Cost of living comparison

Turkey

compared to

Bulgaria

Varna vs. Istanbul Cost of Living Summary

Varna is 9.6% cheaper than Istanbul.

Restaurants: pay 17.4% more in Varna
Groceries: pay 41.3% more in Varna
Transportation: pay 26.3% less in Varna
Housing: pay 18.9% less in Varna
Childcare: pay 65.3% less in Varna
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.8% less in Varna
Clothing: pay 1.9% more in Varna

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

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.4% more for restaurants

	Istanbul	Varna
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.19 TRY603.79	$12.56 BGN21.85	+3.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.35 TRY462.91	$10.30 BGN17.93	+10.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 TRY85.71	$1.91 BGN3.32	+10.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 TRY28.65	$1.63 BGN2.84	+182.1%
Average			+17.4%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.3% more for groceries

	Istanbul	Varna
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 TRY45.58	$1.21 BGN2.11	+31.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 TRY261.28	$5.70 BGN9.92	+8.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 TRY231.97	$7.32 BGN12.74	+56.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.41 TRY119.39	$3.51 BGN6.10	+45.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.54 TRY125.71	$4.14 BGN7.21	+63.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 TRY42.16	$0.89 BGN1.54	+4.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 TRY50.86	$0.97 BGN1.69	-5.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 TRY28.34	$0.98 BGN1.71	+71.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.84 TRY41.37	$1.33 BGN2.32	+59.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 TRY15.36	$0.58 BGN1.01	+87.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 TRY14.17	$0.48 BGN0.84	+68.4%
Average			+41.3%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.3% less for transportation

	Istanbul	Varna
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.43 TRY269.03	$6.51 BGN11.33	+19.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	$28.66 BGN49.88	-57.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,810.11 TRY3M	$30,050.07 BGN52,295.53	-40.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.40 TRY416.09	$8.56 BGN14.90	+1.9%
Average			-26.3%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.9% less for housing

	Istanbul	Varna
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.15 TRY799.42	$16.38 BGN28.51	+1.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	$632.60 BGN1,100.89	-36.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	$471.68 BGN820.85	-27.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	$132.48 BGN230.55	+92.4%
Average			-18.9%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 65.3% less for childcare

	Istanbul	Varna
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	$508.86 BGN885.56	-50.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$25,999.20 TRY1M	$6,295.85 BGN10,956.54	-75.8%
Average			-65.3%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Istanbul	Varna
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.78 TRY236.49	$2.86 BGN4.98	-40.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.31 TRY213.63	$2.95 BGN5.13	-31.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.34 TRY115.73	$4.01 BGN6.97	+71.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	$52.00 BGN90.50	-31.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.13 TRY402.53	$8.96 BGN15.59	+10.2%
Average			-17.8%

Istanbul vs. Varna - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.9% more for clothing

	Istanbul	Varna
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	$64.31 BGN111.92	+20.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	$33.34 BGN58.02	-15.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	$99.98 BGN173.99	+0.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	$101.51 BGN176.65	+6.3%
Average			+1.9%

Istanbul 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: Istanbul vs. Varna

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Varna?

More cost comparisons

Istanbul vs.

Quito

Istanbul vs.

Dublin

Istanbul vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Istanbul vs.

Vienna

Istanbul vs.

Berlin

Istanbul vs.

Moscow

Istanbul vs.

Warsaw

Istanbul vs.

Athens

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Varna

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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