Cost of living comparison

Oman

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 17.0% more expensive than Muscat.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 10.8% more in Sofia
Transportation: pay 6.3% more in Sofia
Housing: pay 7.7% more in Sofia
Childcare: pay 78.6% more in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.9% less in Sofia
Clothing: pay 21.3% more in Sofia

The cost of restaurants, childcare, clothing, groceries, housing, and transportation in Sofia are more expensive than in Muscat. Notably, restaurants and childcare are significantly more expensive in Sofia.

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Sofia vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Muscat	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR1.990	$16.80 BGN29.23	+222.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 OMR2.980	$11.61 BGN20.20	+48.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 OMR0.340	$2.42 BGN4.21	+175.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 OMR0.110	$1.80 BGN3.14	+539.9%
Average			+159.5%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% more for groceries

	Muscat	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.21 OMR0.460	$1.53 BGN2.66	+25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.66 OMR1.400	$5.70 BGN9.92	+55.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.79 OMR3.360	$7.46 BGN12.99	-15.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.98 OMR1.140	$4.37 BGN7.60	+46.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.17 OMR1.210	$3.92 BGN6.81	+23.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.63 OMR0.620	$0.99 BGN1.72	-39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.90 OMR0.340	$0.92 BGN1.60	+2.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 OMR0.410	$0.86 BGN1.49	-20.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 OMR0.220	$1.93 BGN3.36	+230.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 OMR0.210	$0.48 BGN0.84	-11.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 OMR0.220	$0.41 BGN0.71	-28.9%
Average			+10.8%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.3% more for transportation

	Muscat	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 OMR0.900	$6.58 BGN11.46	+179.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$78.03 OMR29.840	$28.55 BGN49.69	-63.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,485.84 OMR9,746.120	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	+18.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.06 OMR9.200	$9.05 BGN15.75	-62.4%
Average			+6.3%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 7.7% more for housing

	Muscat	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.55 OMR26.980	$15.37 BGN26.74	-78.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.91 OMR260.390	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	+14.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$453.13 OMR173.280	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	+33.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$136.85 OMR52.330	$121.09 BGN210.73	-11.5%
Average			+7.7%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 78.6% more for childcare

	Muscat	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$287.32 OMR109.880	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	+165.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,536.61 OMR4,029.340	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	+20.1%
Average			+78.6%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Muscat	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.00 OMR4.970	$3.44 BGN5.98	-73.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.07 OMR1.940	$3.53 BGN6.15	-30.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.50 OMR2.480	$4.25 BGN7.40	-34.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.02 OMR23.720	$46.61 BGN81.12	-24.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.40 OMR3.980	$10.08 BGN17.54	-3.1%
Average			-36.9%

Muscat vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.3% more for clothing

	Muscat	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.51 OMR21.610	$89.18 BGN155.21	+57.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.24 OMR16.540	$40.94 BGN71.25	-5.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.59 OMR34.260	$106.72 BGN185.72	+19.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.56 OMR33.480	$106.41 BGN185.18	+21.5%
Average			+21.3%

Muscat 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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