Cost of living comparison

Ukraine

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Kiev Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 47.7% more expensive than Kiev.

Restaurants: pay 73.3% more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 54.1% more in Sofia
Transportation: pay 32.5% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 52.1% more in Sofia
Childcare: pay 24.9% more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.1% more in Sofia
Clothing: pay 5.0% more in Sofia

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and childcare in Sofia are more expensive than in Kiev. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Sofia.

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

Sofia vs. Kiev Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 73.3% more for restaurants

	Kiev	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.14 UAH500.55	$16.80 BGN29.23	+50.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 UAH350.38	$11.61 BGN20.20	+48.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 UAH35.91	$2.42 BGN4.21	+202.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 UAH25.60	$1.80 BGN3.14	+216.3%
Average			+73.3%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.1% more for groceries

	Kiev	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 UAH39.33	$1.53 BGN2.66	+74.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.12 UAH230.15	$5.70 BGN9.92	+11.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.04 UAH226.38	$7.46 BGN12.99	+48.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 UAH90.80	$4.37 BGN7.60	+116.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.41 UAH108.20	$3.92 BGN6.81	+62.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.55 UAH24.86	$0.99 BGN1.72	+78.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 UAH31.93	$0.92 BGN1.60	+29.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 UAH37.91	$0.86 BGN1.49	+1.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 UAH56.96	$1.93 BGN3.36	+52.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 UAH12.73	$0.48 BGN0.84	+69.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.21 UAH9.54	$0.41 BGN0.71	+91.5%
Average			+54.1%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.5% more for transportation

	Kiev	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.69 UAH300.55	$6.58 BGN11.46	-1.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.14 UAH500.55	$28.55 BGN49.69	+156.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,407.28 UAH1M	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	+2.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.79 UAH260.28	$9.05 BGN15.75	+56.2%
Average			+32.5%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.1% more for housing

	Kiev	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$6.61 UAH297.04	$15.37 BGN26.74	+132.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$632.91 UAH28,431.03	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	+23.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$343.71 UAH15,439.93	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	+75.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.57 UAH3,439.65	$121.09 BGN210.73	+58.1%
Average			+52.1%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.9% more for childcare

	Kiev	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$411.05 UAH18,464.59	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+85.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,064.36 UAH677K	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	-16.0%
Average			+24.9%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kiev	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.34 UAH60.07	$3.44 BGN5.98	+157.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.70 UAH76.44	$3.53 BGN6.15	+107.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.45 UAH155.17	$4.25 BGN7.40	+23.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.41 UAH1,635.74	$46.61 BGN81.12	+28.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.57 UAH250.27	$10.08 BGN17.54	+80.9%
Average			+76.1%

Kiev vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.0% more for clothing

	Kiev	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.25 UAH3,335.45	$89.18 BGN155.21	+20.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.74 UAH1,785.28	$40.94 BGN71.25	+3.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.27 UAH4,324.72	$106.72 BGN185.72	+10.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.00 UAH5,390.50	$106.41 BGN185.18	-11.3%
Average			+5.0%

Kiev vs. Sofia - 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: Kiev vs. Sofia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Sofia?

More cost comparisons

Kiev vs.

Toronto

Kiev vs.

Warsaw

Kiev vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Kiev vs.

New York City

Kiev vs.

London

Kiev vs.

Vienna

Kiev vs.

Dublin

Kiev vs.

Athens

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Sofia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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