Cost of living comparison

Bulgaria

compared to

Turkey

Istanbul vs. Sofia Cost of Living Summary

Istanbul is 3.0% cheaper than Sofia.

Restaurants: pay 30.7% less in Istanbul
Groceries: pay 31.4% less in Istanbul
Transportation: pay 34.4% more in Istanbul
Housing: pay 4.6% more in Istanbul
Childcare: pay 65.8% more in Istanbul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.2% more in Istanbul
Clothing: pay 16.5% less in Istanbul

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

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Istanbul vs. Sofia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.7% less for restaurants

	Sofia	Istanbul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.80 BGN29.23	$12.19 TRY603.79	-27.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.61 BGN20.20	$9.35 TRY462.91	-19.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.42 BGN4.21	$1.73 TRY85.71	-28.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.80 BGN3.14	$0.58 TRY28.65	-67.9%
Average			-30.7%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.4% less for groceries

	Sofia	Istanbul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.53 BGN2.66	$0.92 TRY45.58	-39.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 BGN9.92	$5.28 TRY261.28	-7.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.46 BGN12.99	$4.69 TRY231.97	-37.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.37 BGN7.60	$2.41 TRY119.39	-44.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.92 BGN6.81	$2.54 TRY125.71	-35.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 BGN1.72	$0.85 TRY42.16	-13.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 BGN1.60	$1.03 TRY50.86	+11.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 BGN1.49	$0.57 TRY28.34	-33.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.93 BGN3.36	$0.84 TRY41.37	-56.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 BGN0.84	$0.31 TRY15.36	-35.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 BGN0.71	$0.29 TRY14.17	-29.6%
Average			-31.4%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.4% more for transportation

	Sofia	Istanbul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.58 BGN11.46	$5.43 TRY269.03	-17.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.55 BGN49.69	$67.03 TRY3,318.85	+134.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,149.36 BGN52,468.33	$50,810.11 TRY3M	+68.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.05 BGN15.75	$8.40 TRY416.09	-7.1%
Average			+34.4%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.6% more for housing

	Sofia	Istanbul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$15.37 BGN26.74	$16.15 TRY799.42	+5.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$780.20 BGN1,357.77	$996.85 TRY49,357.64	+27.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$603.04 BGN1,049.46	$647.83 TRY32,076.47	+7.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$121.09 BGN210.73	$68.87 TRY3,410.06	-43.1%
Average			+4.6%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of housing

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pay 65.8% more for childcare

	Sofia	Istanbul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.67 BGN1,328.99	$1,021.62 TRY50,584.39	+33.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,650.99 BGN22,016.26	$25,999.20 TRY1M	+105.5%
Average			+65.8%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Sofia	Istanbul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.44 BGN5.98	$4.78 TRY236.49	+39.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.53 BGN6.15	$4.31 TRY213.63	+22.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.25 BGN7.40	$2.34 TRY115.73	-45.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.61 BGN81.12	$76.22 TRY3,773.70	+63.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.08 BGN17.54	$8.13 TRY402.53	-19.3%
Average			+12.2%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.5% less for clothing

	Sofia	Istanbul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$89.18 BGN155.21	$53.35 TRY2,641.33	-40.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.94 BGN71.25	$39.62 TRY1,961.62	-3.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$106.72 BGN185.72	$99.91 TRY4,947.03	-6.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.41 BGN185.18	$95.52 TRY4,729.71	-10.2%
Average			-16.5%

Sofia vs. Istanbul - 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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