Cost of living in Bulgaria in 2022

Basically it very much depends on your lifestyle.

The place you live in is also important, but that concerns only the rent, and probably also the transport costs.

In all cases if you live in a big city, then you will need a net salary of about 2200 - 2500 BGN, to live comfortably.

Rent is an important factor, but in a big city not only rets are higher, salaries are higher too.

Weekly grocery costs will be about 100 BGN;

School costs depend on private or state school (state schools are free of charge), number of kids, school pricing policy, etc.

Leisure activities ... it's an ocean there, one must know how to swim.

In all cases, if your GROSS salary exceeds 3000 BGN then you can go for a job in Bulgaria. If you have family and kids, and only one parent is working, then you should focus on a NET salary of at least  4000 BGN.

Hello kristiann,

Thank you for your contribution on this topic. 

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team

Its cheaper if you own..we do..and we are pensioners..with only pensions to live on. So if we can live a good life..so can others.

Service charges are 100 lev per year

Council tax is 150 lev for two per year.Shopping is cheaper than the ukBut we eat in one night..eat out the next. fresh fruits are plentiful and cheap..same as vegetables..ciggies were 5.20 lev for 20 rothmans..i have just given up.but ok for smokers.. it depends on taste and desires for spending and everyone is different..wines beers all way below the uk..and weather is great in the summer..in winter people will need heating..an added cost..the cheapest are wood burners. Then again choice is key..fuel is rising for a vehicle..but tbh..could manage without..buses are cheap and plentiful...

While prices are definitely increasing (with annual inflation reaching 10%), Bulgaria remains the poorest country in the EU (by GDP per capita). Hence, as you'd expect, costs are still relatively low compared to most of the EU.

Because of inflation, the Bulgarian minimum wage is being raised to 710 leva (363 euros) per month, effective from 1 April 2022. This is a very useful benchmark for comparing your pension/income, and your potential lifestyle here. And while most Bulgarians might expect to have rent or mortgage payments, most expats will likely have sufficient savings to purchase a nice property for cash.

But note that we spend far more than the minimum wage on our grocery shopping alone! So I reckon, to be comfortable, you probably need enough savings to buy a property, and an income of maybe 2x or 3x the minimum wage. The new UK State Pension is £185 ish per week - if you've made all (35 years?) your contributions - which works out to around 1,800 leva per month (2.5 x minimum).

Here's a list of some of the recent costs that I've incurred...

- We're lucky, we don't have rent or mortgage payments to worry about. The sale of our dinky semi-detached house (ex-council, mining town in Yorkshire, so nothing fancy) was enough to pay for a small flat in Plovdiv, and a large village house in a lovely spot in the Balkan Mountains next to two National Parks.

- The monthly maintenance charge for our Plovdiv apartment is 11 leva. (But a larger apartment in a new building might be 50 leva or so.)

- The annual property tax for the apartment is 130 leva. (This is the most dramatic change from the UK, where our council tax was around 2,500 leva.)

- Our last two electricity bills for the apartment were 116 leva (Feb) and 61 leva (March). The former was when it was colder, and we had the living room AC running pretty much 24/7 to keep us at 20 degrees. No gas bill. The last water bill was 5 leva. For the house, the electric bill was 3 leva, as there are no standing charges. So this is just for the fridge. :-)

- 100 GB fibre internet (Vivacom) is 13 leva/month. It's 20 leva/month for similar at the house from a local provider.

- I have a Vivacom mobile contract for 36 leva/month (unlimited data, minutes, SMS). My partner has a more basic plan for 20 leva/month.

- Today, I filled up my car for 120 leva. I didn't catch a bus for a while, but Plovdiv city buses are still 1 leva per journey. I just renewed my car's annual vignette (97 leva) and insurance (225 leva, this is for 3rd party/legal minimum, a lot more for comprehensive). I just got it serviced for 400 leva (oil filer, air filter, cabin filter, fully synthetic oil, new front/back wipers, new front brake pads). I need to put it in for inspection next week, which I think is around 50 leva.

- I am enrolled in the Bulgarian state healthcare system. I registered as unemployed with social security, and I pay 26 leva per month (online) to keep it current. So far, I didn't use it, as I just pop into the very nice private hospital (Pulmed) across the road, and pay from my own pocket. I recently had a blood work-up to check that I'm still alive. :-) I did it at Ramus Labs (the Ramus Mega with 26 diagnostic parameters) and it cost 29 leva.

- We spend a lot on groceries, but that's because we rarely eat out. As a rough guesstimate, maybe 800 or 900 leva per month. I kept my receipts recently, and it was 330 leva for 12/3 to 25/3 inclusive (but about 80 of that was a bunch of cleaning products to take to the house for spring cleaning).

- We did have Sunday lunch at a very upscale Italian restaurant in January, and it was 50 leva (for two). We also had the cheap n' cheerful lunch special at KFC in the Plovdiv Mall one day, which was 15 leva or so. Plovdiv has a very trendy (and expensive) downtown hangout area (Kapana, it's like Brighton's Lanes or a mini Covent Garden) with very upscale bars and restaurants... and a main course here is around 30 leva. I meet up with a teaching friend some Sundays at the Regatta Park for a walk along the Maritsa River, then we'll have a cup of tea (1 lev) - and sometimes, if we're peckish, a Balkan burrito (10 leva) - at the produce market next to the stadium. My occasional breakfast banitsa, which used to be 1 lev, is now 2 leva. When I'm in downtown Plovdiv, I might sit down for a coffee. There's a little shop next to the school which still has 1 lev coffee, but in most places it's now 2 or 3 leva (9 leva, for two of us, in Starbucks next to Plovdiv Mall).

- Imported electrical/electronic items are not cheaper here, I think. I buy quite a few items online from Emag,bg (and collect from my local Ekont office). This year, I got a 24" LED monitor for my laptop (260 leva), an air fryer (150 leva), and I upgraded my mobile to 5G (Xiaomi Poco F3, dual SIM, 256GB/8GB for 750 leva).

- Our habits were affected by the Covid Pandemic, and we haven't really reverted yet. So far in 2022, no cinema visits, very little eating out, no flights out of Bulgaria. Entertainment is Amazon Prime and Netflix, I guess. I walk to Youth Hill and the Regatta Lake/Park, which is free. While I still have the occasional coffee out and about, early on I got us a fancy bean-to-cup coffee machine (500 leva or so, bit of an indulgence), so unless we're meeting someone, we both prefer to have our coffee at home!

Thanks very much for sharing this - we are a couple from Manchester looking to move to Bulgaria and found this helpful!  Kind regards Sandra and Mike

I think it depends very much on the standard of living one hopes to enjoy in Bulgaria. Living as many Bulgarians do, particularly in the rural areas saves a lot, as much food is grown, chickens kept for eggs and maybe even the cooking pot I fear! 

However, when I move it is to enable me to have a higher standard of living and do more things than I can afford in the UK. Therefore, I expect my outgoings to be similar, just a lot more spent on pleasure than on bills. 

For example... a horse in livery here in West Sussex (even DIY) is around £600 per month. My house in Bulgaria has a paddock and I imagine feed will be a fraction of that cost. (x2 as we will keep 2)

Ski pass, seasonal. not applicable to the UK, but will cost  1500 lev per person (x2)

Eating out, much cheaper in the nontourist areas, but not cheaper in the ski resorts. I expect to eat out 50% of the time, so.that is an expense I don't have in the UK as I hardly ever eat out here. 

Running cars,,cheaper, yes, but still quite a cost. 

Groceries, intend to shop in supermarkets and last time I was there a few weeks ago, not that much cheaper than uk prices in Lidl at least. 

Clothes..in Sofia mall seemed similar to UK prices. 

So, all in all, a better life but not a cheaper one for me at least!  

@SandraW did u make the jump?

@gwynj wow... loving the info. Me my partner and daughter are wanting to come across. I can still work... fingers crossed.. so approx 2600 lev a month... my partner is self employed so hopefully will pick up work, my daughter is 3.

I look forward to hearing from you xxx

I know that when I can make the move to live in Bulgaria full-time my actual standard if living will improve. I'm still able to grow , cook and preserve fruit and veg I'm not a smoker and I'm not a " vodka o clock" person , the yearly  council tax in my Bulgarian village is less than I pay a month in rent on a garage here in the UK and I'll more than manage on my state pension. Believe me I'm so glad that I had the forethought to buy a small house in a Bulgarian village.

@gwynj Thanks for sharing 👍.

some great posts here, the cost maybe higher for some, but we live very well on our pensions, my wife pays all the bills from her bg bank, as she has direct debits set up for all the utilities, and pays from her bg pension account. Council tax and service charges we pay when we come over, plus the SOT and TV..I bought a fire stick last year  so have plenty of uk tv to watch..loads on Youtube as well, and our daughter is suscribed to netflix to we got that too..dont forget theres no tv licence here . only other extras are road tax for the jamjar for 3/4 months plus a bit of fuel. well happy..BG is joining the euro soon, but shouldnt affect us too much as the LEV is already pegged to the euro anyway, and this year i was getting 25 to a nicker..hope theres a few cockneys to translate..ha ha

@Jodie Robinson & @JMVinter

Welcome to the expat.com forum, and good luck with your potential move to Bulgaria!

I'm a big fan of Bulgaria, and I love my new life here... and just a few weeks away from getting my Permanent Residence. There are others with very positive stories too, so I'm not the only one.

I wrote my original comment at the start of this year... and prices have gone up a LOT since then! But that's true everywhere in the EU (and most/all of the world).

Eating out is still cheap as chips. That and drinking is all I care about

@gwynj Hi, you're correct. Don't forget that's before UK Tax (at source) which is 20% so net figure you're left with is only £141/week. Basic tax was going to be 19% until new chancellor has had a rethink due to big problems with UK economy.

@gwynj wow... loving the info. Me my partner and daughter are wanting to come across. I can still work... fingers crossed.. so approx 2600 lev a month... my partner is self employed so hopefully will pick up work, my daughter is 3.
I look forward to hearing from you xxx
-@Jodie Robinson

Jodie, do you or your partner have an EU passport? Post-Brexit, if you only have UK passports, you'll want to look at the D visa requirements. Moving there is a lot more paperwork than it used to be! Unfortunately having enough income isn't enough anymore.

Bulgaria still the cheapest in the EU.

You want cheaper go to Serbia or Georgia

@gwynj Are you enjoying living in Bansko? And are there plenty of English ex-pats around? I have a son who is thinking of moving there in a few years.

Have moved yet

@Petra L UK

We're enjoying the bright lights of the big city (Plovdiv). :-) So for us, Bansko is more like a vacation spot. But, yes, it's a great little town, very charming... especially if you like mountains, snowsports, and the outdoor life.

There are plenty of folks who like to live there year-round, so it's totally doable.  But it'll be easier if you have a decent income or you're a remote worker / digital nomad type. I'm not sure it would be much fun on a Bulgarian salary!

@wtruckyboy Which part of Bulgaria do you live in? And have you learnt to speak the language well, or do you mostly hang out with other English speakers?

@gwynj  Thank you very much for your reply. I only just realised that you had done so - I'm not familiar with how this platform works.

My son wouldn't be trying to get a local job. He's building up freelance work as a translator, with work sent in by email from agencies in Belgium. My husband and I have worked as translators for 20 years, so we are able to help him, and perhaps, if he really does make the move, we will move too.

Plovdiv looks like a lovely place. I need to come over in February for some dental work in Sofia (which is how I ended up discovering Bulgaria a few months back), and my son will come with me. I am wondering about hiring a car and driving down with him to Plovdiv when the dentistry is over, and then on to Bansko. Do you think that would be feasible - or are the roads too icy and/or dangerous for such things? I have some familiarity with left-hand drive cars.

@Petra L UK

If he's a freelancer then no problem living in Bansko. Visa-wise, business options are company, freelancer, and TRO (Trade Representative Office). Freelancer has a Bulgarian language requirement. If he (or you/your husband) put your translation work through a UK limited company already (rather than being self-employed) then this might be the basis for getting the TRO.

Plovdiv is tip-top. :-) Very happy that we discovered it (thanks to the big European Capital of Culture celebrations). Well worth a visit. It's quite a mild winter so far, but even if it does get cold it's usually not a problem. Roads are kept very clear, and I'd expect your rental car to have winter tyres. But if the weather's very bad, I'd prefer Sofia-Bansko (which is a major road down to Greece), to the more scenic Bansko-Pazardzhik-Plovdiv route. Sofia-Plovdiv is a good, direct motorway, easy 90 minutes drive.

@Petra L UK Bansko has the advantage of having a large English-speaking nomad/expat community. I heard that it is the town with the highest density of expats in Bulgaria. But it is remote and doesn't have the same vibe as a large city. Nevertheless, there are lots of shops and restaurants here and in nearby Razlog as well as 4 coworking spaces with international community. In the summer, it is relatively quiet except for the digital nomads visiting it and in winter it turns into a busy/noisy winter sports destination. It's main advantage are the comparatively low property prices at around 700 €/sqm (although they have now almost doubled during the last 5 years). It's optimal for outdoor enthusiasts.

@gwynj Thank you for all the useful information. Freelancer is what we'd been thinking of, but the Bulgarian language requirement sounds scary - mind you we were planning to learn it anyway, so this will give extra impetus to that. I will have to look into exactly what is required.

We've now booked a trip to Bansko for next weekend, so thank you for all your tips there as well.

@euronomad Thank you for all the information. We've now booked a reconnaissance trip for early December to check things out for ourselves a bit. I'm not entirely clear why my son decided on Bansko, but I think the affordability of a flat there was a big reason. The more he hears about the place though, the more he feels keen. He's planning on starting a family there (he has a fiancee who he's planning to make the move with), so perhaps the lack of busy city life won't matter as he'll have plenty to do.

Are you living in Bansko yourself?

@Petra L UK Yes, I'm living in Bansko most of the year. Not sure how it would be with kids though, but if they grow up there and learn Bulgarian they can go to the local school. There's no international school in the region. Some nomads with kids here are organizing home schooling.

@Petra L UK

I dont understand why Bankso either. So many German techy nomads there now. Why?

Rents in cities like Plovdiv are cheaper and you have more to do.

Bansko is a very charming little town, I've not met anyone who dislikes it. And it's a spectacular place to hang out if you enjoy the outdoor life, as it's hard to beat the Pirin National Park! It was the first place I went to (and purchased in) when I came to Bulgaria. I still like it, and I've recommended it to several of the nomad types who joined our forum and wanted to get a base in Bulgaria. Not only is it in a beautiful area, but it's very affordable too.

I'd say it was one of the few locations left in Bulgaria where you can still get a nice (but small), move-in-ready apartment for 25k-30k. There's not much that you can find in Plovdiv or Sofia that comes in under 60k or 70k. (And for a move-in-ready new-ish apartment in Sofia, I wouldn't be surprised if it was pushing 100k.) Seasonal rentals will be expensive in Bansko, but if you can do a year lease then they can be pretty cheap too. Aside from property, living costs are still very reasonable, even allowing for recent increases.

Pirin National Park - https://bulgariatravel.org/pirin-national-park/

Visit Bansko - https://visit-bansko.bg/en/

Bansko Ski - https://www.banskoski.com/en

Digital Nomad view - https://redwhiteadventures.com/living-in-bansko/

We're relatively privileged, as we can afford to have a couple of properties and not spend all our time in one place. But that's no reflection on Bansko as a place to live. If I were on a tight budget, I would have absolutely no problem spending all my time there. My gripes (it's a small town rather than a big city, and it's touristy so coffee and meals out are a bit more pricey) are very minor, and balanced by the quality of life of being next to a beautiful National Park and big ski resort.

To put it in context, I've skied in some big European and USA resorts, but I couldn't afford to live there, and I certainly couldn't afford to buy property there. Small apartments can easily be 200k-400k (and up) in many of these places! Instead, I lived for many years (I'm a former ski instructor) in the ski resorts of Termas de Chillan (Chile, Andes), and Arinsal (Andorra, Pyrenees), which are much smaller, less popular, 2nd tier resorts. Bansko is very comparable in terms of skiing and hiking, but far cheaper... and with the bonus of a nice town centre where you can have a drink or a meal (and buy your groceries at a decent supermarket).

To put this is financial terms, here's the Numbeo comparison between Bansko and Verbier which makes quite enlightening reading. Especially as your utilities and meals will be 200%-300% higher, and property 3,000% higher! For sheer bang-for-your-buck you will have a hard job beating Bansko.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Bulgaria&country2=Switzerland&city1=Bansko&city2=Verbier

Petra, good luck with the trip! I hope you all have a wonderful stay in Bulgaria!

@wtruckyboy hello we planning to live near my dad in bulgaria can you tell me is it easy to do this

@gwynj  thank you we are planning to move to movara

can you help is it doable ?  We own the house there

@gwynj thank you we are planning to move to movara
can you help is it doable ? We own the house there
-@sssnails29

Maybe start a new post with your question to get better coverage?

SimCityAT

Expat Team

@sssnails29

Welcome to the expat.com forum, and good luck with your move to Bulgaria!

It's not as easy as it used to be, but it's still doable. Having a property already helps (proof of address), but it's not (usually) sufficient on its own to get a D visa and residence permit. Common options are pensioner and TRO (Trade Representative Office). And many just use their 90 days visa-free allowance and fly in/out regularly with a cheap Ryanair/Wizzair flight.

thank you we have a property we will be seeing my dad in may there he lives there already x

@Andrew45 Hi can I ask a question about tax?

Although resident in France I pay tax on my pensions to the UK. A concern of mine was that if I have to pay tax to Bulgaria, which I understand is a flat rate of 10%, I'll pay about £1k a year more. If I have to pay to both, it'll be double that. How does it work in Bulgaria?

As far as I know you only need to pay tax in one country and you can choose which. But that's just what I've read, not personal experience.

@grumpyoldbird

I have a pension from the UK, paid into a UK bank account, which I then transfer to my Wise account and convert to Leva.   You only pay one tax, so if you're paying UK income tax, then you do not pay Bulgarian tax on your pension.  This is because there is an agreement between the two countries, which continued after Brexit.  So, no you don't pay tax on your UK pension in Bulgaria 😊.

That said, the UK tax rate is 20%, the Bulgarian 10%, but, you get a personal, non taxable allowance in the UK of £12,570 per year, so only the remainder is taxed.  In Bulgaria, there is no personal allowance, so in end effect, there's little difference in the amount of tax you would pay in either country.   There is, however, a scheme called QROPS, that allows pensions to be transferred to a participating country, of which Bulgaria is one.  However, this scheme is expensive to use, as you lose quite a bit in pension when it's transferred and it does not guarantee you will gain any benefit of a higher pension - indeed, it's likely to be lower!

@cyberescue1 I haven't heard of that. I use Torfx to transfer my money. They dont charge commission and I've tried a couple of others over the years and these have the best rates and they're really quick and efficient.