Cost of living comparison

Czech Republic

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Prague Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 14.3% cheaper than Prague.

Restaurants: pay 33.1% more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 8.2% more in Sofia
Transportation: pay 2.7% less in Sofia
Housing: pay 35.4% less in Sofia
Childcare: pay 30.4% less in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.1% less in Sofia
Clothing: pay 9.9% less in Sofia

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

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Sofia vs. Prague Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.1% more for restaurants

	Prague	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.87 CZK235.32	$16.80 BGN29.23	+54.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.09 CZK218.35	$11.61 BGN20.20	+15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.99 CZK43.14	$2.42 BGN4.21	+21.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 CZK31.30	$1.80 BGN3.14	+24.7%
Average			+33.1%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.2% more for groceries

	Prague	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.64 CZK35.59	$1.53 BGN2.66	-7.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.97 CZK129.31	$5.70 BGN9.92	-4.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.03 CZK87.21	$7.46 BGN12.99	+85.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.83 CZK82.90	$4.37 BGN7.60	+14.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.77 CZK81.65	$3.92 BGN6.81	+3.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.87 CZK18.86	$0.99 BGN1.72	+13.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 CZK17.43	$0.92 BGN1.60	+14.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 CZK20.92	$0.86 BGN1.49	-11.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.68 CZK36.47	$1.93 BGN3.36	+14.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 CZK9.99	$0.48 BGN0.84	+4.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 CZK9.78	$0.41 BGN0.71	-10.0%
Average			+8.2%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.7% less for transportation

	Prague	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.27 CZK157.46	$6.58 BGN11.46	-9.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.49 CZK465.10	$28.55 BGN49.69	+32.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,083.07 CZK673K	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	-3.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.59 CZK337.44	$9.05 BGN15.75	-42.0%
Average			-2.7%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.4% less for housing

	Prague	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.83 CZK472.58	$15.37 BGN26.74	-29.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,115.98 CZK24,155.63	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	-30.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$960.67 CZK20,794.02	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	-37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$219.79 CZK4,757.45	$121.09 BGN210.73	-44.9%
Average			-35.4%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 30.4% less for childcare

	Prague	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,078.55 CZK23,345.56	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	-29.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,476.09 CZK400K	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	-31.5%
Average			-30.4%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Prague	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.16 CZK68.48	$3.44 BGN5.98	+8.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.65 CZK79.07	$3.53 BGN6.15	-3.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.79 CZK168.72	$4.25 BGN7.40	-45.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.45 CZK1,459.96	$46.61 BGN81.12	-30.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 CZK287.82	$10.08 BGN17.54	-24.2%
Average			-19.1%

Prague vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.9% less for clothing

	Prague	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.51 CZK2,002.40	$89.18 BGN155.21	-3.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.60 CZK1,030.42	$40.94 BGN71.25	-14.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.07 CZK2,425.83	$106.72 BGN185.72	-4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$127.30 CZK2,755.50	$106.41 BGN185.18	-16.4%
Average			-9.9%

Prague 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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