Cost of living 2019 in Bulgaria

Hello everyone,

As we usually do each year, we invite you to share your experiences and tell us more about the average prices of products and services in your town/city/area, so that we have updated information regarding cost of living and inflation in Bulgaria.

Thanks to your contribution, future expats in Bulgaria will be more informed and will be able to refine their budget and better prepare for their big move.

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Bulgaria? How about buying an apartment or a house in Bulgaria?

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?

What is your monthly budget for groceries?

How much does it cost to see a doctor or health specialist in Bulgaria?

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?

How much does childcare cost on average per month?

What is your child's schooling budget per month?

How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

How much does a gym membership cost in Bulgaria?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

Hello, I am glad to share our Budget, but I cannot answer all questions, like public Transport. We use our car. However, here goes:
House buy: webought in a quite calm village (Region Stara Zagora). House Prices as of 5.000 €, but that means LOTS of renovation. As of 30.000 €, the house should be comfortable, as of 45.000, it should be ready for immediate live- in and free of any flaw.
Food Prices: Rice Basmati 800 gr.) 3.89; Pasta (Barilla, 500 gr) around 2.80, bread 1.50 - 3.00 (bakery)
pork meat 5-8 lv /Kilo, Beef 12 - 18, chicken 4-8. Whole Turkey frozen 6/Kilo.
Monthly Budget ALL FOOD: with us high, around 400 lv - but we like so very much to cook, it´s one of our Hobbies.
doctor: 3 lv share per visit.
Health insurance: 18,40 lv per Person and month (national state health insurance)
Fuel: I have a diesel, per Liter 1.95 lv.
Electric: depend on usage, summer around 36, now in winter around 126- 140/month
Gas (for cooking), 27lv per 14- Liter cylinder in Exchange (bring the empty, take a full)
Water: depending un consumption, 15- 35 lv/ month.
Phone (not gsm) and Internet: around 25- 28 lv/ month, depend on usage; gsm is prepaid, about 8- 10 lv/ month.
That´s it, have a nice day!

Hello ! I am from Thailand, and I come to live in Sofia, Bulgaria for three months. My purpose of coming here is to take professional pastry and bakery course at HRC Culinary Academy. I am able to share cost of living in Sofia and answer some of your questions :

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Bulgaria? How about buying an apartment or a house in Bulgaria?

= I rent the whole furnished apartment from Airbnb. I have 1 bedroom, 1 living room, and 1 bathroom, including balcony. The daily rent is about EUR 15.

How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?
= I rarely use public transportation because I usually walk to my school, supermarket, and shopping mall. They are all within walking distance (5-30 minutes walking). However, one single trip to take any public ground transportation is EUR 0.8.

How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?
= I cook everyday for myself. I spend about EUR 7-10 per day for meat, dairy, bread, fruit and veggie, bakery, and dessert.

What is your monthly budget for groceries?
= I spend about EUR 200-300/month for groceries.

How much does it cost to see a doctor or health specialist in Bulgaria?
= I do not have experience seeing a doctor in Sofia.

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?
= I bought travel insurance from my country.

How much does childcare cost on average per month?
= N/A

What is your child's schooling budget per month?
= N/A

How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?
= I do not own a car.

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?
= All utilities are included in the rent.

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?
=  All utilities are included in the rent.

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?
= I believe it should cost me around EUR 2.5 - 4 per meal depend on what I cook.

How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?
= I make my own coffee with sugar, cream, and coffee. Thus, I guess it around EUR 0.2

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?
= I have not seen any movie in Sofia yet.

How much does a gym membership cost in Bulgaria?
= I have no clue about it.

I hope all the information above will be helpful to anyone who is interested in living in Sofia, Bulgaria !

We're in Gabrovo (small/medium town central Bulgaria):

How much does it cost to rent an apartment or a house in Bulgaria? How about buying an apartment or a house in Bulgaria?
We pay 300bgn/month for a 100 square foot, two bedroom apartment. We are looking into buying a house and find the range for a decent one without too many renovations around 120-160 square meters is between 70k-100k


How much do you pay on average for public transportation (bus, subway, train, tram, taxi)?
1 lev for a one way ticket. I don't use taxis because they often charge the "foreigner" rate (10 lev when a trip should be 6, for example) and I can't be bothered to argue anymore.


How much do you pay for basic food items such as rice, bread, and pasta?
Bread: 1.10, rice: 2.10/kg


What is your monthly budget for groceries?
Family of four: around 300bgn


How much does it cost to see a doctor or health specialist in Bulgaria?
With insurance: 2.90 per visit
Without insurance or going without a note from the GP: 20bgn for a GP, 30-40 for a specialist.

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?
I believe it is 18bgn (paid through my work)


How much does childcare cost on average per month?
Public creche: around 65 bgn for a full month plus 20-40 bgn for extras (basketball and football)

What is your child's schooling budget per month?
n/a

How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?
Not sure on that one, I don't drive.

How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc., per month?
Around 50 bgn

How much do you pay for your internet and phone subscription?
Internet and television: 30bgn  (100mbps, fiber)

How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?
Between 5 and 10 bgn. (sometimes more when we order from the english guys)


How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?
1.20

How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?
Don't go to the cinema, but there is one here. I think it is around 8bgn. ?

How much does a gym membership cost in Bulgaria?
I do day passes for dance classes which range from 4-8bgn per class