Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ashgabat vs. Sofia Cost of Living Summary

Ashgabat is 43.1% more expensive than Sofia.

Restaurants
pay 22.2% more in Ashgabat
Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Ashgabat
Transportation
pay 46.9% less in Ashgabat
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Ashgabat
Childcare
pay 75.8% less in Ashgabat
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in Ashgabat
Clothing
pay 81.2% more in Ashgabat

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

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Ashgabat vs. Sofia Cost Breakdown

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

pay 22.2% more for restaurants

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
BGN29.23
$31.43
TMT110.31
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $11.61
BGN20.20
$12.86
TMT45.13
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.42
BGN4.21
$1.57
TMT5.52
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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.53
BGN2.66
$2.04
TMT7.15
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.70
BGN9.92
$18.82
TMT66.06
Milk (1 gallon) $7.46
BGN12.99
$17.09
TMT59.98
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pay 46.9% less for transportation

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.58
BGN11.46
$1.62
TMT5.69
Monthly public transit pass $28.55
BGN49.69
$10.00
TMT35.10
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,149.36
BGN52,468.33
$43,928.57
TMT154K
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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $15.37
BGN26.74
$102.86
TMT361.03
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $780.20
BGN1,357.77
$1,414.29
TMT4,964.14
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $603.04
BGN1,049.46
$1,000.00
TMT3,510.00
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pay 75.8% less for childcare

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $763.67
BGN1,328.99
$22.86
TMT80.23
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,650.99
BGN22,016.26
$24,807.14
TMT87,073.07
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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.44
BGN5.98
$5.71
TMT20.06
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.53
BGN6.15
$6.79
TMT23.82
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $4.25
BGN7.40
$25.71
TMT90.26
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pay 81.2% more for clothing

 
Sofia
Ashgabat
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $89.18
BGN155.21
$55.71
TMT195.56
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $40.94
BGN71.25
$114.29
TMT401.14
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $106.72
BGN185.72
$364.29
TMT1,278.64
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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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