Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zakho and Sofia

For one person, living is cheaper in Zakho: $723 a month against $1,585 in Sofia, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Zakho
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Zakho Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sofia
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Sofia Living Index

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Zakho

🇮🇶 Iraq

$723

/mo nomad

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$1,585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $723 per month in Zakho vs $1,585 in Sofia, rent included.

Zakho $723
Sofia $1,585

A couple spends around $1,149 per month in Zakho vs $2,486 in Sofia, rent included.

Zakho $1,149
Sofia $2,486

A family of three spends $1,574 per month in Zakho vs $3,387 in Sofia, rent included.

Zakho $1,574
Sofia $3,387

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

Zakho sits 47% below the global median, while Sofia is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.08 IQD 6,161

$16.57 BGN 28.84

-75.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.99 IQD 54.4K

$67.7 BGN 118

-46.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.28 IQD 11.0K

$11.68 BGN 20.33

-37.67%

Cappuccino

$3.33 IQD 5,038

$3.41 BGN 5.93

-2.35%

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

$0.90 IQD 1,364

$2.36 BGN 4.11

-61.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 IQD 545

$1.67 BGN 2.91

-78.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.47 IQD 8,269

$3.99 BGN 6.94

37.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 IQD 6,106

$4.53 BGN 7.88

-10.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 IQD 1,596

$1.94 BGN 3.38

-45.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 IQD 1,031

$1.55 BGN 2.70

-56.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 IQD 2,201

$2.35 BGN 4.09

-37.87%

Eggs

$1.53 IQD 2,308

$4.60 BGN 8.00

-66.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.13 IQD 10.8K

$11.47 BGN 19.96

-37.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.29 IQD 6,486

$8.65 BGN 15.04

-50.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 IQD 19.5K

$17.34 BGN 30.17

-25.49%

Apples (1kg)

$0.94 IQD 1,417

$2.15 BGN 3.73

-56.28%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 IQD 1,501

$1.98 BGN 3.45

-50.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 IQD 1,526

$1.83 BGN 3.18

-44.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.69 IQD 1,046

$4.27 BGN 7.43

-83.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.60 IQD 901

$1.04 BGN 1.82

-42.31%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 IQD 877

$0.89 BGN 1.54

-34.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 IQD 973

$1.19 BGN 2.06

-46.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 IQD 789

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-37.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.10 IQD 3,180

$4.40 BGN 7.66

-52.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.75 IQD 16.2K

$7.42 BGN 12.91

44.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 IQD 2,126

$1.16 BGN 2.01

21.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 IQD 2,695

$1.90 BGN 3.30

-6.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 IQD 478

$0.92 BGN 1.60

-65.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.11 BGN 48.91

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 IQD 2,430

$1.67 BGN 2.90

-3.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 IQD 2,321

$0.85 BGN 1.49

81.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.56 IQD 8,398

$16.59 BGN 28.87

-66.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.57 IQD 867

$1.74 BGN 3.03

-67.24%

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

$16.6K IQD 25.0M

$29.9K BGN 52.1K

-44.63%

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

$17.4K IQD 26.4M

$25.0K BGN 43.5K

-30.28%

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

$111 IQD 168.2K

$158 BGN 275

-29.50%

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

$12.02 IQD 18.2K

$21.27 BGN 37.01

-43.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.34 IQD 36.8K

$15.12 BGN 26.30

60.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.93 IQD 55.8K

$46.85 BGN 81.5

-21.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.82 BGN 48.41

Cinema Ticket

$9.83 IQD 14.8K

$10.00 BGN 17.39

-1.70%

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

$290 IQD 438.5K

$815 BGN 1,419

-64.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,723 IQD 4.1M

$14.6K BGN 25.5K

-81.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.94 IQD 40.7K

$87.1 BGN 152

-69.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.67 IQD 29.7K

$38.28 BGN 66.6

-48.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.7 IQD 76.6K

$106 BGN 184

-51.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.33 IQD 59.4K

$107 BGN 187

-63.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 IQD 315.7K

$769 BGN 1,338

-72.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 IQD 210.0K

$593 BGN 1,032

-76.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$368 IQD 556.5K

$1,530 BGN 2,662

-75.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 IQD 472.6K

$1,061 BGN 1,846

-70.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$847 IQD 1.3M

$4,526 BGN 7,875

-81.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$500 IQD 756.2K

$3,109 BGN 5,410

-83.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 IQD 985.8K

$1,780 BGN 3,098

-63.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.53

2.89

-12.46%

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

Last update for Zakho: November 1, 2026

Last update for Sofia: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zakho

$173 23.9%

Sofia

$288 18.2% 66.4% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zakho

$148 20.4%

Sofia

$194 12.3% 31.6% $47

Accommodation & Living

Zakho

$139 19.2%

Sofia

$593 37.4% 327% $454

Eating Out

Zakho

$135 18.7%

Sofia

$254 16% 87.9% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Zakho

$61 8.5%

Sofia

$152 9.6% 148% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Zakho

$57 7.8%

Sofia

$67 4.2% 18.1% $10

Getting Around

Zakho

$11 * 1.5%

Sofia

$38 2.4% 258% $27

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $209 in Zakho 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.

Salaries in Sofia are about 2.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Zakho versus $68 in Sofia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $173 vs $288 – making Zakho the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Zakho

🇧🇬 Sofia

🕒 Local time

07:34 7:34 AM

06:34 6:34 AM

1 h behind Zakho

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

197,163

1,286,383 Capital

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.9 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,696 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.9 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).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Zakho Sofia 1,760 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Zakho
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

Zakho vs Sofia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $723 in Zakho, $1,585 in Sofia – Zakho comes out roughly 54% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,085 per month in Zakho and $2,378 in Sofia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zakho, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $209 there versus $769 in Sofia.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Zakho and $68 in Sofia. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 66% more in Sofia, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zakho, where all-in costs run around $723, than in Sofia at $1,585. In Zakho it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sofia it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Zakho – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Zakho. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sofia makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.