Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Bulgaria

Sofia vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Sofia is 13.0% cheaper than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 75.6% more in Sofia
Groceries: pay 45.9% less in Sofia
Transportation: pay 4.5% less in Sofia
Housing: pay 11.5% less in Sofia
Childcare: pay 52.9% less in Sofia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.9% less in Sofia
Clothing: pay 39.5% more in Sofia

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

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Sofia vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.6% more for restaurants

	Seoul	Sofia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩11,955	$16.80 BGN29.23	+87.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩9,962	$11.61 BGN20.20	+55.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,112	$2.42 BGN4.21	+52.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,049	$1.80 BGN3.14	+129.4%
Average			+75.6%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.9% less for groceries

	Seoul	Sofia
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,134	$1.53 BGN2.66	-50.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩11,798	$5.70 BGN9.92	-35.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,403	$7.46 BGN12.99	-4.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,813	$4.37 BGN7.60	+21.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,328	$3.92 BGN6.81	-17.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,624	$0.99 BGN1.72	-71.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,091	$0.92 BGN1.60	-41.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,462	$0.86 BGN1.49	-67.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,782	$1.93 BGN3.36	-31.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,211	$0.48 BGN0.84	-71.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,542	$0.41 BGN0.71	-64.8%
Average			-45.9%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.5% less for transportation

	Seoul	Sofia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,384	$6.58 BGN11.46	+19.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩61,767	$28.55 BGN49.69	-38.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩39M	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	+2.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,357	$9.05 BGN15.75	+6.3%
Average			-4.5%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.5% less for housing

	Seoul	Sofia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩27,787	$15.37 BGN26.74	-26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	-12.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩828K	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	-2.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩217K	$121.09 BGN210.73	-25.6%
Average			-11.5%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of housing

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pay 52.9% less for childcare

	Seoul	Sofia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	-60.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩30M	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	-44.0%
Average			-52.9%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Sofia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩4,981	$3.44 BGN5.98	-7.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,473	$3.53 BGN6.15	-13.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,483	$4.25 BGN7.40	+26.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩77,707	$46.61 BGN81.12	-19.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,944	$10.08 BGN17.54	-10.0%
Average			-9.9%

Seoul vs. Sofia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.5% more for clothing

	Seoul	Sofia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩77,255	$89.18 BGN155.21	+54.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩43,743	$40.94 BGN71.25	+24.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩93,417	$106.72 BGN185.72	+52.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩110K	$106.41 BGN185.18	+29.1%
Average			+39.5%

Seoul 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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