Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tema and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Tema: $738 a month against $1,589 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Tema
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Tema Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Tema

🇬🇭 Ghana

$738

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,589

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $738 per month in Tema vs $1,589 in Sofia, rent included.

Tema $738
Sofia $1,589

A couple spends around $1,173 per month in Tema vs $2,456 in Sofia, rent included.

Tema $1,173
Sofia $2,456

A family of three spends $1,608 per month in Tema vs $3,324 in Sofia, rent included.

Tema $1,608
Sofia $3,324

Tema is about 54% cheaper than Sofia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Tema sits 45% below the global median, while Sofia is 19% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.03 GHS 82.4

$17.10 BGN 29.93

-58.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.88 GHS 327

$66.9 BGN 117

-58.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.77 BGN 20.59

Cappuccino

$5.05 GHS 59.2

$3.42 BGN 5.99

47.66%

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

$0.90 GHS 10.56

$2.42 BGN 4.23

-62.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 GHS 3.55

$1.86 BGN 3.26

-83.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.29 GHS 38.60

$3.33 BGN 5.83

-1.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 GHS 30.61

$4.53 BGN 7.92

-42.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.16 GHS 37.11

$1.92 BGN 3.36

64.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 GHS 18.81

$1.51 BGN 2.64

5.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 GHS 24.29

$2.21 BGN 3.88

-6.33%

Eggs

$2.30 GHS 27.02

$4.40 BGN 7.69

-47.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.38 GHS 51.4

$11.56 BGN 20.22

-62.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 GHS 37.14

$8.79 BGN 15.38

-63.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.38 GHS 39.66

$16.97 BGN 29.71

-80.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 GHS 30.66

$2.17 BGN 3.79

20.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.13 GHS 25.02

$2.04 BGN 3.57

4.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.21 GHS 25.97

$1.84 BGN 3.22

20.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.49 GHS 40.95

$4.29 BGN 7.51

-18.65%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 GHS 39.91

$1.03 BGN 1.80

230.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.82 GHS 33.06

$0.93 BGN 1.62

203.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 GHS 5.25

$1.20 BGN 2.11

-62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 GHS 7.84

$0.92 BGN 1.62

-27.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.26 GHS 14.83

$4.30 BGN 7.53

-70.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.54 GHS 100

$7.33 BGN 12.83

16.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 GHS 24.59

$1.18 BGN 2.06

77.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 GHS 34.74

$1.87 BGN 3.28

58.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.68 GHS 19.70

$0.87 BGN 1.52

93.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.17 GHS 483

$28.14 BGN 49.24

46.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 GHS 24.69

$1.74 BGN 3.04

20.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 GHS 4.82

$0.96 BGN 1.68

-57.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.54 BGN 27.19

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.19 GHS 13.96

$1.79 BGN 3.14

-33.52%

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

$30.0K BGN 52.5K

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

$26.4K BGN 46.1K

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

$78.2 GHS 917

$156 BGN 273

-49.87%

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

$15.22 GHS 179

$21.21 BGN 37.11

-28.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$82.5 GHS 968

$15.64 BGN 27.37

427.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.06 GHS 282

$46.76 BGN 81.8

-48.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.74 BGN 48.54

Cinema Ticket

$8.80 GHS 103

$10.02 BGN 17.53

-12.18%

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

$174 GHS 2,046

$766 BGN 1,341

-77.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,544 GHS 29.8K

$12.8K BGN 22.4K

-80.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.07 GHS 153

$89.7 BGN 157

-85.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.40 GHS 181

$40.88 BGN 71.5

-62.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.37 GHS 497

$106 BGN 186

-60.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$32.20 GHS 378

$105 BGN 183

-69.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$126 GHS 1,483

$796 BGN 1,393

-84.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.3 GHS 836

$607 BGN 1,063

-88.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$426 GHS 4,999

$1,563 BGN 2,735

-72.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 GHS 2,451

$1,060 BGN 1,855

-80.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,909 GHS 116.2K

$4,357 BGN 7,626

127.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,903 GHS 69.2K

$3,250 BGN 5,688

81.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$419 GHS 4,913

$1,740 BGN 3,044

-75.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.89

1111.07%

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

Last update for Tema: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sofia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Tema

$216 28.9%

Sofia

$287 17.9% 33.3% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tema

$176 23.6%

Sofia

$193 12% 9.6% $17

Eating Out

Tema

$143 * 19.2%

Sofia

$256 16% 78.7% $113

Accommodation & Living

Tema

$71 9.6%

Sofia

$607 37.9% 752% $536

Getting Around

Tema

$52 7%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 26.7% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Tema

$46 6.2%

Sofia

$154 9.6% 231% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Tema

$42 5.6%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 60.4% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $126 in Tema 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 315% higher in Sofia, 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 $28.00 in Tema versus $67.0 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $216 vs $287 – making Tema the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Tema

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

04:49 4:49 AM

07:49 7:49 AM

3 h ahead of Tema

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,000

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.53 USD

100 GHS = 7.6 EUR

1 BGN = 0.571 USD

1 BGN = 0.509 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 11.73 GHS (100 GHS = 8.53 USD). 1 EUR = 13.16 GHS (100 GHS = 7.6 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 GHS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Tema Sofia 4,710 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Tema
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

Tema vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $738 in Tema, $1,589 in Sofia – roughly 115% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,107 per month in Tema 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 Tema, 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 $738 in Tema and $1,589 in Sofia. That's a gap of about 115%.

Public transport costs about 46% less in Tema. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Tema, where all-in costs run around $738, than in Sofia at $1,589. In Tema 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 $738 in Tema to $1,589 in Sofia. 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 Tema. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.