Cost of living comparison
compared to
Japan vs. Bulgaria Cost of Living Summary
Japan is 41.6% more expensive than Bulgaria overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.6% less in Japan
- Groceries
-
pay 66.1% more in Japan
- Transportation
-
pay 91.1% more in Japan
- Housing
-
pay 76.0% more in Japan
- Childcare
-
pay 38.0% more in Japan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 51.5% more in Japan
- Clothing
-
pay 4.6% less in Japan
The cost of transportation, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and childcare in Japan are more expensive than in Bulgaria. Expenses including restaurants and clothing are lower in Japan. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in Japan.
Japan vs. Bulgaria Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Japan instead of Bulgaria, you would:
pay 26.6% less for restaurants
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.56
BGN15.97
|
$6.60
¥1,042
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.87
BGN14.82
|
$5.10
¥804
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.33
BGN2.22
|
$1.07
¥168
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.88
BGN1.47
|
$0.76
¥120
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants
pay 66.1% more for groceries
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.94
BGN1.57
|
$1.50
¥237
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.88
BGN8.14
|
$5.07
¥799
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.66
BGN11.13
|
$5.67
¥894
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.03
BGN5.07
|
$2.08
¥328
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.37
BGN5.63
|
$2.93
¥462
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.72
BGN1.21
|
$2.14
¥337
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
BGN1.46
|
$1.12
¥176
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.82
BGN1.36
|
$1.69
¥267
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.04
BGN1.74
|
$2.13
¥336
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.51
BGN0.85
|
$1.22
¥192
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
BGN0.78
|
$1.15
¥182
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of groceries
pay 91.1% more for transportation
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.81
BGN9.71
|
$4.39
¥692
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$23.91
BGN39.94
|
$59.14
¥9,330
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,585.27
BGN52,751.35
|
$22,599.51
¥3,564,994
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.84
BGN11.43
|
$25.32
¥3,995
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of transportation
pay 76.0% more for housing
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$13.13
BGN21.93
|
$33.91
¥5,350
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$346.09
BGN578.01
|
$543.18
¥85,685
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$256.92
BGN429.09
|
$353.61
¥55,781
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$78.57
BGN131.23
|
$118.72
¥18,727
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of housing
pay 38.0% more for childcare
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$357.15
BGN596.48
|
$296.89
¥46,833
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,826.38
BGN11,400.91
|
$13,159.48
¥2,075,862
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of childcare
pay 51.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.85
BGN3.09
|
$2.60
¥411
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.98
BGN3.31
|
$3.03
¥477
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.65
BGN6.09
|
$3.89
¥613
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.65
BGN52.86
|
$59.54
¥9,392
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.37
BGN12.30
|
$12.46
¥1,966
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.6% less for clothing
|
Bulgaria
|
Japan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.07
BGN81.95
|
$44.79
¥7,066
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$28.91
BGN48.29
|
$32.04
¥5,054
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.15
BGN140.55
|
$57.37
¥9,050
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$78.49
BGN131.09
|
$87.37
¥13,783
|
|
Bulgaria vs. Japan - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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