Essen vs Sofia - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Essen Sofia
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1525
$1043
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3787
$2606
🏠 One person rent
$681
$494
🏘️ Family rent
$1217
$874
🍽️ Food expenses
$499
$362
🚐 Transport expenses
$197
$83.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3234
$1389
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
25 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
95
69
😀 Quality of life
95
78
🏙️ Population
585K
1.4M

The cost of living in Essen is 46% more expensive than in Sofia. Cities ranked 3595th and 5350th ($1525 vs $1043) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 371st and 1st in Germany and Bulgaria, respectively. Check Germany vs Bulgaria comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.1 months in Essen compared to 1.3 months in Sofia. Essen ranked 5th best city to live in Germany vs Sofia ranked 1st in Bulgaria, while ranked 31st and 707th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Essen vs Sofia infographic

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Prices in Essen vs Sofia

Prices for goods and services in Essen and Sofia are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Essen Sofia
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$13.6
$9.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$55.9
$39.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.2
$8.45
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.25
$2.32
☕ Cappuccino
$3.32
$2.37
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.49
$1.42
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$623
$475
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$470
$359
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1267
$943
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$888
$651
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$138
$98
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$210
$151
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.1
$13.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.99%
3.18%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4052
$3253
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3592
$2109
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.52
$0.9
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$59.9
$27.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$39.9
$7.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.85
$1.55
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$1.82
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.9
$0.96
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.58
$1.59
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.42
$3.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$11
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.9
$8.72
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.6
$12.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.89
$1.67
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$1.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.26
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.06
$2.49
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.15
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$1.08
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.69
$0.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.99
$1.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.8
$7.55
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.98
$1.07
🚬 Cigarette pack
$8.47
$3.68
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$11.7
$8.05
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.63
$3.32
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.5
$1.98
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.53
$2.85
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.6
$34.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$12.9
$8.22
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$86.5
$34.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$14.4
$9.66
👖 Brand Jeans
$94.7
$66.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$97.9
$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$440
$556
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$9380
$7369

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Essen

Distance City Cost of living
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Gelsenkirchen
$1439
9.6 km or 6 mi Mulheim
$1497
10 km or 6.3 mi Bottrop
$1441
11 km or 7.1 mi Oberhausen
$1543
12 km or 7.8 mi Velbert
$1465
13 km or 8.3 mi Hattingen
$1470
14 km or 8.4 mi Gladbeck
$1472
14 km or 8.8 mi Heiligenhaus
$1489
15 km or 9 mi Bochum
$1618
18 km or 11 mi Herne
$1586
18 km or 11 mi Duisburg
$1425
19 km or 12 mi Herten
$1486
19 km or 12 mi Wulfrath
$1464
19 km or 12 mi Sprockhovel
$1442
20 km or 13 mi Ratingen
$1548
22 km or 14 mi Witten
$1378
23 km or 14 mi Recklinghausen
$1451
23 km or 14 mi Mettmann
$1527
23 km or 14 mi Dinslaken
$1477
24 km or 15 mi Dorsten
$1480
24 km or 15 mi Castrop-Rauxel
$1490
24 km or 15 mi Wuppertal
$1206
25 km or 16 mi Marl
$1477
26 km or 16 mi Erkrath
$1571
27 km or 17 mi Schwelm
$1419
27 km or 17 mi Oer-Erkenschwick
$1462
27 km or 17 mi Moers
$1461
27 km or 17 mi Wetter
$1466
28 km or 17 mi Gevelsberg
$1457
28 km or 18 mi Voerde
$1480
28 km or 18 mi Ennepetal
$1451
29 km or 18 mi Haan
$1558
30 km or 18 mi Dusseldorf
$1861
30 km or 18 mi Herdecke
$1472
30 km or 19 mi Rheinberg
$1480
31 km or 20 mi Hilden
$1578
32 km or 20 mi Neukirchen-Vluyn
$1469
32 km or 20 mi Waltrop
$1376
32 km or 20 mi Solingen
$1652
32 km or 20 mi Datteln
$1431

Cities near Sofia

Distance City Cost of living
26 km or 16 mi Pernik
$712
59 km or 37 mi Vratsa
$876
77 km or 48 mi Blagoevgrad
$610
97 km or 60 mi Bansko
$943
100 km or 62 mi Pazardzhik
$706
132 km or 82 mi Pleven
$684
132 km or 82 mi Plovdiv
$770
135 km or 84 mi Nis
$743
142 km or 88 mi Stip
$571
146 km or 91 mi Kumanovo
$589
148 km or 92 mi Vidin
$640
149 km or 92 mi Asenovgrad
$634
151 km or 94 mi Strumica
$529
164 km or 102 mi Gabrovo
$589
168 km or 104 mi Veles
$549
175 km or 108 mi Skopje
$785
176 km or 110 mi Pristina
$661
178 km or 110 mi Kavadarci
$595
180 km or 112 mi Serres
$1043
185 km or 115 mi Drama
$912
186 km or 116 mi Craiova
$744
191 km or 119 mi Stara Zagora
$693
193 km or 120 mi Veliko Tarnovo
$793
202 km or 125 mi Mitrovica
$521
202 km or 126 mi Haskovo
$661
208 km or 129 mi Tetovo
$641
210 km or 130 mi Prilep
$545
210 km or 131 mi Slatina
$631
215 km or 134 mi Kavala
$947
215 km or 134 mi Alexandria
$663
217 km or 135 mi Xanthi
$1055
222 km or 138 mi Drobeta-Turnu Severin
$668
224 km or 139 mi Giannitsa
$1086
232 km or 144 mi Thessaloniki
$1223
234 km or 145 mi Novi Pazar
$692
242 km or 150 mi Kragujevac
$737
245 km or 152 mi Sliven
$624
246 km or 153 mi Komotini
$985
248 km or 154 mi Bitola
$685
248 km or 154 mi Ruse
$668