Cost of living comparison

Saint Lucia

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Castries Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 18.7% more expensive than Castries.

Restaurants: pay 59.8% more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 43.0% less in Sofia
Transportation: pay 14.5% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 51.8% more in Sofia
Childcare: pay 3.6 times more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.2% more in Sofia
Clothing: pay 5.6% less in Sofia

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

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Sofia vs. Castries Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 59.8% more for restaurants

	Castries	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.25 EC$25.00	$16.80 BGN29.23	+81.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.33 EC$22.50	$11.61 BGN20.20	+39.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.94 EC$5.25	$2.42 BGN4.21	+24.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 EC$2.62	$1.80 BGN3.14	+85.6%
Average			+59.8%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.0% less for groceries

	Castries	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 EC$5.02	$1.53 BGN2.66	-17.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.61 EC$15.17	$5.70 BGN9.92	+1.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.75 EC$20.95	$7.46 BGN12.99	-3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.61 EC$12.47	$4.37 BGN7.60	-5.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.10 EC$11.09	$3.92 BGN6.81	-4.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.89 EC$10.50	$0.99 BGN1.72	-74.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 EC$2.02	$0.92 BGN1.60	+22.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.70 EC$10.00	$0.86 BGN1.49	-76.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$6.66 EC$18.00	$1.93 BGN3.36	-71.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 EC$4.17	$0.48 BGN0.84	-68.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 EC$2.50	$0.41 BGN0.71	-56.1%
Average			-43.0%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.5% more for transportation

	Castries	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.83 EC$15.75	$6.58 BGN11.46	+13.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$28.55 BGN49.69
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,901.46 EC$70,000.00	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	+16.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$9.05 BGN15.75
Average			+14.5%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.8% more for housing

	Castries	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.60 EC$131.33	$15.37 BGN26.74	-68.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$456.36 EC$1,233.33	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	+71.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$345.35 EC$933.33	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	+74.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.32 EC$254.90	$121.09 BGN210.73	+28.4%
Average			+51.8%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6 times more for childcare

	Castries	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$212.76 EC$575.00	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+258.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26
Average			+258.9%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Castries	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.78 EC$7.50	$3.44 BGN5.98	+23.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.70 EC$10.00	$3.53 BGN6.15	-4.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25 EC$25.00	$4.25 BGN7.40	-54.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.63 EC$112.50	$46.61 BGN81.12	+12.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.55 EC$15.00	$10.08 BGN17.54	+81.6%
Average			+14.2%

Castries vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.6% less for clothing

	Castries	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.25 EC$225.00	$89.18 BGN155.21	+7.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.88 EC$137.50	$40.94 BGN71.25	-19.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.01 EC$300.00	$106.72 BGN185.72	-3.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.01 EC$300.00	$106.41 BGN185.18	-4.1%
Average			-5.6%

Castries 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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