Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 52.2% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.7 times more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 0.8% less in Sofia
Transportation: pay 70.1% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 59.1% more in Sofia
Childcare: pay 32.1% more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.4% more in Sofia
Clothing: pay 55.7% more in Sofia

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

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Sofia vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.7 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.58 ₱351.45	$16.80 BGN29.23	+201.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.98 ₱251.03	$11.61 BGN20.20	+191.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.40 ₱88.36	$2.42 BGN4.21	+72.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ₱53.31	$1.80 BGN3.14	+113.0%
Average			+171.9%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.8% less for groceries

	Manila	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.44 ₱90.93	$1.53 BGN2.66	+5.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.89 ₱244.77	$5.70 BGN9.92	+46.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.23 ₱455.56	$7.46 BGN12.99	+3.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ₱143.70	$4.37 BGN7.60	+91.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.18 ₱137.50	$3.92 BGN6.81	+79.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.49 ₱93.83	$0.99 BGN1.72	-33.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 ₱53.49	$0.92 BGN1.60	+8.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 ₱85.76	$0.86 BGN1.49	-37.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ₱51.97	$1.93 BGN3.36	+134.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.03 ₱64.97	$0.48 BGN0.84	-53.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₱75.72	$0.41 BGN0.71	-66.2%
Average			-0.8%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 70.1% more for transportation

	Manila	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 ₱312.22	$6.58 BGN11.46	+32.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.75 ₱803.31	$28.55 BGN49.69	+123.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,359.52 ₱1M	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	+41.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.54 ₱160.16	$9.05 BGN15.75	+255.9%
Average			+70.1%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.1% more for housing

	Manila	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.14 ₱1,520.93	$15.37 BGN26.74	-36.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.82 ₱34,257.78	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	+43.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.50 ₱17,733.05	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	+114.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.04 ₱5,924.32	$121.09 BGN210.73	+28.8%
Average			+59.1%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 32.1% more for childcare

	Manila	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$619.65 ₱39,034.94	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+23.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,932.60 ₱563K	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	+41.6%
Average			+32.1%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 ₱75.31	$3.44 BGN5.98	+187.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.55 ₱160.66	$3.53 BGN6.15	+38.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.11 ₱195.81	$4.25 BGN7.40	+36.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.86 ₱2,700.12	$46.61 BGN81.12	+8.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.77 ₱426.76	$10.08 BGN17.54	+48.8%
Average			+53.4%

Manila vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.7% more for clothing

	Manila	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.27 ₱3,670.68	$89.18 BGN155.21	+53.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.47 ₱1,730.75	$40.94 BGN71.25	+49.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.69 ₱4,830.90	$106.72 BGN185.72	+39.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.51 ₱3,623.11	$106.41 BGN185.18	+85.0%
Average			+55.7%

Manila 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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