Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

Bulgaria

Varna vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Varna is 2.6% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% less in Varna
Groceries: pay 27.3% more in Varna
Transportation: pay 9.3% more in Varna
Housing: pay 0.2% more in Varna
Childcare: pay 40.4% less in Varna
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.0% less in Varna
Clothing: pay 2.8% less in Varna

The cost of groceries, transportation, and housing in Varna are more expensive than in Bucharest. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Varna.

Planning a move to Bulgaria? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Varna vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Varna instead of Bucharest, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% less for restaurants

	Bucharest	Varna
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.64 RON69.25	$12.56 BGN21.85	-14.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 RON34.63	$10.30 BGN17.93	+40.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.42 RON11.44	$1.91 BGN3.32	-21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.25 RON10.65	$1.63 BGN2.84	-27.5%
Average			-0.5%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.3% more for groceries

	Bucharest	Varna
Bread 1 loaf	$1.32 RON6.24	$1.21 BGN2.11	-8.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.36 RON20.63	$5.70 BGN9.92	+30.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.22 RON29.40	$7.32 BGN12.74	+17.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.67 RON17.35	$3.51 BGN6.10	-4.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.05 RON14.45	$4.14 BGN7.21	+35.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.57 RON2.70	$0.89 BGN1.54	+55.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 RON3.43	$0.97 BGN1.69	+33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RON3.25	$0.98 BGN1.71	+42.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 RON5.42	$1.33 BGN2.32	+16.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RON1.73	$0.58 BGN1.01	+59.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RON1.62	$0.48 BGN0.84	+40.7%
Average			+27.3%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.3% more for transportation

	Bucharest	Varna
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.45 RON35.25	$6.51 BGN11.33	-12.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.91 RON98.93	$28.66 BGN49.88	+37.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$30,050.07 BGN52,295.53	+5.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.65 RON26.71	$8.56 BGN14.90	+51.6%
Average			+9.3%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.2% more for housing

	Bucharest	Varna
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.27 RON43.83	$16.38 BGN28.51	+76.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$677.15 RON3,203.34	$632.60 BGN1,100.89	-6.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.32 RON2,135.02	$471.68 BGN820.85	+4.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$147.83 RON699.33	$132.48 BGN230.55	-10.4%
Average			+0.2%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.4% less for childcare

	Bucharest	Varna
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$627.11 RON2,966.59	$508.86 BGN885.56	-18.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	$6,295.85 BGN10,956.54	-56.2%
Average			-40.4%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Bucharest	Varna
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.76 RON17.81	$2.86 BGN4.98	-24.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.51 RON16.59	$2.95 BGN5.13	-15.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.43 RON30.42	$4.01 BGN6.97	-37.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.22 RON232.83	$52.00 BGN90.50	+5.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.37 RON39.57	$8.96 BGN15.59	+7.1%
Average			-10.0%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8% less for clothing

	Bucharest	Varna
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$88.76 RON419.90	$64.31 BGN111.92	-27.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.43 RON181.80	$33.34 BGN58.02	-13.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.83 RON368.20	$99.98 BGN173.99	+28.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.69 RON433.74	$101.51 BGN176.65	+10.7%
Average			-2.8%

Bucharest vs. Varna - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Bucharest vs. Varna

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Varna?

More cost comparisons

Bucharest vs.

Sofia

Bucharest vs.

Lima

Bucharest vs.

Cairo

Bucharest vs.

New York City

Bucharest vs.

Madrid

Bucharest vs.

Rome

Bucharest vs.

Toronto

Bucharest vs.

Athens

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Romania vs. Bulgaria. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Romania and Bulgaria.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Bucharest

Add prices for Varna

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Varna or Bucharest. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.