Cost of living comparison

Bahrain

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Manama Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 9.9% more expensive than Manama.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 24.0% more in Sofia
Transportation: pay 8.1% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 14.8% less in Sofia
Childcare: pay 33.9% more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.5% less in Sofia
Clothing: pay 15.7% more in Sofia

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

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Sofia vs. Manama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Manama	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.30 BHD2.010	$16.80 BGN29.23	+216.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 BHD2.810	$11.61 BGN20.20	+56.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 BHD0.330	$2.42 BGN4.21	+180.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 BHD0.120	$1.80 BGN3.14	+488.3%
Average			+159.9%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.0% more for groceries

	Manama	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 BHD0.410	$1.53 BGN2.66	+40.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.33 BHD1.640	$5.70 BGN9.92	+31.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.35 BHD2.030	$7.46 BGN12.99	+39.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 BHD0.860	$4.37 BGN7.60	+92.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 BHD1.120	$3.92 BGN6.81	+32.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.06 BHD0.400	$0.99 BGN1.72	-6.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 BHD0.390	$0.92 BGN1.60	-11.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 BHD0.330	$0.86 BGN1.49	-1.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BHD0.240	$1.93 BGN3.36	+199.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 BHD0.180	$0.48 BGN0.84	+3.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 BHD0.240	$0.41 BGN0.71	-35.6%
Average			+24.0%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.1% more for transportation

	Manama	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.53 BHD0.960	$6.58 BGN11.46	+160.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.13 BHD14.060	$28.55 BGN49.69	-23.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	-18.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.88 BHD12.460	$9.05 BGN15.75	-72.5%
Average			+8.1%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.8% less for housing

	Manama	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.14 BHD13.310	$15.37 BGN26.74	-56.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$995.34 BHD377.010	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	-21.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$645.13 BHD244.360	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	-6.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$117.06 BHD44.340	$121.09 BGN210.73	+3.4%
Average			-14.8%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 33.9% more for childcare

	Manama	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.38 BHD185.370	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+56.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	+14.8%
Average			+33.9%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Manama	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 BHD2.510	$3.44 BGN5.98	-48.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.94 BHD1.870	$3.53 BGN6.15	-28.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.30 BHD2.010	$4.25 BGN7.40	-19.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.98 BHD23.860	$46.61 BGN81.12	-26.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 BHD4.020	$10.08 BGN17.54	-5.0%
Average			-26.5%

Manama vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.7% more for clothing

	Manama	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08 BHD19.350	$89.18 BGN155.21	+74.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.58 BHD21.810	$40.94 BGN71.25	-28.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.84 BHD33.270	$106.72 BGN185.72	+21.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.50 BHD33.900	$106.41 BGN185.18	+18.9%
Average			+15.7%

Manama 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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