Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 30.1% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 18.2% less in Sofia
Groceries: pay 52.6% less in Sofia
Transportation: pay 88.2% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 51.7% less in Sofia
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 51.8% less in Sofia
Clothing: pay 44.8% less in Sofia

The cost of childcare and transportation in Sofia are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Sofia. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Sofia.

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Sofia vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sofia instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.2% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.31	$16.80 BGN29.23	-46.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.13	$11.61 BGN20.20	-9.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.52	$2.42 BGN4.21	+54.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.01	$1.80 BGN3.14	+110.3%
Average			-18.2%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.6% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.15	$1.53 BGN2.66	-25.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT66.06	$5.70 BGN9.92	-69.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.98	$7.46 BGN12.99	-56.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.06	$4.37 BGN7.60	-27.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.84	$3.92 BGN6.81	-56.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.07	$0.99 BGN1.72	-57.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.49	$0.92 BGN1.60	-76.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.94	$0.86 BGN1.49	-74.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.87	$1.93 BGN3.36	+15.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.64	$0.48 BGN0.84	-53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.41 BGN0.71	-37.3%
Average			-52.6%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 88.2% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$6.58 BGN11.46	+305.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.10	$28.55 BGN49.69	+185.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	-31.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	$9.05 BGN15.75	-6.9%
Average			+88.2%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.7% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$15.37 BGN26.74	-85.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,964.14	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	-44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,510.00	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	-39.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$121.09 BGN210.73	-72.3%
Average			-51.7%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+3241.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT87,073.07	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	-49.0%
Average			+312.8%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 51.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.06	$3.44 BGN5.98	-39.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.82	$3.53 BGN6.15	-47.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$4.25 BGN7.40	-83.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$46.61 BGN81.12	-76.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.09	$10.08 BGN17.54	+17.6%
Average			-51.8%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 44.8% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.56	$89.18 BGN155.21	+60.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT401.14	$40.94 BGN71.25	-64.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,278.64	$106.72 BGN185.72	-70.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT676.93	$106.41 BGN185.18	-44.8%
Average			-44.8%

Ashgabat vs. Sofia - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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