00 BGN 17.39
-39.60%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$343 ₽28.0K
$815 BGN 1,419
-57.92%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,248 ₽509.6K
$14.6K BGN 25.5K
-57.34%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$89.5 ₽7,297
$87.1 BGN 152
2.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$55.0 ₽4,482
$38.28 BGN 66.6
43.55%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$139 ₽11.3K
$106 BGN 184
31.24%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$117 ₽9,516
$107 BGN 187
8.86%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$556 ₽45.3K
$769 BGN 1,338
-27.68%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$335 ₽27.3K
$593 BGN 1,032
-43.53%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$905 ₽73.8K
$1,530 BGN 2,662
-40.86%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$514 ₽41.9K
$1,061 BGN 1,846
-51.56%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,368 ₽193.1K
$4,526 BGN 7,875
-47.69%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,304 ₽106.4K
$3,109 BGN 5,410
-58.05%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Surgut
Sofia
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$1,780 BGN 3,098
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
21.33
2.89
638.06%

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

Last update for Surgut: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Surgut
$335
Sofia
$593 77.1% $258
Groceries & Markets
Surgut
$213
Sofia
$288 35.1% $75
Clothing & Footwear
Surgut
$180
Sofia
$152 15.4% $28
Eating Out
Surgut
$171
Sofia
$254 48.4% $83
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surgut
$149
Sofia
$194 30.6% $46
Sport & Entertainment
Surgut
$52
Sofia
$67 28.9% $15
Getting Around
Surgut
$37
Sofia
$38 1.8% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $556 in Surgut versus $769 in Sofia. 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 $37 in Surgut versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $213 vs $288 – making Surgut the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇷🇺 Surgut
🇧🇬 Sofia
🕒 Local time
13:17 1:17 PM
10:17 10:17 AM
3 h behind Surgut
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
406,938
1,286,383 Capital
💱 Currency
Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.
Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 81.56 RUB (100 RUB = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 91.6 RUB (100 RUB = 1.09 EUR).

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Surgut Sofia 3,870 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Surgut
  • Sofia

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Surgut vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
How do living costs in Surgut and in Sofia compare overall?
Monthly costs with rent: $1,136 in Surgut, $1,585 in Sofia – Surgut comes out roughly 28% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.
What salary covers living expenses in Surgut compared to Sofia?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,704 per month in Surgut and $2,378 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
How do rents compare between Surgut and Sofia?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Surgut, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $556 there versus $769 in Sofia.
Which city is more expensive overall: Surgut or Sofia?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,136 in Surgut and $1,585 in Sofia. That makes Surgut about 28% cheaper.
How do commuting costs compare in Surgut and in Sofia?
Public transport costs about 8% less in Sofia. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Which city is feasible on a $1,000 budget?
$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,136 in Surgut and $1,585 in Sofia. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.
Where should families live: Surgut or Sofia?
Families tend to lean toward Surgut – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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